Validation of the French Version of the Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale in a Sample of Hallucinating Patients with Schizophrenia: Validation de la version française de l’échelle d’évaluation des hallucinations auditives dans un échantillon de patients souffrant de schizophrénie et ayant des hallucinations

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the French version of the 7-item Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale (AHRS) so as to facilitate fine-grained assessment of auditory hallucinations (AH) in native French-speaking patients with schizophrenia (SZ) in clinical settings and studies. Method: Patients ( N = 66) were diagnosed with SZ according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The French version of the AHRS was developed using a forward–backward translation procedure. Psychometric properties of the French version of the AHRS were tested including (i) construct validity with a confirmatory one-factor analysis, (ii) internal validity with Pearson correlations and Cronbach α coefficients, and (iii) external validity by correlations with the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS-H1), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-P3; concurrent), the PANSS-Negative subscale and age of subjects (divergent), and inter-rater intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: (i) The confirmatory one-factor analysis found a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.00, 90% confidence interval = [0.000 to 0.011], and a comparative fit index = 0.994. (ii) Correlations between AHRS total score and individual items were mostly ≥0.4. Cronbach α coefficient was 0.61. (iii) Correlations with PANSS-P3 and SAPS-H1 were 0.42 and 0.53, respectively. In a subset of participants ( N = 16), ICC values were extremely high and significant for AHRS total and individual item scores (ICCs range 0.899 to 0.996) Conclusion: The French version of the AHRS is a psychometrically acceptable instrument for the evaluation of AH severity in French-speaking patients with SZ.