Preliminary Validation of the Thai Version of the Brief Assessment of Social Skills in Dementia (BASS-D TH)

Authors

Pornsinee Laisathit, Programme in Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn UniversityFollow
Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Center of Excellence in Cognitive Impairment and Dementia, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University

Abstract

Background: The Brief Assessment of Social Skills – Dementia (BASS-D) was developed to provide a concise and effective measure of social cognition across four domains. This study aimed to validate the Thai version of BASS-D (BASS-D TH) by examining its psychometric properties and the associated factors.

Method: BASS-D was forward and back-translated between Thai and English language. Minor modifications were made to enhance cultural replicability. The BASS-D TH was administered to 28 older adults without dementia and 13 dementia patients.

Results: Mean age (t=-3.67, p < 0.001), education years (t=2.70, p=0.01) and TMSE score (t=7.49, p< 0.001). The control non-dementia group and dementia group showed mean BASS-D TH total scores of 76.43 (SD = 9.1) and 45.85 (SD = 15.1). The findings demonstrated construct validity of BASS-D TH (group difference t = 8.093, p < 0.001). Correlation with established concurrent tests exhibited concurrent validity, particularly with the face emotion perception and memory of new faces tests, and lower correlations with Theory of Mind. Reliability analyses indicated strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.807). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis yielded an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.974.

Conclusion: While limited by sample size and the availability of concurrent tests in the Thai language, our findings represent the initial phase of BASS-D TH validation which demonstrate concurrent, construct and criterion validity as well as internal consistency.

Keywords: Dementia, Social cognition, Validation

Recommended Citation

Laisathit P, Tunvirachaisakul C. Preliminary Validation of the Thai Version of the Brief Assessment of Social Skills in Dementia (BASS-D TH). J Health Res. 2025; 39(3):-. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56808/2586-940X.1133

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