Do Norwegian Sami and non-indigenous individuals understand questions about mental health similarly? A SAMINOR 2 study

Abstract

The Western culturally developed Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-10) is a self-report measure of mental distress widely used for both clinical and epidemiological purposes – also in the multiethnic epidemiological SAMINOR studies in Northern Norway, but without any proper cross-cultural validation. Our objective was to test invariance of the HSCL-10 measurements among Sami and the non-indigenous majority population in Northern Norway (participants in the SAMINOR 2 study) and whether the previously used HSCL-10 cut-off level (1.85) fits the Sami subgroups in the study. Participants belonged to Sami core, Sami affiliation, Sami background or majority Norwegian groups. The confirmatory factor analysis framework adapted for testing of measurement invariance showed no significant measurement invariance between the groups indicating that the HSCL-10 response scale predominantly was used in the same way and that significantly different meanings were not ascribed to the same set of questions. The cut-off criteria of 1.85 as indicative of psychological distress based on Norwegian data equal a score of 1.89, 1.94 and 1.91 in the Sami core, Sami affiliation and Sami background groups, respectively. Thus, the same cut-off criterion 1.85 may be safely used in all groups. However, one should still be looking for culture-specific expressions of mental stress.

The prevalence of mental distress and the association with education: a cross-sectional study of 18-49-year-old citizens of Yangon Region, Myanmar

“…In the present study, the internal consistency (Cronbach α: .85) was similar to the Pakistan population-based study (.86) [28]. According to Strand et al [16] and Sørlie et al [29], the cut-off criteria of 1.85 is significantly associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety (mental distress).…”

Childhood violence and mental health among indigenous Sami and non-Sami populations in Norway: a SAMINOR 2 questionnaire study

“…Validation of the HSCL-10 has been performed by other researchers and has proven to be a valid and reliable instrument [39,40]. The 3 items measuring PTS are not sufficient to meet all the DSM-V criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.…”

“…In accordance with earlier validation studies [39], the mean HSCL-10 score was calculated by summing up the scores for each item and dividing the total score by 10. In a recent validation study on respondents of the SAMINOR 2 study, no significant measurement invariance between the included ethnic groups appeared [40]. This indicates that the HSCL-10 response scale predominantly was used in the same way and that significantly different meanings were not ascribed to the same set of questions.…”

“…The cut-off criteria of 1.85 as indicative of psychological distress based on Norwegian data, equals a score of 1.89, 1.94 and 1.92 in the Sami core, Sami affiliation and Sami background groups, respectively. Thus, the same cut-off criterion 1.85 may be safely used in all groups [40]. Respondents with missing data on 3 or more items were excluded.…”

Forekomsten av angst- og depresjonssymptomer hos samiske og ikke-samiske elever i videregående skole i Finnmark i 1994 og 2014

“…Dette kartleggingsverktøyet er benyttet i Ungdata og Ung i Norge-undersøkelsene (6). Ni av spørsmålene har vaert benyttet i blant annet Ungdomsundersøkelsene i Nord-Norge hvor de har vist god validitet og reliabilitet, også i studier av voksne og unge samer (14,29,33,34). Tabell 2 viser en oversikt over spørsmålene for hver skala, range og svaralternativer som er benyttet.…”