The psychometric properties of the Arabic 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16-AR) in a multicountry Arab sample

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a newly identified condition characterized by absorption in fantasy, which appears to progress into psychological dependence, associated with substantial distress and maladaptation. This study determines, for the first time, the psychometric properties of the 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16), an updated version of the MDS-14 (Somer, Lehrfeld, Bigelsen, & Jopp, 2016), originally designed to identify maladaptive daydreaming experiences. The MDS-16 was administered in a multicountry Arab sample composed of 180 respondents aged 18 to 58 years (M = 26.28, SD = 8.14). Our analyses indicated 2 strongly related factors underlying the MDS-16, capturing immersive daydreaming and the distress and impairment associated with it. The MDS-16 demonstrated sound psychometric properties and differentiated well between self-identified individuals with and without MD on a range of psychosocial indicators. The instrument had high sensitivity and specificity, implying that the MDS-16 can confidently be deployed in future investigations of MD in the Arab world. Our findings shed light on the potential value of the MDS-16 for international inquiry of this newly defined condition.