Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Content Validity of the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life Survey in Serbia

Abstract

This study aimed to adapt the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) survey for the Serbian language and culture, considering cultural variations in the quality of prison life. Following established guidelines, the researchers employed two approaches to assess content validity: a panel of prison research experts and focus groups with prisoners. Content validity indexes were calculated at both the item and scale levels. Terminology, phrasing, and sentence structure were adjusted, including changes from passive to active voice, to better reflect the realities of Serbian prisons. The final version achieved conceptual, semantic, idiomatic, and experiential equivalence with the original MQPL. Initial findings indicate that the adapted survey effectively captures prison-specific issues relevant to the contemporary Serbian context. The cultural adaption process reveals both similarities and differences between the Serbian penal system and those of more developed nations, influencing prisoners’ perceptions of their quality of life. Further validation with larger samples is needed to evaluate its psychometric properties.