Reverse-Coded Items Do Not Work in Spanish: Data From Four Samples Using Established Measures.

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Cross-cultural Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Reverse-coded items in psychological scales can present psychometric challenges.
• These challenges are potentially amplified when scales are translated into Spanish and administered to diverse populations, including youth.
• Accurate psychometric instruments are crucial given the growing Hispanic-American population in the US and their increasing representation in research and clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the psychometric performance of reverse-coded items in Spanish-translated psychological scales.
• To assess the impact of reverse-coded items on scale reliability and item-total correlations across different developmental stages and Spanish-speaking samples.
• To provide recommendations regarding the use of reverse-coded items in Spanish-language psychological assessments.

Main Methods:

• Examined psychometric properties of reverse-coded items across four established scales (Big Five Inventory, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale).
• Analyzed data from four distinct Spanish-speaking samples: adolescents, caregivers, US-based Spanish-speaking adults, and college students in Latin America (N=1,084).
• Evaluated item-total correlations and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) with and without reverse-coded items, and after un-reversing problematic items.

Main Results:

• Evidence of poor psychometric performance was found for at least two reverse-coded items on each scale.
• Un-reversing these items consistently improved their item-total correlations.
• Excluding or un-reversing reverse-coded items enhanced scale internal consistency (alpha) across all instruments, indicating a negative effect of their inclusion.

Conclusions:

• Reverse-coded items demonstrate suboptimal psychometric performance in Spanish-language psychological scales, particularly affecting reliability.
• The findings support the exclusion or modification (un-reversing) of problematic reverse-coded items to improve the accuracy of Spanish assessments.
• It is recommended to avoid the inclusion of reverse-coded items in Spanish psychological scales to ensure valid and reliable measurement.