Development and linguistic validation of the Japanese version of the Process-Based Assessment Tool

要旨

Background: Conventional evidence-based psychotherapies typically employ disorder-specific protocols, which may limit flexibility in addressing comorbidities and the complexity of mental health problems. To address this limitation, process-based therapy proposes a theoretical framework that enables the tailoring of psychotherapy by comprehensively assessing the psychological, biophysiological, and sociocultural processes within each unique individual. The Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT) is an item pool designed to assess intra-individual processes of change over time based on this framework. PBAT is characterized by its applicability across different therapeutic orientations, capacity to support the assessment of multidimensional changes, and the development of personalized treatment strategies. This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the PBAT with ensured linguistic validity. Methods: The translation was conducted according to the 10-step guidelines recommended by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. As part of this process, cognitive debriefing (Step 7) was conducted through semi-structured interviews with six Japanese adults in their 20s to 40s. Three evaluators analyzed the interview data to identify necessary revisions and aspects requiring cultural adaptation. Results: Semi-structured interviews indicated that revisions were required for 13 of the 21 items in the draft Japanese version of the PBAT. In addition, certain terms were unfamiliar to Japanese interviewees, highlighting the need to examine respondents’ interpretations while considering cultural differences regarding these terms. Conclusions: The expressions used in the draft Japanese PBAT were refined based on the following three viewpoints: 1) alignment between item wording and recalled situations, 2) simplification of psychotherapy-specific terminology, and 3) cultural differences between Western and Japanese contexts. Through discussions with the authors of the original PBAT, the Japanese PBAT was further linguistically validated to satisfy theoretical rigor. This study contributes to the implementation of process-based assessments in Japanese psychotherapy practices.

主題