Development of a mandarin version of the five dimensional altered states of consciousness (5D-ASC) rating scale.

Abstract

The Five Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness (5D-ASC) Rating Scale is a self-report measure used to characterize changes in consciousness induced by pharmacological (e.g., psychedelics) and non-pharmacological methods (e.g., meditation), and predict clinical outcomes. Although it has been widely used with English-speaking participants, there is no version that has been adapted for Mandarin-speaking individuals. This study aimed to develop a high-quality Mandarin version of the 5D-ASC to increase language accessibility in psychedelic research. A Mandarin version of the 5D-ASC was developed adhering to the "Principles of Good Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Measures: Report of the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation". The English version of the 5D-ASC was translated to Mandarin by two professional translators, reviewed by the study team (including a native Mandarin speaker), back-translated to English, and compared with the original version. The Mandarin version of the 5D-ASC Rating Scale (5) includes 11 facets: experience of unity (), spiritual experience (), blissful state (), insightfulness () disembodiment (), impaired control and cognition (), anxiety (), complex imagery (), elementary imagery (), audio-visual synesthesia (), and changed meaning of percepts (). The survey can also be analyzed using its original 5-factor structure, yielding facets of oceanic boundlessness (), anxious ego dissolution (), visionary restructuralization (), auditory alterations (), and vigilance reduction (). The full translated survey is available in the appendix. Here, a Mandarin version of the 5D-ASC was developed by a team of highly qualified scientists and translators. Further research is needed to evaluate its reliability and validity in clinical and non-clinical Mandarin-speaking populations.

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