Cross-Cultural Validation and Adaptation of the Working Alliance Inventory for Use in Nigerian Counselling Settings

The working alliance between counsellor and client is one of the most consistently supported predictors of counselling outcomes in Western research, yet validated instruments for measuring working alliance in the Nigerian counselling context are absent from the literature. This study cross-culturally validated and adapted the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) for use in Nigerian counselling settings. A sequential validation design was employed across five phases. Phase 1 involved bilingual translation and back-translation of the WAI into Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, with cultural equivalence review by a translation committee. Phase 2 involved cognitive interviewing with 40 counselling clients and 20 counsellors to assess item comprehension and cultural relevance. Phase 3 involved expert review by a Delphi panel of 20 counselling psychologists. Phase 4 involved pilot testing with 150 client-counsellor dyads. Phase 5 involved main study validation with 600 dyads from Lagos, Kano, Enugu, and Abuja, using confirmatory factor analysis, multi-group invariance testing across languages and ethnic groups, and convergent validity analysis with counselling outcomes. The adapted WAI demonstrated strong psychometric properties, cross-ethnic measurement invariance, and robust concurrent validity with client symptom improvement. Minor culturally specific item adaptations improved fit in the Nigerian context. The study provides an original psychometric tool for Nigerian counselling outcome research. Keywords: working alliance, cross-cultural validation, counselling outcomes, Nigeria, psychometric adaptation.