Cross-cultural validation and psychometric testing of the counseling center assessment of psychological symptoms: experience of Serbia

Abstract

Psychological distress in university students represents a rising public health concern. The complexity of this phenomenon calls for a more in-depth scrutiny, in order to address the wide diversity of mental health issues that may arise in this population. The instrument designed for the purpose of measuring the student-specific distress is needed. An appropriate tool is the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms 62 (CCAPS-62), multidimensional scale widely used at many universities. The objective of the present study was to translate, culturally adapt and psychometrically validate CCAPS-62 in Serbian student population. A total of 1326 Belgrade University students were recruited from twelve different faculties. Considering the possible culturally conditioned differences in the quality of distress both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. The results of the exploratory factor analysis supported the eight-factor model with the item composition of the factors different to a certain extent from the original version. This measurement model was verified by confirmatory factor analysis. Findings demonstrated good internal consistency for the total scale as well as for the eight subscales applied among Serbian students. Implications are discussed with respect to the cultural context of mental health concerns in student population.

Keywords: Serbia; cross-cultural validation; psychological assessment; psychological distress; university students.