Cross-cultural equivalence of HSCL-25 and WHO (ten) Wellbeing index: findings from a population-based survey of immigrants and non-immigrants in Sweden.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) and the WHO (ten) Wellbeing Index are cross-culturally equivalent by comparing Scandinavians with Middle Eastern immigrants in Sweden. The study population consisted of a stratified random sample of native-born Swedes and immigrants from Finland, Iraq and Iran. Both instruments loaded on a single factor in the respective populations. A few of the items did however not discriminate or predict equally well in the groups, nonetheless it was found to have marginally influenced the instruments' total scores in both groups. The analyses also revealed that the groups had similar intercept and slope when the exogenous factor traumatic episodes was used to predict the measurement scores, supporting scalar equivalency. In conclusion, the results support the use of these instruments in population-based surveys within multicultural Western societies.