Translation and psychometric evaluation of the Bengali 7-item Ruminative Responses Scale

This study translated, culturally adapted, and psychometrically validated the seven-item brooding subscale of the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS-7) for Bengali-speaking adults, addressing the lack of a standardized instrument to assess maladaptive rumination in this population. Using rigorous cross-cultural procedures, the scale was administered to 947 outpatients and evaluated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, confirmatory tetrad analysis, Rasch modelling, reliability testing, ROC analysis, and convergent validation with the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ). Results demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.92; ω = 0.94), strong item discrimination, and a largely unidimensional structure, although confirmatory fit indices suggested some model refinement may be beneficial. Rasch mixture modelling identified distinct low and high rumination subgroups, and diagnostic accuracy was outstanding (AUC = 0.984) with an optimal cut-off score of 14 (sensitivity 96.9%, specificity 99.4%). A very strong positive correlation with the RTQ (r = 0.944, p < .001) supported convergent validity, indicating that the Bengali RRS-7 is a reliable, structurally sound, and clinically robust tool for assessing brooding in Bengali-speaking populations.