Adaptation of the Children and Adolescents Psychological Distress Scale to Azerbaijani: Exploring its Relationship with Psychological Distress, Wellbeing, and Life Satisfaction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2025.2.599.613Keywords:
Child and adolescents distress, wellbeing, scale adaptation, depression , life satisfaction, anxiety, stressAbstract
Aim. In recent years, the concept of psychological distress among children and adolescents has emerged as a novel focal point in mental health research, garnering significant scholarly attention. This paper presents an investigation into the Children and Adolescents Psychological Distress Scale (CAPDS), including its adaptation to the Azerbaijani language.
Methods. Data was collected from 2217 adolescents for the adaptation study. During the adaptation process, confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, network analysis, reliability coefficients, and predictive validity were examined.
Results. We validated the 10-item version of the CAPDS through confirmatory factor analysis. Item Response Analysis further demonstrated the robust discriminative capabilities of all scale items. Various reliability coefficients affirmed the commendable internal consistency of the CAPDS. The study also encompassed correlation and network analyses, shedding light on the intricate associations between CAPDS and key variables, including depression, anxiety, stress, mental well-being, and life satisfaction. Finally, an examination was conducted to assess whether the CAPDS could predict psychological distress, mental well-being, life satisfaction, and certain demographic variables.
Conclusion. This comprehensive inquiry into psychological distress among children and adolescents elucidates its profound individual and societal implications, providing valuable insights into a phenomenon that has become increasingly relevant in the contemporary social and educational landscape.
Downloads
References
Alfawaz, H. A., Wani, K., Aljumah, A. A., Aldisi, D., Ansari, M. G., Yakout, S. M., & Al-Daghri, N. M. (2021). Psychological well-being during COVID-19 lockdown: Insights from a Saudi State University’s Academic Community. Journal of King Saud University, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2020.101262
Aliyev, B., Rustamov, E., Satici, S. A., et al. (2024). Azerbaijani adaptation of the WHO-5 wellbeing index: Investigating its relationship with psychological distress, resilience, and life satisfaction. BMC Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01593-0
Baker, C. (2001). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (3rd ed.). Multilingual Matters LTD.
Bilsky, S. A., Friedman, H. P., Karlovich, A., Smith, M., & Leen-Feldner, E. W. (2020). The interaction between sleep disturbance and anxiety sensitivity in relation to adolescent anger responses to parent adolescent conflict. Journal of Adolescence, 84(1), 69–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.08.005
Brown, W. J., Wilkerson, A. K., Boyd, S. J., Dewey, D., Mesa, F., & Bunnell, B. E. (2018). A review of sleep disturbance in children and adolescents with anxiety. Journal of Sleep Research, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12635
Chalfant, H. P., Heller, P. L., Roberts, A., Briones, D., Aguirre-Hochbaum, S., & Farr, W. (1990). The clergy as a resource for those encountering psychological distress. Review of Religious Research, 31(3), 305-313. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3511620
De Stefano, C., Laurent, I., Kaindje-Fondjo, V-C., Estevez, M., Habran, E., Falissard, B., Haag, P., Khireddine, I., D'Hont, F., Baubet, T., Oppenchaim, N., Vandentorren, S., & Rezzoug, D. (2022). Children and adolescents psychological distress scale during COVID-19 pandemic: Validation of a psychometric instrument (CONFEADO study). Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.843104
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Drapeau, A., Marchand, A., & Beaulieu-Prevost, D. (2012). Epidemiology of Psychological Distress. In L. L’Abate (Ed.), Mental illnesses: Understanding, prediction and control (pp. 105–134). InTech Europe.
Fiorillo, A., & Gorwood, P. (2020). The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and implications for clinical practice. European Psychiatry, 63(1), e32. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.35
González-Pando, D., González-Nuevo, C., González-Menéndez, A., Alonso-Pérez, F., & Cuesta, M. (2022). The role of nurses' professional values during the COVID-19 crisis. Nursing Ethics, 29(2), 293-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330211034250
Hyman, L. (2012). Vygotsky’s Crisis: Argument, context, relevance. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 43(2), 473-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.11.007
Jiang, H., Nan, J., Lv, Z., & Yang, J. (2020). Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on Chinese people: Exposure, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and emotion regulation. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 13(6), 252–259. https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.281614
Kira, I. A., Shuwiekh, H. A., Rice, K. G., Ashby, J. S., Elwakeel, S. A., Sous, M. S. F., & Jamil, H. J. (2021). Measuring COVID-19 as traumatic stress: Initial psychometrics and validation. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 26(3), 220-237.
