Translation and psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the child-adolescent teasing scale

Abstract

Teasing among children is pervasive; however, it has received remarkably little attention in the empirical, theoretical, or methodological literature in Taiwan. The purposes of this study were to translate and psychometrically validate the Chinese versions of the CATS (CATS-C). The purposes for this study were accomplished in two major phases. Phase I focused on translating the CATS and evaluating the psychometric equivalency of the original English and translated CATS-C. First, the CATS was translated into Chinese and semantic equivalence was determined by three different kinds of evaluations during the translation process. Then, the semantic equivalence of the translated CATS-C was empirically tested with 25 6th grade bilingual students. The results of the paired sample t-test and the Pearson correlation indicated congruence between the two versions of the CATS on the semantic equivalence. In order to evaluate each item’s relevance in Taiwanese culture, a Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated among the ratings of the five Taiwanese elementary school teachers. The CVI was .88 for the entire CATS and were .66 to 1.0 for the four subscales. One additional item, “personal hygiene”, was included at the suggestion of the experts. ii Phase II focused on evaluating the psychometric properties of the CATS-C. The 33-item adapted CATS-C was tested on a sample of 343 4th through 6th grade Taiwanese students to determine its psychometric properties. Construct validity was assessed through PCA with Varimax rotation. Reliability was tested through the analysis of internal consistency. The results showed that five-component solution was the most appropriate and interpretable solution for the 29-item CATS-C after deleting four items. Cronbach’s alpha was .91 for the total CATS-C scale and were .73 - .83 for the five CATS-C subscales. The 29-item CATS-C with five components is a culturally appropriate instrument which has potential for determining Taiwanese students at high risk from teasing. Further studies are recommended to test the reliability and validity of the CATS-C.