Arabic validation of the InCharge Financial Distress/Well-being Scale (IFDFW) and the new Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS)

Arabic validation of the InCharge Financial Distress/Well-being Scale (IFDFW) and the new Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Arabic validation of the InCharge Financial Distress/Well-being Scale (IFDFW) and the new Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS) Christian-Joseph El Zouki, Abdallah Chahine, Rabih Hallit, Diana Malaeb, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: The current study aimed to investigate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Arabic adaptation of InCharge's Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale, along with a new single-item measure to assess financial stress (i.e., the Single-Item Financial Stress scale, SIFiS) among Lebanese adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 403 participants completed an Arabic-translated IFDFW via an online survey. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to validate the scale. Results: A one-factor structure was supported by the analysis. Internal reliability was excellent, with very high omega and alpha coefficients for the IFDFW scale (ω = 0.95, α = 0.95). A significantly lower mean IFDFW score was found in males compared to females. On the hand, no significant differences were found between males and females on the SIFiS scores. Greater financial burden was significantly associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: The findings confirm that the Arabic versions of the IFDFW scale and the SIFiS are valid and reliable. Their use is therefore recommended in various settings among Arabic-speaking adults. These simple and straightforward measurement tools may improve cross-cultural studies on financial well-being. Psychology InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale Financial Stress Arabic Factor Analysis Validation Figures Figure 1 BACKGROUND The topic of financial wellness has always been of interest to professionals from all walks of life, whether policymakers, economists, or even mental health professionals. Financial wellbeing can be defined as "the perception of being able to sustain current and anticipated desired living standards and financial freedom [1]." However, financial well-being is still susceptible to impediments in the form of financial distress, which is defined as the perceived financial strain or negative emotional responses to one’s financial state, encompassing stress, worry about meeting expenses, and dissatisfaction with financial stability [2]. Financial well-being represents the interaction between personal, contextual, and behavior-related factors that shape individual’s financial experiences. These factors include one's income level [3], education [4], and employment stability [5]. Behavioral financial practices that involve saving, budgeting [6], and good credit management [7] are linked to financial satisfaction, whereas those with overborrowing habits and impulsive expenditure are associated with financial stress [8,9]. Contextual factors, including economic conditions and inflation, have an impact on one's capacity to perform competently with their financial situation [10]. The effects of financial well-being go well beyond economic impacts. Financial stress exacerbates mental disorders like anxiety and depression [11,12], and recent research highlights that financial health, as a predictor of both mental and physical health, should be recognized and measured as a critical social determinant of health [13]. Investigations on financial well-being integrates both objective and subjective measures of financial health. Recent research [14–16] highlights that subjective measures of financial well-being, such as perceptions of control, security, and satisfaction, often outperform traditional metrics like income, savings, and debt. These measures capture personal feelings of financial adequacy and stress, which can vary greatly even among individuals in similar financial situations. For instance, a high earner with significant expenses may report lower well-being than someone with modest resources but greater financial security. This could explain the increasing interest taken in subjective measures, since these reflect better diversity and nuance in the realities pertinent to financial management and satisfaction. The InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being (IFDFW) Scale [17] is a prominent tool developed by Prawitz and colleagues through a rigorous Delphi study along with extensive statistical testing. This eight-item self-report measure assesses one's subjective financial stress and satisfaction along a continuum. Some of the items include questions like "How do you feel about your current financial situation?" and "How frequently are you concerned about whether you can pay for customary monthly living expenses?". Each item is rated by the respondents on a 10-point Likert scale, with higher values reflecting a higher agreement level with the item statement. The higher the score, the better the individual's perceived financial well-being and control, while the lower the score, the higher the levels of financial distress, including anxiety and insecurity about meeting expenses or maintaining a desired standard of living. As was reported in the original validation paper, items were represented a single factor via principal component analysis. Item factor loadings ranged from 0.83 to 0.93. The scale also displayed strong internal consistency with an α of 0.95. To ensure its relevance across diverse populations, the IFDFW Scale has been adapted into multiple languages and cultural contexts, including Malay [18], Brazilian Portuguese [19], German, Italian, Dutch, Slovenian and Spanish [20], therefore establishing it as a psychometrically robust and reliable tool for cross-cultural use. Fit indices were assessed for all European translations and varied from a country to another. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) was consistently excellent across all countries, as was the Standardized Root Mean square Residual (SRMR). The Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) ranged from acceptable to excellent in all cases. For Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), it was excellent in Slovenia, the UK, and the US, good in Spain, questionable in Italy, poor in Germany, and unacceptable in the Netherlands. All the aforementioned studies identified a one-factor structure for the scale, consistent with the original framework proposed by Prawitz et al [2]. All versions demonstrated excellent Cronbach's alpha values exceeding 0.90, except for the Brazilian Portuguese version, which had a good reliability score of 0.878. The IFDFW Scale has been widely applied in research across multiple disciplines, and especially psychology and health. It has been used to explore the links between financial well-being and various outcomes, such as mental health [21–23] and overall quality of life [24]. It was designed to be one of the ideal tools for any financial distress/well-being assessment in health-related studies, since it is a time-efficient yet reliable instrument, which is easy both to administer and interpret and suitable for various populations and settings. This scale is one of the most frequently cited financial situation assessment in the literature due to the extensive evidence of strong validity and high reliability. Indeed, a recent systematic review of financial well-being instruments [25] highlighted the IFDFW, the Perceived Financial Well-being Scale, and the Multidimensional Subjective Financial Well-Being Scale as the top three based on their strong psychometric properties. Additionally, the IFDFW consistently showed promising psychometric results [2,18,20] and stands out for its brevity, providing a practical advantage that supports its use in this study. For these reasons, the IFDFW Scale was also applied multiple times in the Lebanese context, but it never underwent proper psychometric validation procedures [26–28]. Conducting a comprehensive psychometric validation of the IFDFW Scale in the Arabic language, particularly within the Lebanese context, is particularly significant, as financial stress remains a critical issue in the Arab region, which has been facing socioeconomic downturn over the past years. In particular, Lebanon is going through ongoing economic challenges such as currency instability, high inflation, and financial insecurity. Between 2012 and 2022, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Lebanon surged from 12–44% [29]. As this definition fails to address how each perceives their financial situation, developing a validated Arabic version of the IFDFW would allow researchers and practitioners to assess financial well-being more accurately, capturing culturally specific nuances and addressing language barriers. Additionally, this translation could facilitate wider adoption and validation of the scale across the Arab world. The second purpose of the present study is to provide a single-item measure validation for financial