Kuehn, B. M. (2022). Clinician shortage exacerbates pandemic-fueled “mental health crisis”. JAMA, 327(22), 2179-2181.
Lahav. Y., (2020) Psychological distress related to COVID-19 – The contribution of continuous traumatic stress. Journal of Affective Disorders. 277, 129-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.141
Lee, S. A., & Crunk, E. A. (2022). Fear and Psychopathology During the COVID-19 Crisis: Neuroticism, Hypochondriasis, Reassurance-Seeking, and Coronaphobia as Fear Factors. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 85(2), 483-496. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222820949350
Lee, S. A., Jobe, M. C., Mathis, A. A., & Gibbons, J. A. (2020a). Incremental validity of coronaphobia: Coronavirus anxiety explains depression, generalized anxiety, and death anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102268
Lee, S. A., Mathis, A. A., Jobe, M. C., & Pappalardo, E. A. (2020b). Clinically significant fear and anxiety of Covid-19: A psychometric examination of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. Psychiatry Research, 290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113112
Lin, C.-Y. (2020). Social Reaction toward the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Social Health and Behavior, 3(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.4103/SHB.SHB_11_20
López, J., Perez-Rojo, G., Noriega, C., Carretero, I., Velasco, C., Martinez-Huertas, J., & Galarraga, L. (2020). Psychological well-being among older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak: A comparative study of the young–old and the old–old adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 32(11), 1365-1370. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1041610220000964
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS--21, DASS--42). APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t01004-000
Mahmoud, J. S. R., Staten, R. T., Hall, L. A., & Lennie, T. A. (2012). The relationship among young adult college students’ depression, anxiety, stress, demographics, life satisfaction, and coping styles. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(3), 149-156.
Mirowsky, J. & Ross, C. E. (2002). Selecting outcomes for the sociology of mental health: Issues of measurement and dimensionality. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 152-170. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3090194
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations. General Psychiatry, 33(2). https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100213
Samuel, S. R., Kuduruthullah, S., Khair, A., Al Shayeb, M., Elkaseh, A., Varma, S. R., Nadeem, G., Elkhader, I. A., & Ashekhi, A. (2021). Impact of pain, psychological distress, SARS-CoV2 fear on adults’ OHRQOL during COVID-19 pandemic. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 28(1), 492–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.10.033
Saravanan, C., Mahmoud, I., Elshami, W., & Taha, M. H (2020). Knowledge, anxiety, fear, and psychological distress about COVID-19 among university students in the United Arab Emirates. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.582189
Satici, B., & Deniz, M., E., (2020). External shame, loneliness, psychological distress, and well-being: insights from the Turkish adaptation of the Other as Shamer Scale-2. Current İssues in Personality Psychology, 8(2), 154–167 https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2020.97421
Satici, B., Gocet-Tekin, E., Deniz, M. E., & Satici, S. A. (2020). Adaptation of the fear of COVID-19 scale: Its association with psychological distress and life satisfaction in Turkey. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19, 1980–1988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00294-0
Sharif-Esfahani, P., Hoteit, R., El Morr, C., & Tamim, H. (2022). Fear of COVID-19 and depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD among Syrian refugee parents in Canada. Journal of Migrant Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2022.100081
Torales, J., O'Higgins, M., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., & Ventriglio, A. (2020). The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(4), 317–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020915212
Verhofstadt-Deneve, L. (1985). Crises in adolescence and psycho-social development from a dialectical viewpoint. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 1(3-4), 371-390.
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., McIntyre, R. S., Choo, F. N., Tran, B., Ho, R., Sharma, V. K., & Ho, C. (2020). A longitudinal study on the mental health of the general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 87, 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.028
Wu, K. K., Chan, S. K., & Ma, T. M. (2005). Posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Journal of Traumatic Stress: Official Publication of The International Society for Traumatic, 18(1), 39-42. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.20004
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Bakhtiyar Aliyev, Elnur Rustamov, Ulviyya Nahmatova, Matanat Aliyeva, Narinj Rustamova, Fuad Asadov, Ulkar Zalova Nuriyeva

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
CC-BY
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. All authors agree for publishing their email adresses, affiliations and short bio statements with their articles during the submission process.