Reliability and validity of the Chinese versions of the Scales for Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms

This 4-center study assesses the reliability and validity of the Chinese versions of the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Interrater reliability, short-term test-retest reliability, and internal consistency were excellent; intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbach alphas for the overall scores were all over 0.8. The strong correlation of the scales with an independently assessed parallel measure (the Chinese version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) and the separate positive and negative factors found with principal components analysis confirm the construct validity of the instruments. These findings demonstrate the importance of culturally sensitive revision and rigorous psychometric evaluation of Western instruments prior to their use in non-Western cultures.