Work

Psychometric properties of the Arabic versions of the sleep health index (SHI) and sleep satisfaction tool (SST)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Sleep is essential to physical and mental health. The Sleep Health Index (SHI) and Sleep Satisfaction Tool (SST), developed by the National Sleep Foundation, assess sleep health and satisfaction. Despite Arabic being spoken by over 400 million people, validated Arabic versions have been unavailable. Methods 506 Arabic-speaking adults in Bahrain completed Arabic SHI and SST versions. Psychometric evaluation included confirmatory factor analysis (WLSMV), composite reliability (CR), average variance extracted (AVE), test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), measurement invariance across sex and age groups, and correlations with sleep, stress, and wellbeing measures. Results Participants had a mean age of 39.43 years (SD=13.49), and 61% were female. Mean SHI and SST scores were 65.28 (SD=15.90) and 55.22 (SD=17.58), respectively. CFA generally supported the SHI three-factor structure; however, the sleep duration factor produced a Heywood case (sleep deficit λ =1.04). The sleep quality (CR=0.75, AVE=0.36) and disordered sleep (CR=0.75, AVE=0.54) factors showed acceptable to strong reliability. The SST supported a unidimensional structure with acceptable reliability (CR=0.83), although model fit was suboptimal and nighttime awakenings showed a weak loading ( λ =0.15). Both instruments showed expected correlations with sleep, stress, and wellbeing measures. Test-retest reliability was good for the SHI (ICC=0.83) and excellent for the SST (ICC=0.94). Configural, metric, and scalar invariance showed preliminary evidence across sex and age groups. Conclusions The Arabic SST showed acceptable reliability, whereas the Arabic SHI demonstrated only partial psychometric support because of the inadmissible sleep duration factor. Further validation in diverse Arabic-speaking samples is needed before broader use.

Source: Sleep Epidemiology

DOI: 10.1016/j.sleepe.2026.100167