Validity and Reliability of the Affective Lability Scale-18 (ALS-18) Turkish Form in the Non-Clinical Group

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Affective lability is a key feature of mood dysregulation observed in various psychiatric disorders.
• Understanding and measuring affective lability is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
• The Affective Lability Scale-18 (ALS-18) is a tool used to assess this symptom.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Affective Lability Scale-18 (ALS-18).
• To assess the validity and reliability of the ALS-18 in a Turkish non-clinical population.

Main Methods:

• 615 non-clinical Turkish individuals participated.
• Participants completed the ALS-18, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and test-retest reliability analyses were performed.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis confirmed construct validity, aligning with the original scale.
• High internal consistency was found (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92 for EFA and CFA groups).
• Test-retest reliability was good (coefficient = 0.82), with moderate positive correlations between ALS-18, DERS, and BDI scores.

Conclusions:

• The Affective Lability Scale-18 demonstrates sufficient internal consistency and reliability in the Turkish sample.
• The scale's sub-dimensions (anxiety/depression, depression/elevation, anger) and general factor are well-supported.
• The ALS-18 is suitable for use in Turkey to evaluate affect variability.