TRANSLATION AND ADAPTATION OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL FATALISM SCALE (MFS-U)

Abstract

Fatalism is a deeply rooted philosophical and psychological construct which has fascinated researchers because of the profound impact it has on human behavior and coping mechanisms. Despite its significance no validated Urdu version of Fatalism scale exists to assess fatalistic beliefs in Pakistani Population. The current study aimed to translate and adapt Multidimensional Fatalism Scale in Urdu and evaluate its psychometric properties, including reliability and factor structure among Urdu speaking adults in Pakistan. The study consisted of two phases. Phase-I focused on translation of the scale using MAPPI guidelines. In phase II, cross language equivalence and psychometric properties were examined. Cross language equivalence was established on a sample of 40 bilingual participants with an age range of 18-25. Moreover, psychometric properties of the translated version were established using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha with a sample of 290 young adults, taken through purposive sampling technique. The English and Urdu versions indicated strong conceptual equivalence (r= .93, p <.01). EFA revealed five factor structure. While all the items loaded on their anticipated factors only item, UE26 shifted from fatalism factor to divine control factor. CFA confirmed acceptable model fit (χ²/df=1.8, CFI=.91, TLI=.90, RMSEA of .05). The results confirmed the factorial validity of the Multidimensional Fatalism Scale in Urdu. With Cronbach’s alpha of .85 for total scale, values ranging from .79 to .87 for subscales and test-retest ICC of .94 for the scale and .81 to .95 across all subscales, the Urdu version of the Multidimensional Fatalism Scale showed good reliability. These results supported that the MFS-U is a reliable and valid scale, facilitating culturally relevant research and future study into fatalistic attitudes in Pakistani and other Urdu-speaking populations.