Abstract
Abstract Background The Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) assesses the presence and intensity of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Objectives This study aimed to carry out the BNSS cross-cultural adaptation to the Brazilian Portuguese language and verify its content validity and reliability. Methods This is a methodological study that followed these steps: (1) implementation of the cross-cultural adaptation and translation protocol, (2) BNSS adapted content validation, and (3) reliability assessment. Six experts participated in the adaptation process. The sample consisted of 30 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and assisted at the Brazilian Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS), in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil, which was the research setting. Results The cross-cultural adaptation was successful due to the values obtained for each aspect evaluated, such as semantic (0.922), idiomatic (0.910), experiential (0.961), and conceptual equivalence (0.974). The same happened with content validity regarding clarity of language (0.935), practical relevance (0.974), and theoretical relevance (0.948). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.884 for the entire instrument, and the items ranged from 0.865 to 0.882. Discussion The BNSS adaptation process has shown to be satisfactory for use in the Brazilian context, constituting a useful clinical tool for teaching and research.
Highlights
Negative symptoms are a core feature of schizophrenia and they are associated with poor prognosis, increased long-term morbidity, and impaired social and occupational functioning[1,2]
The MATRICS success has sparked similar projects addressing studies on negative symptom[5]. This 2005 conference defined five symptoms as belonging to the negative domain, including anhedonia, asociality, avolition, blunted affect, and alogia, and it clarified the understanding of some issues, such as: negative symptoms constitute an area that requires developing specific therapy; they do not belong to the cognitive domain; the scales used to assess negative symptoms (Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms – SANS – and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale – PANSS) had among their items symptoms that did not belong to the negative domain, so there was a need to develop new instruments that address the five negative symptoms mentioned above[5]
All participants were treated with antipsychotic drugs, predominantly second-generation ones (80%)
Summary
Negative symptoms are a core feature of schizophrenia and they are associated with poor prognosis, increased long-term morbidity, and impaired social and occupational functioning[1,2]. The MATRICS success has sparked similar projects addressing studies on negative symptom[5] This 2005 conference defined five symptoms as belonging to the negative domain, including anhedonia, asociality, avolition, blunted affect, and alogia, and it clarified the understanding of some issues, such as: negative symptoms constitute an area that requires developing specific therapy; they do not belong to the cognitive domain; the scales used to assess negative symptoms (Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms – SANS – and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale – PANSS) had among their items symptoms that did not belong to the negative domain, so there was a need to develop new instruments that address the five negative symptoms mentioned above[5]. Objectives: This study aimed to carry out the BNSS cross-cultural adaptation to the Brazilian Portuguese language and verify its content validity and reliability. Discussion: The BNSS adaptation process has shown to be satisfactory for use in the Brazilian context, constituting a useful clinical tool for teaching and research
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