Tuty Yanuarti, Mohd Nazri Bin Mohd Daud, Noor Hassline Binti Mohamed, Azman Bin Atil

Translation and Psychometric Analysis of the Brief Symptom Inventory in Adolescents with Substance Use Disorder

Introduction

Translation and psychometric analysis of the brief symptom inventory in adolescents with substance use disorder. Explore the psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) translated for Indonesian adolescents with substance use disorder. Learn about its validity and reliability as a screening tool.

Abstract

The Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) is an 18-item self-report checklist designed to screen for psychological symptoms in medical patients. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of BSI among a diverse group of Indonesian adolescents. This study involved 80 15 to 18-year-old adolescents from a drug rehabilitation center in West Java, Indonesia. The instrument was translated into Bahasa Indonesia, and its content validity index was calculated using Aiken’s V formula. The CVI ranged from 0.73 to 1.00 for BSI. The factor loadings of each of the three scales in the BSI ranged from 0.43 and 0.88. The model was acceptable and appropriate when confirmatory factor analyses of the BSI were conducted. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the BSI was 0.925. The findings of this study give evidence that the BSI is a viable and beneficial screening tool for detecting substance use problems among Indonesian adolescents.

Review

This manuscript presents a valuable effort in translating and validating the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) for use with Indonesian adolescents, specifically those in a drug rehabilitation setting. The BSI-18 is a widely recognized tool for screening psychological symptoms, and its availability in Bahasa Indonesia for this vulnerable population fills an important gap in clinical assessment and research in the region. The study's objective to assess the psychometric properties of the translated instrument is highly relevant for enhancing mental health care for adolescents with substance use disorder (SUD). Methodologically, the study employed a systematic approach, including translation, content validity assessment using Aiken’s V, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), alongside internal consistency reliability via Cronbach's alpha. The reported content validity indices (0.73-1.00) suggest good expert agreement, and the factor loadings (0.43-0.88) indicate acceptable item-to-factor relationships within the three BSI-18 scales. Furthermore, the high Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.925 demonstrates excellent internal consistency, supporting the reliability of the instrument in this specific sample of Indonesian adolescents. While the findings are promising, a primary limitation appears to be the sample size (N=80), which is relatively small for robust psychometric analyses, particularly CFA, and may impact the generalizability of the results beyond the specific rehabilitation center in West Java. A crucial point for clarification is the conclusion stating the BSI is a viable tool for "detecting substance use problems." The BSI-18 primarily screens for psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, somatization), which are common comorbidities with SUD, rather than directly detecting SUD itself. This distinction is critical and should be refined in the paper's interpretation. Future research should consider larger, more geographically diverse samples, explore other forms of validity (e.g., convergent, discriminant, criterion validity) and reliability (e.g., test-retest), and more clearly articulate the instrument's utility in screening for psychological comorbidities rather than primary SUD diagnosis.

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