Factor structure of the Albanian version of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS): Associations with the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI)

Objectives: The measurement and assessment of the emergent symptoms in various psychotic disorders is essential to the delivery of efficacious, patient centred mental health care. Despite the existence of several instruments that can measure these factors, their applicability within a global context remains undetermined. This paper aims to provide evidence for a factor structure in Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS), tailored for use in the Albanian language. Methods: We recruited 106 patients with psychosis (68% male), who were aged 16 to 40 years old (M = 22, SD = 1.75), and treated in community services in Kosovo. We adapted, translated, and back-translated CAINS and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) before these measures were administered in interviews with the participants. According to Kaiser- Guttman’s criterion (i.e., eigen-value >1), four components were extracted from the original measure of CAINS. Results: Using Principal Component Analysis, CAINS was found to be a valid means of measurement of motivation and pleasure in various life domains (social, recreational, and work/school). Intercorrelation existed not only between the BSI scale and the CAINS scales, but within the CAINS scales themselves. Conclusions: In contrast to the previous studies that found Expression and Motivation and Pleasure as two major factors, our results revealed four components. Thus, it may be that the culture plays a substantial role in the factor structure of CAINS, and it might be related to different appraisal of emotional situations, which are influenced by different socio-cultural practices. These results have global implications for clinical practice and future research