TRANSLATION AND CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF THE DEPRESSION AND SUBSTANCE USE MODULE FOR PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND DEPRESSION IN PAKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i4.1908Keywords:
Cultural Adaptation, Hamilton Depression Scale, Incidence in Pakistan, Substance Use Disorders, Translation, UrduAbstract
Background: Depression and substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently co-occur in Pakistan, with co-morbidity rates reported between 30–60% among treatment-seeking patients. The study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the DSU-M into Urdu for use in local clinical and research settings. Methods: A cross-sectional methodological design was conducted in Pakistan following Breslin’s back-to-back translation model and expert committee validation. Two bilingual mental-health professionals performed independent forward translations, which were reconciled into a single version. Two independent translators, blinded to the original, conducted back translation. An expert committee comprising of two clinical psychologists, one psychiatrist, and one linguist reviewed both versions to ensure semantic, conceptual, and cultural equivalence. Content-validity indices were computed (CVI= 0.91), indicating excellent agreement among experts. Results: The Urdu DSU-M showed a high level of linguistic congruence with the original version. Only minor cultural adaptations were required, such as replacing idiomatic expressions (‘feeling low’) with culturally meaningful alternatives (dil bujh jana-mayoosi mahsoos karna). Expert committee validation confirmed semantic accuracy, cultural relevance, and clinical applicability of the final Urdu version. Conclusion: The Urdu DSU-M is a linguistically accurate and culturally appropriate adaptation of the original English module. It holds potential to enhance diagnostic precision, patient engagement, and clinical management of co-morbid depression and SUDs in Pakistan. Future research should include psychometric testing and field validation to establish reliability and clinical utility.
Pak J Physiol 2025;21(4):57–60, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i4.1908
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