title: Validation Study of the Malay version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a lack of local instruments to assess behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). This 2-stage cross-sectional study was aimed at validating a Malay translated version of the Neuropsychiaric Inventory (MvNPI).
  
  
  METHODS
  It was conducted on a selected group of 138 elderly outpatients with dementia and their caregivers in Hospital Pulau Pinang. Severity of dementia was assessed using the Malay-translated version of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The original NPI was translated and then back-translated before it was pilot-tested. The MvNPI was administered twice, a week apart on the same caregiver by the same investigator.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The individual items and total scale score of MvNPI had high internal consistency, with Corrected Item-Total Correlation ranging from satisfactory to good (0.41 to 0.77). The Cronbach's alpha for all the NPI domains showed high internal consistency (0.83), and subtotal for severity and distress scores were perfect (0.998 to 1.00). There was no significant difference between test-retest mean scores (p>0.05) and their correlations were perfect (0.996 to 1.00). Content validity indicated mild and inverse relationship between MMSE scores and severity, and distress score (-0.281 and -0.268, respectively, with p<0.001). Discriminant validity calculated using Mann-Whitney U test was found to be significant (p<0.001) in differentiating severity of cognitive impairment. Factor analysis revealed four possible components existed in MvNPI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MvNPI is a valid and reliable tool for assessing BPSD among Malay speaking populations of Malaysia and its neighbouring South East Asian countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosdinom
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: I T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Teh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norhayati
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Universiti Malaya Medical Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yeoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marhani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating
keywords: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; Dementia; Malay-translated Neuropsychiatric Inventory; Validation