Department of Psychiatry, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
Department of Psychology, Showa Women's University, Tokyo, Japan.
Epilepsia Open. 2024 Oct;9(5):1910-1921. doi: 10.1002/epi4.13040. Epub 2024 Aug 31.
The aims of this study were to translate the SAPE questionnaire (Scales of the Attitudes toward People with Epilepsy) questionnaire developed in Germany that assesses attitudes toward people with epilepsy (PWE) into Japanese and to examine its reliability and validity.
We crafted the Japanese version of SAPE (SAPE-J) by drawing upon the original German version. On May 22nd and 23rd, 2023, we surveyed the general public registered with an online research survey service (Cross Marketing Group Inc., Tokyo, Japan) using an online questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were an age of ≥18 years, sufficient reading and speaking skills in Japanese, and the ability to comprehend the Japanese questionnaires. In addition to the translated SAPE-J, we asked about knowledge of epilepsy, personal experience with epilepsy, and gathered information about age, gender, employment status, education level, marital status, and household income in accordance with the validation of the German version of the SAPE.
400 adults from the general public who had heard or read about epilepsy were asked to participate, granted informed consent, and completed the study questionnaire. The SAPE-J questionnaire has 6 scales: 1. Social Distance; 2. Stereotypes; 3. Concerns when encountering a person with epilepsy (PWE) and emotional reactions differentiated by 4.1 Fear, 4.2. Anger, and 4.3 Pity; with a total of 26 items. The reliability of these scales ranged between acceptable to high (Cronbach's alpha 0.74-0.92) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) confirmed the presumed six-factor structure of the SAPE (factorial validity). Multivariate generalized linear models (GLM) were used to investigate the construct validity and showed that, depending on subscale, different variables such as age, gender, education level, personal contact to PWE, and epilepsy specific knowledge were significant predictors of attitudes.
The Japanese version of the SAPE proved reliable and valid for assessing attitudes toward PWE in the Japanese public. Increasing understanding about how to deal with and accept persons with epilepsy may help reduce negative attitudes and fears about the condition.
The study translated the German SAPE questionnaire, which measures attitudes toward people with epilepsy (PWE), into Japanese and tested its reliability and validity. The Japanese version (SAPE-J) was created and surveyed online among 400 adults in Japan. The SAPE-J has 6 scales covering social distance, stereotypes, and emotional reactions like fear, anger, and pity. Reliability was high (Cronbach's alpha 0.74-0.92), and factor analyses confirmed its structure. The study found age, gender, education, and personal contact with PWE influenced attitudes. The SAPE-J is reliable and valid for assessing attitudes toward PWE in Japan, potentially reducing negative views and fears about epilepsy.
本研究旨在将德国开发的评估癫痫患者（PWE）态度的 SAPE 问卷（态度量表）翻译成日语，并检验其信度和效度。
我们参考原始德语版本，制作了 SAPE 的日语版（SAPE-J）。2023 年 5 月 22 日和 23 日，我们使用在线问卷对在在线研究调查服务（Cross Marketing Group Inc.，东京，日本）注册的普通公众进行了调查。纳入标准为年龄≥18 岁，有足够的日语阅读和口语能力，并且能够理解日语问卷。除了翻译后的 SAPE-J 外，我们还询问了他们对癫痫的了解程度、个人癫痫经历，并根据 SAPE 的德语版验证收集了年龄、性别、就业状况、教育水平、婚姻状况和家庭收入等信息。
共有 400 名曾听说或阅读过癫痫相关信息的普通公众被邀请参与研究，他们同意并完成了研究问卷。SAPE-J 问卷共有 6 个量表：1. 社会距离；2. 刻板印象；3. 遇到癫痫患者（PWE）时的担忧和情绪反应，分为 4.1 恐惧、4.2 愤怒和 4.3 怜悯；共有 26 个项目。这些量表的信度在可接受到高（Cronbach's alpha 0.74-0.92）之间，验证性因子分析（CFA）证实了 SAPE 的假定六因素结构（因子有效性）。多元广义线性模型（GLM）用于研究结构有效性，结果表明，根据子量表的不同，年龄、性别、教育水平、与 PWE 的个人接触以及癫痫相关知识等不同变量是态度的显著预测因素。
SAPE-J 证明了在日本公众中评估对 PWE 的态度是可靠和有效的。增加对如何处理和接受癫痫患者的了解，可能有助于减少对这种疾病的负面态度和恐惧。
