Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the psychometric properties of the Malay Stigma of Suicide Scale-Short Form (SOSS-SF)

Background Suicide cases in Malaysia have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Stigma towards suicidal individuals is one of the risk factors for suicide, often hindering people from seeking help. Therefore, understanding the multidimensional nature of suicidality and its association with stigma is crucial in Malaysia’s multicultural context. The Stigma of Suicide Scale-Short Form (SOSS-SF) is a brief psychometric tool established to measure stigma towards people who have died by suicide. Aims To translate the SOSS-SF into Malay and assess the reliability and validity of the translated version. Method The SOSS-SF was translated into Malay and subjected to a cross-cultural validation study across three universities in Malaysia ( n = 243; 70.4% females). Participants completed an online questionnaire. The reliability of the Malay translation was assessed, and exploratory factor analysis, discriminant validity and measurement invariance were employed to examine the scale’s factor structure. Results The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure for the Malay translation of the SOSS-SF yielded a highly favourable value of 0.854, with cumulative variance explained of 67.178. The construct validity of the translated version was assessed by factor analysis, and a final version was derived comprising 3 factors and 13 items: Factor 1 Stigma (6 items), Factor 2 Isolation/Depression (4 items) and Factor 3 Glorification/Normalisation (3 items). The final Malay SOSS-SF had acceptable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.793) and scalar invariance across age groups and gender. Conclusions The Malay SOSS-SF has shown linguistic and cultural acceptability through cross-cultural adaptation and validation. It is also deemed a valid and reliable tool for assessing the stigma towards suicide in Malaysia.