stress that we called the Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS). Indeed, single-item self-report scales have practical advantages. They are brief and, therefore, easy to administer by both researchers and professionals. Such a measure has value for large-scale exploratory or field studies, as well as for situations when multi-point assessments are needed; especially in contexts when the reduction of the research burden on participants and overall expenses are relevant. Besides being convenient, single-item measures have repeatedly demonstrated a high degree of validity and reliability; hence, they have increasingly gained acceptance and were also incorporated in recent guidelines [30]. Furthermore, these scales are psychometrically robust, as the analysis of Likert-type item-level data is statistically reliable [31]. Single-item scales have already been successfully applied in several other dimensions such as job satisfaction [32], social identification [33], and financial toxicity [34]; hence, they may also have potential applications for financial stress. Indeed, single-item measures of financial situation have been adopted in several previous investigations. For instance, a US-based study on homeowners [35] examined financial satisfaction using a single question. Another Australian study [36] conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic also went through a similar methodology. An Italian research [37] on emerging adults interestingly employed single questions to measure both financial well-being and stress. Since we aim to validate the IFDFW scale whose items have been widely psychometrically evaluated, we thus chose the 8th item of this scale, which measures general financial stress. Our focus on financial stress is supported by findings from the Italian study [37], which demonstrated that daily objective financial stress—unlike daily objective financial well-being—significantly impacts both subjective financial well-being and subjective financial stress. This is due to negativity bias [38,39], whereby economic losses weigh more heavily on perception than economic gains. Moreover, the study suggested that the choice between measures of financial stress and financial satisfaction should be context-specific. Considering the Lebanese situation and the mental health focus of our research, we chose to emphasize financial stress as the key marker. On another note, the closest available precedent to our single-item scale is a question asked to college students in a US-based study [40], "How stressed do you feel about your personal finances?" which asks responses on a scale ranging from 1 to 10. Therefore, the aim of this study was two-fold: (1) to translate and validate the Arabic version of the IFDFW Scale within a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults, and (2) to develop and test the psychometric properties of a single-item scale measuring financial stress (i.e., the SIFiS). We hypothesized that the Arabic version of the IFDFW scale would demonstrate: (1) strong internal consistency, (2) a well-fitting factor structure, (3) measurement invariance across sex, and (4) convergent validity, evidenced by correlations between the IFDFW score and depression, anxiety, and stress scores. Additionally, we anticipated that the SIFiS would align with these hypotheses. METHODS Study design and participants This cross-sectional study was conducted between September and October 2021 using an anonymous online questionnaire disseminated to a sample of Lebanese adults from all over the country. Eligible participants were Lebanese citizens aged 18 or older who gave consent to participate. Data collection relied on snowball sampling and respondent-driven methods. The online survey, developed on Google Forms, was shared via messaging applications and social media. Before proceeding to participation, the objectives and general instructions related to the survey were clearly explained. Minimal sample size calculation We calculated a minimum sample size of 160 participants, following the guideline of 20 participants per item in the scale [41]. Questionnaire The survey was prepared in Arabic and consisted of three sections. The first section consisted of an online consent checkpoint to ensure voluntary participation, and attention to ethical concerns, such as confidentiality and anonymity of responses. This is where an introduction to the study and the guidelines regarding how to complete the questionnaire was provided. The second section collected information from participants on sociodemographic characteristics; for example, data regarding sex and age. In the third section, validated measures were introduced as outlined in the following details. InCharge's Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale (IFDFW) This scale was designed to measure a person's sense of security or distress in regard to their financial situation [2]. It consists of 8 items rated on a scale from 1 to 10. A higher score indicates lower perceived pressure and an improved state of personal financial wellness. Written permission for its use has been obtained from the original authors. Current Cronbach's alpha is 0.95. The single-item Financial Stress Scale (SIFiS) Item 8 of the IFDFW was selected and analyzed separately as a potential standalone measure for assessing financial stress. The item is worded as follows: “How stressed do you feel about your personal finances in general?” [2]. Responses are rated on a 10-item scale ranging from 1 (“Overwhelming Stress”) to 10 (“No Stress at All”). Lebanese Anxiety Scale (LAS-10) This 10-item instrument [42] was specifically developed to assess symptoms of anxiety within a Lebanese setting. The first seven questions are graded from 1 to 10, and the last three questions are based on repetitive manifestation of symptoms from 1 to 4. Higher total scores indicate higher anxiety. Current Cronbach's alpha value is 0.89. Beirut Distress Scale (BDS-10) This is a scale developed and validated in the Lebanese context through the use of a 10-item questionnaire measuring the level of psychological distress [43]. The scale of response is on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always), where the higher the score, the greater the psychological distress. Current Cronbach's alpha is 0.90. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) This scale is one among the most widespread and valid tools in the assessment of depression [44]. It is a 9-item self-administered questionnaire, already validated in Lebanon [45]. The response to each item ranges from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). Higher scores are associated with higher levels of depression. Current Cronbach’s alpha value is 0.90. Translation procedure Forward and backward translations were performed to achieve a valid Arabic translation of the IFDFW. First, an independent Lebanese translator translated the English version of the IFDFW into Arabic. A Lebanese academic who had working proficiency of both languages back translated the Arabic copy into English. The original English text was then compared with the back translated text for evaluation of accuracy of translation. Any discrepancies from this process were then reviewed and corrected by a committee consisting of the research team and two translators. The clarity and understanding of the questions were then checked in a pilot study with 30 participants, where it was confirmed that no more edits were required or necessary. Analytic Strategy A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed using SPSS AMOS, version 28. The estimation of parameters was based on the maximum likelihood method. Several fit indices were calculated: the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA ≤ 0.08), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR ≤ 0.05), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) (both ≥ 0.90) [46]. For convergent validity, the average extracted variance (AVE) was considered for which the threshold value is ≥ 0.50 [47]. Since multivariate normality was not supported at the beginning based on Bollen-Stine bootstrap p = 0.002, non-parametric bootstrapping approach was conducted. Thereafter, measurement invariance across gender of the IFDFW scores was tested through multi-group CFA [48], at configural, metric and scalar invariance levels [49]. Evidence of invariance was supported when ΔCFI ≤ 0.010 and ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.015 or ΔSRMR ≤ 0.010 [48,50]. Comparisons of IFDFW scores across sexes were tested using Student's t-test. Composite reliability was determined using McDonald's ω and Cronbach's α, with > 0.70 being considered acceptable reliability [51,52]. The range of -1 to + 1 for skewness and kurtosis values indicated the normal of distribution of the IFDFW scores [53]. Association of the IFDFW scores with other measures was evaluated using Pearson correlation. RESULTS A total of 403 enrolled in this study, with a mean age of 32.76 ± 13.24 years and 65.5% females. Other details are found in Table 1 . Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants (N = 403). Variable N (%) Sex Males 139 (34.5%) Females 264 (65.5%) Marital status Single / divorced / widowed 266 (66.0%) Married 137 (34.0%) Education level Secondary or less 68 (16.9%) University 335 (83.1%) Mean ± SD Age (in years) 32.76 ± 13.24 Confirmatory Factor Analysis The fit indices were acceptable (RMSEA = 0.164 (90% CI 0.146, 0.183), SRMR = 0.039, CFI = 0.926, TLI = 0.897) but improved after adding correlations between items 2–3 and 6–7 due to high modification indices (RMSEA = 0.063 (90% CI 0.041, 0.085), SRMR = 0.020, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.985). The Bollen-Stine bootstrap p value of the final model was 0.106. The standardized estimates of factor loadings were all adequate (Fig. 1 ). Internal reliability was adequate (ω = 0.95 / α = 0.95). Gender Invariance Invariance was shown at the metric and scalar levels in terms of genders (Table 2 ). A significantly lower mean IFDFW score was found in males compared to females (47.94 ± 18.98 vs 52.33 ± 19.39; p = 0.030, Cohen’s d = 0.228). When considering IFDFW item 8, no significant difference was found between males and females in terms of financial wellbeing (6.01 ± 2.67 vs 6.53 ± 2.66; p = 0.062, Cohen’s d = 0.196). Table 2 Measurement Invariance of the InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale across sex. Model CFI RMSEA SRMR Model Comparison ΔCFI ΔRMSEA ΔSRMR Configural 0.985 0.055 0.031 Metric 0.987 0.048 0.032 Configural vs metric 0.002 0.007 0.001 Scalar 0.986 0.046 0.032 Metric vs scalar 0.001 0.002 < 0.001 Note. CFI = Comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; SRMR = Standardized root mean square residual. Concurrent validity Higher IFDFW scores were significantly associated with higher depression (r = 0.37; p < 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.38; p < 0.001) and distress (r = 0.34; p < 0.001). In addition, higher scores on the SIFiS were significantly associated with depression (r = 0.36; p < 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.39; p < 0.001) and distress (r = 0.32; p < 0.001). DISCUSSION The validation of the Arabic versions of the IFDFW scale and the SIFiS marks a significant advancement in assessing personal financial well-being in Arabic-speaking countries. Our analysis demonstrated strong psychometric properties for both measures, along with satisfactory concurrent validity, highlighting their robustness and reliability for use in both research and practical contexts. The Arabic translation of the IFDFW scale demonstrated that it fits the one-factor structure, as was also found in other validations [2,18–20]. This means that the scale effectively measures a unified construct of financial well-being, encompassing major subjective aspects of financial stress and satisfaction. That would suggest that the Arabic version sustains both the theoretical and empirical integrity of the scale, allowing its application among Arabic-speaking populations. Although Robert Nielsen’s [54] research has suggested a two-factor model that separates subjective (feelings about financial condition) and objective (the ability to meet expenses) financial strain, such models have generally failed to demonstrate statistical superiority or clear theoretical justification. It has indeed suffered from problems including a low eigenvalue for the "objective" factor and the inherently subjective nature of all items within the scale. Thus, the one-factor structure is generally more parsimonious and empirically robust for the representation of financial well-being, further evidenced in the findings of this Arabic validation. A notable observation would be the close relationship between Item 2 and Item 3 on one hand, and Item 6 and 7 on another. This likely arises from semantic overlap, wherein each partner in the dyad deals with similar themes of the constructs involved, and hence appear to the responding individual as approximately identical, resulting in strong correlations in their responses. One could also argue that the intercorrelation could mirror the two-factor model explored by Robert Nielsen [54], classifying Items 1, 2, 3, and 8 into subjective financial well-being and Items 4, 5, 6, and 7 into objective financial well-being. Furthermore, a cross-national research involving seven countries [20] highlights the multidimensional nature of financial stress in the IFDFW scale, indicating that while all items assess subjective financial stress, they may also share additional internal commonalities not captured by a strict one-factor model. This multidimensionality introduced measurement-related variance into single-factor models. The authors therefore suggested a modified one-factor models that allow correlated errors between items. These adjustments have shown improvements in model fit, paralleling the findings in our own investigation. The Arabic version of the IFDFW had an excellent internal consistency with both Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega coefficients standing at 0.95. Though Cronbach's Alpha of a range between 0.8 and 0.9 is generally regarded as the ideal for a short-scale measure [55], exceeding this rang further confirms the strong psychometric properties of this measure. For context, the original IFDFW scale construction paper reported an identical alpha coefficient of 0.95 [2], which was also observed in a subsequent U.S. study [20]. While in a multi-country validation study, the German, Italian, Dutch, Slovenian, and Spanish versions reported 0.92, 0.91, 0.91, 0.93, and 0.93, respectively [20]. On another hand, the Brazilian Portuguese version had a Cronbach alpha value of 0.87 [19]. Such a comparison further underlines the high reliability of the Arabic version and suggests that further studies may wish to explore the issue of cross-cultural differences in the internal consistency of the scale. Our findings indicate that men have relatively lower levels of financial well-being and, therefore, higher levels of distress than women. These findings are inconsistent with those of other previous studies. Men generally have higher financial wellbeing than women, largely due to disparities in income and financial literacy [56–58]. However, several reasons are attributed for the differences in our results, taken particularly in the Lebanese context. First, men are usually more affected by unemployment and losses of income during periods of economic crises [59]. Research supports the view that men tend to equate their financial well-being more directly with income, while women derive financial stability from behaviors and self-regulatory practices [60]. Besides, in most societies, including Lebanon, men bear the major responsibility for ensuring financial stability for their families, a societal expectation that increases their vulnerability to economic stress. This supports Gaunt and Benjamin's findings [61] that traditional men experience higher job insecurity and greater levels of stress stemming from economic challenges compared to traditional women, who are somewhat shielded by the centrality of family roles to their identity. These pressures and societal ideologies, along with the worsening economic crisis, multiply the challenges faced by men in maintaining financial wellbeing. Moreover, as a single-item measure, the SIFiS showed no significant gender differences. This may indicate that it reflects a wider, more general aspect of financial stress, for which there is little difference in males' and females' perceptions. However, it may also suggest that this measure lacks the sensitivity and specificity needed to capture the nuanced aspects of financial well-being influenced by gender roles, societal expectations, or individual economic stressors. Further research is necessary to deepen our understanding of gender differences within these measures. Furthermore, our findings showed that the higher the financial distress, the higher the levels of anxiety, depression, and distress, which supported the concurrent validity of our study. This was proven on both the total IFDFW and the SIFiS scores. Indeed, financial strain is widely recognized to be one of the major predictors of mental health problems [62]. A recent systematic review [11] summarized the consistent evidence of the association between financial distress and adverse mental health consequences, including heightened anxiety, depression, and stress that may hamper decision-making and reduce quality of life. This aligns with the social causation theory [12,63–65], which postulates that stressful financial situations like poor living condition, malnutrition, poor health habits, loss of social capital, social isolation, and reduced ability to cope with negative life events might create new depressive symptoms or maintain currently active ones. Notably, the subjective financial stressors proved to weigh more than the objective measures since the latter indirectly influence depression through one's perception of financial strain [12]. LIMITATIONS It is essential to recognize the limitations of this study, as our results may require cautious interpretation. The skewness of the sample toward the younger group and toward females, and the fact that we collected data