title: Applicability of the Spanish Translation of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale in a general Puerto Rican population.
abstract: Voluntary screening has shown to be an effective way to identify depressive symptoms and to provide adequate treatment. If a screening tool was to be used in a general Puerto Rican population, it should be validated in Spanish and be consistent with the particular response style of this group. The main objective of this research study is to assess if the Spanish translation of the Zung SDS is adequate to screen for depression in Puerto Ricans, and if the translation considers the sociocultural peculiarities of this group. Although the Zung SDS is presented as a self-report scale and was found to be reliable by Alpha coefficient and manageable by both the questioner and the participant, the Spanish version used in this activity presented interpretation difficulties. It is recommendable that a Spanish translation of this scale should be developed taking into consideration the particularities of the Puerto Rican population. The use of other screening tools that have already been validated as being culturally sensitive to Puerto Ricans could also be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067. kgmarti@coqui.net
authors.forename: Karen G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Humberto M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Guiot
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casas-Dolz
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: González-Tejera
authors.forename: Luz N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Colón de Martí
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011647:Puerto Rico; D014177:Translations