Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Measures of Childhood Functioning for Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Process Description in a Northern Indian Context

Abstract

Measures assessing childhood functioning are often developed in high-income countries and need to be adapted for use in low and middle-income countries where the constructs they measure may not be relevant in their original form. This study describes the framework of cross-cultural adaptation of three measures, viz. Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Third Edition; Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile Caregiver Questionnaire and Child Health Utility-9D, followed in the Communication-centered Parent-mediated treatment for Autism Spectrum disorder in South Asia trial. The primary objective was to adapt these measures using a stepwise process while establishing semantic, idiomatic, conceptual, experiential, and technical equivalence between the original and adapted versions. Resulting items of each measure conveyed the same meaning and intent in both the original and adapted versions. The adapted versions had grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, instructions, layout and format, and mode of administration as they were in the original measures.