using a snowball sampling technique could possibly limit the generalizability of the findings. Our method of online recruitment may have excluded older individuals or those who do not have access to technology. Moreover, other psychometric properties were not assessed (such as test-retest). Finally, our efforts for this validation were restricted to Lebanon, a fact that imposes the necessity to conduct further research with participants from other Arabic countries in order to examine test validity across cultures, and to evaluate further psychometric properties. Practical implications The Arabic IFDFW Scale has the potential to become an effective tool in research, at the community level, and even in healthcare settings because it is efficient and fast at screening for financial distress. Policymakers can utilize the scale to design targeted interventions addressing financial distress, thereby enhancing mental health and economic resilience among vulnerable populations in Arabic-speaking regions. Additionally, the SIFiS has the potential to serve as an effective and concise tool for assessing financial stress. Its brevity makes it particularly useful in specific settings and for certain research objectives. With the advantage of being quick to administer, reducing respondent burden, and providing clarity in interpretation, it demonstrated strong concurrent validity, comparable to the IFDFW scale. It is important to note that single-item measures should be used in specific contexts, as they can be susceptible to bias. They are particularly suitable when financial stress is a confounding variable or when the inclusion of financial information is necessary without adding the burden of a lengthy scale to the questionnaire. CONCLUSION The Arabic version of both the IFDFW and the SIFiS demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, including high reliability and validity with our sample of Lebanese adults. The one-factor structure of the IFDFW supports theoretical expectations and previous validations in different languages; it is thus a very valid instrument to measure financial well-being among Arabic-speaking populations. The adaptation of both measures opens the door for comparative cross-cultural studies that enhance our understanding of how financial well-being influences societies, general mental health and quality of life worldwide. Declarations Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross (HPC-040-2021). 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Lebanon Poverty and Equity Assessment 2024 : Weathering a Protracted Crisis [Internet]. World Bank. [cité 12 janv 2025]. Disponible sur: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099052224104516741/P1766511325da10a71ab6b1ae97816dd20c Diamantopoulos A, Sarstedt M, Fuchs C, Wilczynski P, Kaiser S. Guidelines for choosing between multi-item and single-item scales for construct measurement: a predictive validity perspective. J of the Acad Mark Sci. 1 mai 2012;40(3):434‑49. Carifio J, Perla RJ. Ten Common Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, Persistent Myths and Urban Legends about Likert Scales and Likert Response Formats and their Antidotes. J of Social Sciences. 1 mars 2007;3(3):106‑16. Nagy MS. Using a single-item approach to measure facet job satisfaction. J Occupat & Organ Psyc. mars 2002;75(1):77‑86. Postmes T, Haslam SA, Jans L. A single-item measure of social identification: reliability, validity, and utility. 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The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. sept 2001;16(9):606‑13. Sawaya H, Atoui M, Hamadeh A, Zeinoun P, Nahas Z. Adaptation and initial validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire − 9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder − 7 Questionnaire (GAD-7) in an Arabic speaking Lebanese psychiatric outpatient sample. Psychiatry Res. 30 mai 2016;239:245‑52. Hu L, Bentler PM. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 1 janv 1999;6(1):1‑55. Malhotra NK. Marketing research: an applied orientation. 6. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2010. 897 p. Chen FF. Sensitivity of Goodness of Fit Indexes to Lack of Measurement Invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 31 juill 2007;14(3):464‑504. Vandenberg RJ, Lance CE. A Review and Synthesis of the Measurement Invariance Literature: Suggestions, Practices, and Recommendations for Organizational Research. Organizational Research Methods. 1 janv 2000;3(1):4‑70. Cheung GW, Rensvold RB. Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 1 avr 2002;9(2):233‑55. Dunn TJ, Baguley T, Brunsden V. From alpha to omega: a practical solution to the pervasive problem of internal consistency estimation. Br J Psychol. août 2014;105(3):399‑412. McNeish D. Thanks coefficient alpha, we’ll take it from here. Psychol Methods. sept 2018;23(3):412‑33. Hair JF. Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling. Second edition. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE; 2024. 236 p. Nielsen RB. Assessing Financial Wellness via Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews [Internet]. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network; 2010 [cité 12 janv 2025]. Disponible sur: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2061273 Morgado FFR, Meireles JFF, Neves CM, Amaral ACS, Ferreira MEC. Scale development: ten main limitations and recommendations to improve future research practices. Psicol Refl Crít. janv 2018;30(1):3. Falahati L, Fazli Sabri M. An Exploratory Study of Personal Financial Wellbeing Determinants: Examining the Moderating Effect of Gender. ASS. 14 janv 2015;11(4):p33. Bağci H, Kahraman YE. THE EFFECT OF GENDER ON FINANCIAL LITERACY. Finans Ekonomi ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi [Internet]. 1 janv 2020 [cité 12 janv 2025]; Disponible sur: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/doi/10.29106/fesa.615866 Gerrans P, Speelman C, Campitelli G. The Relationship Between Personal Financial Wellness and Financial Wellbeing: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach. J Fam Econ Iss. 1 juin 2014;35(2):145‑60. Périvier H. Men and women during the economic crisis: Employment trends in eight European countries. Revue de l’OFCE. 1 mars 2014;N° 133(2):41‑84. Zyphur MJ, Li WD, Zhang Z, Arvey RD, Barsky AP. Income, personality, and subjective financial well-being: the role of gender in their genetic and environmental relationships. Front Psychol [Internet]. 29 sept 2015 [cité 12 janv 2025];6. Disponible sur: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01493/abstract Gaunt R, Benjamin O. JOB INSECURITY, STRESS AND GENDER: The moderating role of gender ideology. Community, Work & Family. août 2007;10(3):341‑55. Selenko E, Batinic B. Beyond debt. A moderator analysis of the relationship between perceived financial strain and mental health. Soc Sci Med. déc 2011;73(12):1725‑32. Lund C. Poverty and mental health: a review of practice and policies. Neuropsychiatry. juin 2012;2(3):213‑9. Lund C, Cois A. Simultaneous social causation and social drift: Longitudinal analysis of depression and poverty in South Africa. Journal of Affective Disorders. mars 2018;229:396‑402. Lund C, Breen A, Flisher AJ, Kakuma R, Corrigall J, Joska JA, et al. Poverty and common mental disorders in low and middle income countries: A systematic review. Soc Sci Med. août 2010;71(3):517‑28. Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5911447","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":407591439,"identity":"83ae1f19-d910-4f17-b0ec-0d96f24b8b68","order_by":0,"name":"Christian-Joseph El Zouki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Christian-Joseph","middleName":"El","lastName":"Zouki","suffix":""},{"id":407591440,"identity":"89c7307b-9b5f-4713-842b-ecc67376f9e5","order_by":1,"name":"Abdallah 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10:24:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":75013410,"identity":"b8708c8a-acf8-4f74-b68c-ee088fb1ec44","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-29 11:55:02","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":79891,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStandardized loading factors deriving from the confirmatory factor analysis of the InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5911447/v1/7b60aa3f573a84466ca4a9b1.png"},{"id":75014752,"identity":"ca6abbae-11cf-4c70-b30b-63fcb58594e7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-29 12:11:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":768917,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5911447/v1/c8e295d3-2fab-45ea-b498-02bcbaecaf00.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArabic validation of the InCharge Financial Distress/Well-being Scale (IFDFW) and the new Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"BACKGROUND","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe topic of financial wellness has always been of interest to professionals from all walks of life, whether policymakers, economists, or even mental health professionals. Financial wellbeing can be defined as \"the perception of being able to sustain current and anticipated desired living standards and financial freedom [1].