Cross-Cultural Validation of the Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale—Brazilian Version (M-MPAS-Br)

BACKGROUND: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is common among musicians, affecting performance quality, well-being, and career continuity. Reliable and culturally adapted tools are essential for its assessment. The Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale (M-MPAS) is a brief five-item measure of the intensity, frequency, and avoidance of performance-related anxiety, but no validated Brazilian version has been available. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a cross-cultural validation of the M-MPAS among professional and student musicians in the Brazilian context and evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the Brazilian version (M-MPAS-Br). METHODS: A cross-sectional methodological study was conducted with 243 musicians from orchestras, conservatories, and university programs in Rio de Janeiro. The adaptation followed international and COSMIN guidelines. The measurement properties evaluated were structural validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses), internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and hypotheses testing for construct validity through correlations with the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) and the Short-Form 8 (SF-8). RESULTS: The M-MPAS-Br showed semantic and conceptual equivalence. A one-factor solution explained 74.9% of variance (CFI = 0.989, TLI = 0.978, RMSEA = 0.098, SRMR = 0.015). Internal consistency was α = 0.929 (95% CI [0.917-0.940]) and test-retest reliability ICC = 0.948 (95% CI [0.929-0.962]). Convergent validity with the K-MPAI (24 anxiety-related items) was ρ = 0.967, 95% CI [0.957-0.974], p < 0.001. Divergent validity showed weak correlations with the Physical Component Summary (PCS-T) (ρ = -0.211, p < 0.001) and moderate with the Mental Component Summary (MCS-T) (ρ = -0.462, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The M-MPAS-Br demonstrated excellent reliability, validity, and cultural adequacy, providing a brief and psychometrically robust tool for assessing MPA among Brazilian musicians. Its brevity supports its use as a screening instrument for the early identification of performance anxiety in clinical, educational, and large-scale research settings.