Translation and Psychometric Testing of the Arabic Version of the Problematic Media Use Measure Short Form for Children

Background. There is growing concerns that excessive use of media among children will become problematic. Research on the management of children’s problematic use of media would be improved if screening tools are widely applied. Problematic Media Use Measure Short Form (PMUM-SF) was developed to screen problematic use of media among 4- to 11-year-old US children. Purpose. The study is aimed at developing and validating a cross-cultural version of the PMUM-SF for use in Arabic-talking parents of children from age 3 to 13 years. Design. Cross-cultural adaptation and cross-sectional psychometric testing study. Methods. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) framework for instrument translation and adaptation, the instrument was translated, back translated, pretested, and reviewed by a committee. The PMUM-SF was tested in 180 parents of children aging from 3 to 13 years. Results. The results demonstrated that the Arabic version of the PMUM-SF had high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha was 0.90); it has good convergent and predictive validity. The factor structure of the Arabic version of PMUM-SF was confirmed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (comparative fit index $\left(\text{CFI}\right)=0.93$ ; goodness of fit index $\left(\text{GFI}\right)=0.90$ ; incremental fit index $\left(\text{IFI}\right)=0.93$ ). Conclusion. Because the Arabic version of the PMUM-SF seems to be reliable and valid in assessing problematic use of media of children in Arabic-speaking parents, the use of this translated version is recommended in future research.