\" However, financial well-being is still susceptible to impediments in the form of financial distress, which is defined as the perceived financial strain or negative emotional responses to one\u0026rsquo;s financial state, encompassing stress, worry about meeting expenses, and dissatisfaction with financial stability [2]. Financial well-being represents the interaction between personal, contextual, and behavior-related factors that shape individual\u0026rsquo;s financial experiences. These factors include one's income level [3], education [4], and employment stability [5]. Behavioral financial practices that involve saving, budgeting [6], and good credit management [7] are linked to financial satisfaction, whereas those with overborrowing habits and impulsive expenditure are associated with financial stress [8,9]. Contextual factors, including economic conditions and inflation, have an impact on one's capacity to perform competently with their financial situation [10]. The effects of financial well-being go well beyond economic impacts. Financial stress exacerbates mental disorders like anxiety and depression [11,12], and recent research highlights that financial health, as a predictor of both mental and physical health, should be recognized and measured as a critical social determinant of health [13].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInvestigations on financial well-being integrates both objective and subjective measures of financial health. Recent research [14\u0026ndash;16] highlights that subjective measures of financial well-being, such as perceptions of control, security, and satisfaction, often outperform traditional metrics like income, savings, and debt. These measures capture personal feelings of financial adequacy and stress, which can vary greatly even among individuals in similar financial situations. For instance, a high earner with significant expenses may report lower well-being than someone with modest resources but greater financial security. This could explain the increasing interest taken in subjective measures, since these reflect better diversity and nuance in the realities pertinent to financial management and satisfaction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being (IFDFW) Scale [17] is a prominent tool developed by Prawitz and colleagues through a rigorous Delphi study along with extensive statistical testing. This eight-item self-report measure assesses one's subjective financial stress and satisfaction along a continuum. Some of the items include questions like \"How do you feel about your current financial situation?\" and \"How frequently are you concerned about whether you can pay for customary monthly living expenses?\". Each item is rated by the respondents on a 10-point Likert scale, with higher values reflecting a higher agreement level with the item statement. The higher the score, the better the individual's perceived financial well-being and control, while the lower the score, the higher the levels of financial distress, including anxiety and insecurity about meeting expenses or maintaining a desired standard of living. As was reported in the original validation paper, items were represented a single factor via principal component analysis. Item factor loadings ranged from 0.83 to 0.93. The scale also displayed strong internal consistency with an α of 0.95.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure its relevance across diverse populations, the IFDFW Scale has been adapted into multiple languages and cultural contexts, including Malay [18], Brazilian Portuguese [19], German, Italian, Dutch, Slovenian and Spanish [20], therefore establishing it as a psychometrically robust and reliable tool for cross-cultural use. Fit indices were assessed for all European translations and varied from a country to another. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) was consistently excellent across all countries, as was the Standardized Root Mean square Residual (SRMR). The Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) ranged from acceptable to excellent in all cases. For Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), it was excellent in Slovenia, the UK, and the US, good in Spain, questionable in Italy, poor in Germany, and unacceptable in the Netherlands. All the aforementioned studies identified a one-factor structure for the scale, consistent with the original framework proposed by Prawitz et al [2]. All versions demonstrated excellent Cronbach's alpha values exceeding 0.90, except for the Brazilian Portuguese version, which had a good reliability score of 0.878.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe IFDFW Scale has been widely applied in research across multiple disciplines, and especially psychology and health. It has been used to explore the links between financial well-being and various outcomes, such as mental health [21\u0026ndash;23] and overall quality of life [24]. It was designed to be one of the ideal tools for any financial distress/well-being assessment in health-related studies, since it is a time-efficient yet reliable instrument, which is easy both to administer and interpret and suitable for various populations and settings. This scale is one of the most frequently cited financial situation assessment in the literature due to the extensive evidence of strong validity and high reliability. Indeed, a recent systematic review of financial well-being instruments [25] highlighted the IFDFW, the Perceived Financial Well-being Scale, and the Multidimensional Subjective Financial Well-Being Scale as the top three based on their strong psychometric properties. Additionally, the IFDFW consistently showed promising psychometric results [2,18,20] and stands out for its brevity, providing a practical advantage that supports its use in this study. For these reasons, the IFDFW Scale was also applied multiple times in the Lebanese context, but it never underwent proper psychometric validation procedures [26\u0026ndash;28].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConducting a comprehensive psychometric validation of the IFDFW Scale in the Arabic language, particularly within the Lebanese context, is particularly significant, as financial stress remains a critical issue in the Arab region, which has been facing socioeconomic downturn over the past years. In particular, Lebanon is going through ongoing economic challenges such as currency instability, high inflation, and financial insecurity. Between 2012 and 2022, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Lebanon surged from 12\u0026ndash;44% [29]. As this definition fails to address how each perceives their financial situation, developing a validated Arabic version of the IFDFW would allow researchers and practitioners to assess financial well-being more accurately, capturing culturally specific nuances and addressing language barriers. Additionally, this translation could facilitate wider adoption and validation of the scale across the Arab world.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe second purpose of the present study is to provide a single-item measure validation for financial stress that we called the Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS). Indeed, single-item self-report scales have practical advantages. They are brief and, therefore, easy to administer by both researchers and professionals. Such a measure has value for large-scale exploratory or field studies, as well as for situations when multi-point assessments are needed; especially in contexts when the reduction of the research burden on participants and overall expenses are relevant. Besides being convenient, single-item measures have repeatedly demonstrated a high degree of validity and reliability; hence, they have increasingly gained acceptance and were also incorporated in recent guidelines [30]. Furthermore, these scales are psychometrically robust, as the analysis of Likert-type item-level data is statistically reliable [31]. Single-item scales have already been successfully applied in several other dimensions such as job satisfaction [32], social identification [33], and financial toxicity [34]; hence, they may also have potential applications for financial stress. Indeed, single-item measures of financial situation have been adopted in several previous investigations. For instance, a US-based study on homeowners [35] examined financial satisfaction using a single question. Another Australian study [36] conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic also went through a similar methodology. An Italian research [37] on emerging adults interestingly employed single questions to measure both financial well-being and stress. Since we aim to validate the IFDFW scale whose items have been widely psychometrically evaluated, we thus chose the 8th item of this scale, which measures general financial stress. Our focus on financial stress is supported by findings from the Italian study [37], which demonstrated that daily objective financial stress\u0026mdash;unlike daily objective financial well-being\u0026mdash;significantly impacts both subjective financial well-being and subjective financial stress. This is due to negativity bias [38,39], whereby economic losses weigh more heavily on perception than economic gains. Moreover, the study suggested that the choice between measures of financial stress and financial satisfaction should be context-specific. Considering the Lebanese situation and the mental health focus of our research, we chose to emphasize financial stress as the key marker. On another note, the closest available precedent to our single-item scale is a question asked to college students in a US-based study [40], \"How stressed do you feel about your personal finances?