Cross-cultural adaptation of Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in Kurdish Adolescents

Abstract

Kurds face challenges due to ongoing conflicts and traumatic events, exacerbating mental health burdens. Understanding the importance of mental health becomes even more critical during adolescence, as they undergo significant changes predisposing them to mental health disorders. Addressing adolescents’ mental health, particularly in conflict regions, is of paramount importance. The prevalence of anxiety and depression among adolescents in the Middle East, including Kurdish populations, underscores the urgent need for culturally appropriate screening measures. Despite the availability of the shortened Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCDAS-25) in various languages, its validation in Kurdish remains incomplete. Therefore, this study aimed to translate RCADS-25 into Kurdish language and culturally validate it among Kurdish-speaking adolescents in Iraq. The stages of the adaptation process involved forward translation into Sorani Kurdish, back translation, and translation validation by an expert committee, then scale was administered to 422 participants with a mean age of 12.94 years. Females scored significantly higher mean values of depression, anxiety, and total internalizing scale. Overall results provided strong evidence for the reliability and validity of RCDAS-25-Kurdish, indicating that it can be considered a reliable tool for assessing anxiety and depression in Kurdish adolescents.