Validation of the Arabic Version of the Psychotic-Like Experiences Questionnaire for Children (PLEQ-C) in a Community Sample of Children and Adolescents Aged 12–18 years

Abstract

No epidemiological prevalence data regarding psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in children and adolescents are yet available for Arab countries. Providing age-appropriate questionnaires that are fully apprehended by younger participants can facilitate discussions on prodromal psychosis in both community and clinical settings. To address this gap and help foster future research on PLEs in these unstudied age groups, we sought to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Psychotic-Like Experiences Questionnaire for Children (PLEQ-C) in a community sample of children and adolescents aged 12–18 years from Lebanon. A total of 546 native Arabic-speaking Lebanese children and adolescents were enrolled in this study with a mean age of 15.90 years (SD = 1.73) and 56.5% females. The forward–backward translation method was used for the translation and adaptation of the PLEQ-C into the Arabic language. The Arabic PLEQ‐C showed good internal consistency, as revealed by McDonald’s ω and Cronbach’s α coefficients of .85. Analyses indicated that all nine items of the PLEQ-C fall onto one factor, thus replicating the originally proposed single-factor structure of the scale. Multi-group analyses revealed that configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance was achieved across gender and age categories (12–14 years, 15–16 years, and 17–18 years). The PLEQ‐C scores showed significant positive correlations with the PQ‐B frequency and distress sub-scores, hence attesting to its convergent validity. In addition, findings confirmed the good divergent validity of the PLEQ-C, by demonstrating significant correlations with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Findings preliminarily suggest that the Arabic PLEQ-C is suitable and feasible for assessing PLEs self-reported by children and adolescents in Arab settings. Such an instrument could allow for simple, quick, and effective screening and identification of community youth who need to go through comprehensive clinical interviews and benefit from clinical monitoring or early psychological intervention.