\" which asks responses on a scale ranging from 1 to 10.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, the aim of this study was two-fold: (1) to translate and validate the Arabic version of the IFDFW Scale within a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults, and (2) to develop and test the psychometric properties of a single-item scale measuring financial stress (i.e., the SIFiS). We hypothesized that the Arabic version of the IFDFW scale would demonstrate: (1) strong internal consistency, (2) a well-fitting factor structure, (3) measurement invariance across sex, and (4) convergent validity, evidenced by correlations between the IFDFW score and depression, anxiety, and stress scores. Additionally, we anticipated that the SIFiS would align with these hypotheses.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"METHODS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStudy design and participants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis cross-sectional study was conducted between September and October 2021 using an anonymous online questionnaire disseminated to a sample of Lebanese adults from all over the country. Eligible participants were Lebanese citizens aged 18 or older who gave consent to participate. Data collection relied on snowball sampling and respondent-driven methods. The online survey, developed on Google Forms, was shared via messaging applications and social media. Before proceeding to participation, the objectives and general instructions related to the survey were clearly explained.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMinimal sample size calculation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e We calculated a minimum sample size of 160 participants, following the guideline of 20 participants per item in the scale [41].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eQuestionnaire\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe survey was prepared in Arabic and consisted of three sections. The first section consisted of an online consent checkpoint to ensure voluntary participation, and attention to ethical concerns, such as confidentiality and anonymity of responses. This is where an introduction to the study and the guidelines regarding how to complete the questionnaire was provided. The second section collected information from participants on sociodemographic characteristics; for example, data regarding sex and age. In the third section, validated measures were introduced as outlined in the following details.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eInCharge's Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale (IFDFW)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis scale was designed to measure a person's sense of security or distress in regard to their financial situation [2]. It consists of 8 items rated on a scale from 1 to 10. A higher score indicates lower perceived pressure and an improved state of personal financial wellness. Written permission for its use has been obtained from the original authors. Current Cronbach's alpha is 0.95.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe single-item Financial Stress Scale (SIFiS)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eItem 8 of the IFDFW was selected and analyzed separately as a potential standalone measure for assessing financial stress. The item is worded as follows: \u0026ldquo;How stressed do you feel about your personal finances in general?\u0026rdquo; [2]. Responses are rated on a 10-item scale ranging from 1 (\u0026ldquo;Overwhelming Stress\u0026rdquo;) to 10 (\u0026ldquo;No Stress at All\u0026rdquo;).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLebanese Anxiety Scale (LAS-10)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis 10-item instrument [42] was specifically developed to assess symptoms of anxiety within a Lebanese setting. The first seven questions are graded from 1 to 10, and the last three questions are based on repetitive manifestation of symptoms from 1 to 4. Higher total scores indicate higher anxiety. Current Cronbach's alpha value is 0.89.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBeirut Distress Scale (BDS-10)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a scale developed and validated in the Lebanese context through the use of a 10-item questionnaire measuring the level of psychological distress [43]. The scale of response is on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always), where the higher the score, the greater the psychological distress. Current Cronbach's alpha is 0.90.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePatient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis scale is one among the most widespread and valid tools in the assessment of depression [44]. It is a 9-item self-administered questionnaire, already validated in Lebanon [45]. The response to each item ranges from 0 (\"not at all\") to 3 (\"nearly every day\"). Higher scores are associated with higher levels of depression. Current Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha value is 0.90.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eTranslation procedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eForward and backward translations were performed to achieve a valid Arabic translation of the IFDFW. First, an independent Lebanese translator translated the English version of the IFDFW into Arabic. A Lebanese academic who had working proficiency of both languages back translated the Arabic copy into English. The original English text was then compared with the back translated text for evaluation of accuracy of translation. Any discrepancies from this process were then reviewed and corrected by a committee consisting of the research team and two translators. The clarity and understanding of the questions were then checked in a pilot study with 30 participants, where it was confirmed that no more edits were required or necessary.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAnalytic Strategy\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed using SPSS AMOS, version 28. The estimation of parameters was based on the maximum likelihood method. Several fit indices were calculated: the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.08), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) (both \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;0.90) [46]. For convergent validity, the average extracted variance (AVE) was considered for which the threshold value is \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;0.50 [47]. Since multivariate normality was not supported at the beginning based on Bollen-Stine bootstrap p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.002, non-parametric bootstrapping approach was conducted.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThereafter, measurement invariance across gender of the IFDFW scores was tested through multi-group CFA [48], at configural, metric and scalar invariance levels [49]. Evidence of invariance was supported when ΔCFI\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.010 and ΔRMSEA\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.015 or ΔSRMR\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.010 [48,50]. Comparisons of IFDFW scores across sexes were tested using Student's t-test.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComposite reliability was determined using McDonald's ω and Cronbach's α, with \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.70 being considered acceptable reliability [51,52]. The range of -1 to +\u0026thinsp;1 for skewness and kurtosis values indicated the normal of distribution of the IFDFW scores [53]. Association of the IFDFW scores with other measures was evaluated using Pearson correlation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"RESULTS","content":"\u003cp\u003eA total of 403 enrolled in this study, with a mean age of 32.76\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;13.24 years and 65.5% females. Other details are found in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSociodemographic characteristics of the participants (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;403).