Translating the Insomnia Severity Index Into Arabic

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to translate the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) into Arabic (Fusha dialect), and obtain preliminary reliability and validity estimates for the translated version. Arabic populations experience sleep problems that interfere with their vitality and quality of life. The ISI was established to screen for insomnia in both clinical and research situations. This study used a descriptive correlational design. The ISI was translated into Arabic using the back-translation method and compared with three other sleep measures: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Vitality Subscale from the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. These measures were administered to 35 healthy Arabic bilingual participants from three community locations. The mean ISI score was 9.2 (SD = 5.8; range 0-20). Internal consistency reliability was 0.84. The correlations between the total ISI score and the single items ranged from 0.49 to 0.92 (p < .01). In terms of convergent validity, the total ISI score showed a strong positive correlation with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global score (r = 0.76, p < .001) and a moderate, negative correlation with vitality (r = -0.38, p =.026). The translated ISI demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. The translated ISI needs further testing in a larger sample of both clinical and healthy Arabic populations in their own countries. Preliminary psychometric estimates show that the translated ISI is reliable and valid in this community-dwelling Arabic sample. The translated ISI allows for Arabic researchers to screen for insomnia and plan for future intervention studies.