B A Ola1, D O Igbokwe. 1. Department of Behavioural Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Nigeria. wobola@yahoo.com
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Brain fag is an indigenous psychopathology or culture-bound syndrome formally documented in Nigeria in the 1960's by Raymond Prince. OBJECTIVE: The need for a factorial examination of the scale to ensure factorial validity and also to examine the reliability of this screening scale. METHODS: Two hundred thirty four (234) participants with ages between 11 - 20 years with a mean age of 14.20 and a Standard Deviation of 2.14 of which 114 were from a private secondary school and 120 from a public secondary school were randomly selected and administered the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale [BFSS]. The data was subjected to factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis with Oblim Rotation. RESULTS: Two valid factors emerged with items 1-3 and items 4, 5 & 7 loading on them respectively, making the BFSS a two-dimensional (multidimensional) scale which measures 2 aspects of brain fag [labeled burning sensation and crawling sensation respectively]. The reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.521, and a standardized item alpha of 0.528 estimated its internal consistency. Also, the BFSS was correlated with other tests to establish its concurrent validity [convergent and divergent]. CONCLUSION: BFSS is a valid and reliable two-dimensional instrument to assess brain fag syndrome.
BACKGROUND: Brain fag is an indigenous psychopathology or culture-bound syndrome formally documented in Nigeria in the 1960's by Raymond Prince. OBJECTIVE: The need for a factorial examination of the scale to ensure factorial validity and also to examine the reliability of this screening scale. METHODS: Two hundred thirty four (234) participants with ages between 11 - 20 years with a mean age of 14.20 and a Standard Deviation of 2.14 of which 114 were from a private secondary school and 120 from a public secondary school were randomly selected and administered the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale [BFSS]. The data was subjected to factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis with Oblim Rotation. RESULTS: Two valid factors emerged with items 1-3 and items 4, 5 & 7 loading on them respectively, making the BFSS a two-dimensional (multidimensional) scale which measures 2 aspects of brain fag [labeled burning sensation and crawling sensation respectively]. The reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.521, and a standardized item alpha of 0.528 estimated its internal consistency. Also, the BFSS was correlated with other tests to establish its concurrent validity [convergent and divergent]. CONCLUSION: BFSS is a valid and reliable two-dimensional instrument to assess brain fag syndrome.
Authors: Katrin Fabian; Josiah Fannoh; George G Washington; Wilfred B Geninyan; Bethuel Nyachienga; Garmai Cyrus; Joyce N Hallowanger; Jason Beste; Deepa Rao; Bradley H Wagenaar Journal: Cult Med Psychiatry Date: 2018-09
Authors: Brandon A Kohrt; Andrew Rasmussen; Bonnie N Kaiser; Emily E Haroz; Sujen M Maharjan; Byamah B Mutamba; Joop T V M de Jong; Devon E Hinton Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2013-12-23 Impact factor: 7.196