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e139 (34.5%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e264 (65.5%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarital status\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle / divorced / widowed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e266 (66.0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e137 (34.0%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEducation level\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecondary or less\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68 (16.9%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUniversity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e335 (83.1%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge (in years)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.76\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;13.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eConfirmatory Factor Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe fit indices were acceptable (RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.164 (90% CI 0.146, 0.183), SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.039, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.926, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.897) but improved after adding correlations between items 2\u0026ndash;3 and 6\u0026ndash;7 due to high modification indices (RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.063 (90% CI 0.041, 0.085), SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.020, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.990, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.985). The Bollen-Stine bootstrap p value of the final model was 0.106. The standardized estimates of factor loadings were all adequate (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Internal reliability was adequate (ω\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.95 / α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.95).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGender Invariance\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eInvariance was shown at the metric and scalar levels in terms of genders (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). A significantly lower mean IFDFW score was found in males compared to females (47.94\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;18.98 vs 52.33\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;19.39; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.030, Cohen\u0026rsquo;s d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.228). When considering IFDFW item 8, no significant difference was found between males and females in terms of financial wellbeing (6.01\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.67 vs 6.53\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.66; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.062, Cohen\u0026rsquo;s d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.196).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeasurement Invariance of the InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale across sex.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCFI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRMSEA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSRMR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel Comparison\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΔCFI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΔRMSEA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΔSRMR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConfigural\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.985\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.055\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMetric\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.987\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.048\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConfigural vs metric\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScalar\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.986\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.046\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMetric vs scalar\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote.\u003c/em\u003e CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Comparative fit index; RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;root mean square error of approximation; SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standardized root mean square residual.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eConcurrent validity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigher IFDFW scores were significantly associated with higher depression (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.37; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), anxiety (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.38; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and distress (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.34; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). In addition, higher scores on the SIFiS were significantly associated with depression (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.36; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), anxiety (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.39; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and distress (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.32; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe validation of the Arabic versions of the IFDFW scale and the SIFiS marks a significant advancement in assessing personal financial well-being in Arabic-speaking countries. Our analysis demonstrated strong psychometric properties for both measures, along with satisfactory concurrent validity, highlighting their robustness and reliability for use in both research and practical contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Arabic translation of the IFDFW scale demonstrated that it fits the one-factor structure, as was also found in other validations [2,18\u0026ndash;20]. This means that the scale effectively measures a unified construct of financial well-being, encompassing major subjective aspects of financial stress and satisfaction. That would suggest that the Arabic version sustains both the theoretical and empirical integrity of the scale, allowing its application among Arabic-speaking populations. Although Robert Nielsen\u0026rsquo;s [54] research has suggested a two-factor model that separates subjective (feelings about financial condition) and objective (the ability to meet expenses) financial strain, such models have generally failed to demonstrate statistical superiority or clear theoretical justification. It has indeed suffered from problems including a low eigenvalue for the \"objective\" factor and the inherently subjective nature of all items within the scale. Thus, the one-factor structure is generally more parsimonious and empirically robust for the representation of financial well-being, further evidenced in the findings of this Arabic validation. A notable observation would be the close relationship between Item 2 and Item 3 on one hand, and Item 6 and 7 on another. This likely arises from semantic overlap, wherein each partner in the dyad deals with similar themes of the constructs involved, and hence appear to the responding individual as approximately identical, resulting in strong correlations in their responses. One could also argue that the intercorrelation could mirror the two-factor model explored by Robert Nielsen [54], classifying Items 1, 2, 3, and 8 into subjective financial well-being and Items 4, 5, 6, and 7 into objective financial well-being. Furthermore, a cross-national research involving seven countries [20] highlights the multidimensional nature of financial stress in the IFDFW scale, indicating that while all items assess subjective financial stress, they may also share additional internal commonalities not captured by a strict one-factor model. This multidimensionality introduced measurement-related variance into single-factor models. The authors therefore suggested a modified one-factor models that allow correlated errors between items. These adjustments have shown improvements in model fit, paralleling the findings in our own investigation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Arabic version of the IFDFW had an excellent internal consistency with both Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega coefficients standing at 0.95. Though Cronbach's Alpha of a range between 0.8 and 0.9 is generally regarded as the ideal for a short-scale measure [55], exceeding this rang further confirms the strong psychometric properties of this measure. For context, the original IFDFW scale construction paper reported an identical alpha coefficient of 0.95 [2], which was also observed in a subsequent U.S. study [20]. While in a multi-country validation study, the German, Italian, Dutch, Slovenian, and Spanish versions reported 0.92, 0.91, 0.91, 0.93, and 0.93, respectively [20]. On another hand, the Brazilian Portuguese version had a Cronbach alpha value of 0.87 [19]. Such a comparison further underlines the high reliability of the Arabic version and suggests that further studies may wish to explore the issue of cross-cultural differences in the internal consistency of the scale.