Translation and Validation of the Drug Abuse Screening Test DAST-20

Abstract

The Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 was translated and established validation properties to make it a sound assessment tool. A cross-sectional study with a descriptive design was planned which involved survey methods conducted at Riphah International University, Faisalabad. Four experts from the psychology field and literature were approached for the forward and backward translation process. The responses on original and translated versions were collected from adults aged between 19 to 60 years from public and private drug abuse treatment units in Faisalabad through a convenient sampling approach. The reliability and validity features of the scale were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 software were used for statistical analyses. The Urdu DAST was shown to have a highly substantial positive association between each item and the item-total correlation, making it an internally consistent measure of drug abuse. Internal consistency reliability was also found significant. Moreover, results from confirmatory factor analysis revealed good and acceptable model fit and retained one-factor structure similar to the original version. The findings held high-reliability coefficients for forward and backward translation of the scale and maintained the universality of the DAST Urdu version. Scholars, psychologists, family consultants, and mental health and sociological professionals who desire to examine the emotive, perceptual, and behavioral components of DAST in the Pakistani population will find the DAST Urdu version useful.