Translation, Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Malay Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in Malaysia

Abstract

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) has been widely used in research for more than 2 decades and is recognized as the leading measure of burnout. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country and English is regarded as the second language. Therefore, it is essential to have a culturally acceptable translated Malay version of MBI, which can easily be understood by Malaysians, in order to study the burnout level in our population. Hence, the objectives of this study are to translate, cross-culturally adapt and validate specifically the Malay versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Health Services Survey (MBI-HSS), Maslach Burnout Inventory – Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS) in Malaysia. Intraclass correlation was used to examine the test-retest reliability of the Malay versions of the MBI-HSS, MBI-ES and MBI-GS, while Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the subscales and the instruments as a whole. Exploratory factor analysis involving the principle component analysis extraction and varimax rotation were used to investigate the construct validity of the instruments. Overall, high intraclass correlation and Cronbach‘s alpha values were achieved in the Malay versions of the MBI-HSS, MBI-ES and MBI-GS. The eigenvalue in factor analysis revealed all items in the Malay versions of the MBI-HSS, MBI-ES and MBI-GS can be grouped into 3 components, which were very similar to the original English versions. In conclusion, the findings from this study had demonstrated the Malay versions of the MBI-HSS, MBI-ES and MBI-GS were valid and appropriate to be used in Malaysia.