Research Article
Arabic Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of
the Depression Literacy Questionnaire among Adolescents
Hussain Ahmed Darraj,
1
Mohamed Salih Mahfouz,
2
Rashad Mohamed Al Sanosi,
3
Mohammed Badedi,
4
Abdullah Sabai,
4
Abdulrahman AL Refaei,
5
and Hussain Mutawm
6
1
Jazan Health Afairs, Ministry of Health, Jazan 45911, Saudi Arabia
2
Family and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, P.O. Box 2531, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
3
Substance Abuse Research Centre (SARC), Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
4
Public Health Administration, Jazan Health Afairs, Ministry of Health, Jazan 82723, Saudi Arabia
5
Jazan General Directorate of Education, Ministry of Education, Jazan 82614, Saudi Arabia
6
Departments of English, Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence should be addressed to Mohamed Salih Mahfouz; mm.mahfouz@gmail.com
Received 8 January 2016; Accepted 14 March 2016
Academic Editor: Nicola Magnavita
Copyright © 2016 Hussain Ahmed Darraj et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Background. Depression is a serious mental health disease. Globally, it is estimated that almost 350 million people sufer from
depression. It is important to assess depression literacy including knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders among adolescents.
Objective. Tis study was conducted to validate the Arabic version of the Depression Literacy Questionnaire (D-Lit) among
adolescents. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample size of 120 adolescents. Statistical analysis included
face validation, confrmatory factor analysis, and reliability testing. A test-retest was carried out within a two-week interval. Results.
Te mean score for depression literacy among participants was 8.6 (SD = 4.48), the median was 8, and the interquartile range was
7. Preliminary construct validation analysis confrmed that factor analysis was appropriate for the Arabic version of D-Lit. Te total
internal consistency was measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefcient and split-half test and the results were 0.78 and 0.71, respectively.
Te test-retest reliability measured by Pearson’s correlation was 0.92 and spearman rho was equal to 0.91. Conclusions. Face validity,
construct validity, and reliability analysis were found satisfactory for the Arabic version of D-Lit. Te Arabic D-Lit was found valid
and reliable to be used in the future studies.
1. Background
Depression is a serious mental health disease and generally
characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities, and
decreased energy [1]. Evidence suggests that the onset of
major depression predominantly manifests during adoles-
cence stage. Furthermore, it infuences a child’s psychological,
social, and academic functioning. Owing to that, they will
be vulnerable to the risk of substance abuse and suicidal
behavior [2, 3].
Depressive disorders in developing countries represent a
key determinant of health-related disability. It is considered
as a major source of nonfatal disease [4, 5]. Globally, it
is estimated that almost 350 million people sufer from
depression [6]. In the United Kingdom, it is reported that
60% of adolescents experienced depressive symptoms [7].
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the prevalence of
mental disorders among children and adolescents was 10%–
36%, which is either similar to or signifcantly higher than
the global estimates [8]. In the neighboring country of the
United Arab Emirates, just over 22% of children aged 6 to
18 years were reported to have mental health problems [9].
In Saudi Arabia, a recent study showed that the prevalence of
depression among boys who are secondary school students in
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Psychiatry Journal
Volume 2016, Article ID 8045262, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8045262