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur findings indicate that men have relatively lower levels of financial well-being and, therefore, higher levels of distress than women. These findings are inconsistent with those of other previous studies. Men generally have higher financial wellbeing than women, largely due to disparities in income and financial literacy [56\u0026ndash;58]. However, several reasons are attributed for the differences in our results, taken particularly in the Lebanese context. First, men are usually more affected by unemployment and losses of income during periods of economic crises [59]. Research supports the view that men tend to equate their financial well-being more directly with income, while women derive financial stability from behaviors and self-regulatory practices [60]. Besides, in most societies, including Lebanon, men bear the major responsibility for ensuring financial stability for their families, a societal expectation that increases their vulnerability to economic stress. This supports Gaunt and Benjamin's findings [61] that traditional men experience higher job insecurity and greater levels of stress stemming from economic challenges compared to traditional women, who are somewhat shielded by the centrality of family roles to their identity. These pressures and societal ideologies, along with the worsening economic crisis, multiply the challenges faced by men in maintaining financial wellbeing. Moreover, as a single-item measure, the SIFiS showed no significant gender differences. This may indicate that it reflects a wider, more general aspect of financial stress, for which there is little difference in males' and females' perceptions. However, it may also suggest that this measure lacks the sensitivity and specificity needed to capture the nuanced aspects of financial well-being influenced by gender roles, societal expectations, or individual economic stressors. Further research is necessary to deepen our understanding of gender differences within these measures.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, our findings showed that the higher the financial distress, the higher the levels of anxiety, depression, and distress, which supported the concurrent validity of our study. This was proven on both the total IFDFW and the SIFiS scores. Indeed, financial strain is widely recognized to be one of the major predictors of mental health problems [62]. A recent systematic review [11] summarized the consistent evidence of the association between financial distress and adverse mental health consequences, including heightened anxiety, depression, and stress that may hamper decision-making and reduce quality of life. This aligns with the social causation theory [12,63\u0026ndash;65], which postulates that stressful financial situations like poor living condition, malnutrition, poor health habits, loss of social capital, social isolation, and reduced ability to cope with negative life events might create new depressive symptoms or maintain currently active ones. Notably, the subjective financial stressors proved to weigh more than the objective measures since the latter indirectly influence depression through one's perception of financial strain [12].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLIMITATIONS\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is essential to recognize the limitations of this study, as our results may require cautious interpretation. The skewness of the sample toward the younger group and toward females, and the fact that we collected data using a snowball sampling technique could possibly limit the generalizability of the findings. Our method of online recruitment may have excluded older individuals or those who do not have access to technology. Moreover, other psychometric properties were not assessed (such as test-retest). Finally, our efforts for this validation were restricted to Lebanon, a fact that imposes the necessity to conduct further research with participants from other Arabic countries in order to examine test validity across cultures, and to evaluate further psychometric properties.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePractical implications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Arabic IFDFW Scale has the potential to become an effective tool in research, at the community level, and even in healthcare settings because it is efficient and fast at screening for financial distress. Policymakers can utilize the scale to design targeted interventions addressing financial distress, thereby enhancing mental health and economic resilience among vulnerable populations in Arabic-speaking regions. Additionally, the SIFiS has the potential to serve as an effective and concise tool for assessing financial stress. Its brevity makes it particularly useful in specific settings and for certain research objectives. With the advantage of being quick to administer, reducing respondent burden, and providing clarity in interpretation, it demonstrated strong concurrent validity, comparable to the IFDFW scale. It is important to note that single-item measures should be used in specific contexts, as they can be susceptible to bias. They are particularly suitable when financial stress is a confounding variable or when the inclusion of financial information is necessary without adding the burden of a lengthy scale to the questionnaire.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Arabic version of both the IFDFW and the SIFiS demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, including high reliability and validity with our sample of Lebanese adults. The one-factor structure of the IFDFW supports theoretical expectations and previous validations in different languages; it is thus a very valid instrument to measure financial well-being among Arabic-speaking populations. The adaptation of both measures opens the door for comparative cross-cultural studies that enhance our understanding of how financial well-being influences societies, general mental health and quality of life worldwide.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eEthics Approval and Consent to Participate: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross (HPC-040-2021). All participants gave their informed written consent when submitting the online form. International guidelines were followed for the study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Br\u0026uuml;ggen EC, Hogreve J, Holmlund M, Kabadayi S, L\u0026ouml;fgren M. 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Soc Sci Med. ao\u0026ucirc;t 2010;71(3):517‑28.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Holy Spirit University of Kaslik","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale, Financial Stress, Arabic, Factor Analysis, Validation ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eThe current study aimed to investigate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Arabic adaptation of InCharge's Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale, along with a new single-item measure to assess financial stress (i.e., the Single-Item Financial Stress scale, SIFiS) among Lebanese adults.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eIn this cross-sectional study, 403 participants completed an Arabic-translated IFDFW via an online survey. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to validate the scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eA one-factor structure was supported by the analysis. Internal reliability was excellent, with very high omega and alpha coefficients for the IFDFW scale (ω = 0.95, α = 0.95). A significantly lower mean IFDFW score was found in males compared to females. On the hand, no significant differences were found between males and females on the SIFiS scores. Greater financial burden was significantly associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThe findings confirm that the Arabic versions of the IFDFW scale and the SIFiS are valid and reliable. Their use is therefore recommended in various settings among Arabic-speaking adults. These simple and straightforward measurement tools may improve cross-cultural studies on financial well-being.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Arabic validation of the InCharge Financial Distress/Well-being Scale (IFDFW) and the new Single-Item Financial Stress scale (SIFiS)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-01-29 11:54:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5911447/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"aa2f9133-802a-4bac-ad6d-1e308070676f","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 29th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":43456563,"name":"Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-01-29T11:54:57+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-01-29 11:54:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5911447","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5911447","identity":"rs-5911447","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}