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Updated: May 26, 2026
08:12
A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
Published on: March 1, 2022
Modified attitudes to psychiatry scale created using principal-components analysis.
Rohit Shankar1, Richard Laugharne, Colin Pritchard
1Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, Learning Disabilities, Developmental Neuropsychiatry, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, Cornwall.
Summary
This study analyzed the Attitudes to Psychiatry Scale (APS) in medical students. A modified questionnaire emerged with four dimensions, showing good internal validity for assessing psychiatry attitudes.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry education research
- Medical student assessment tools
- Psychometric validation studies
Background:
- The Attitudes to Psychiatry Scale (APS) is utilized to gauge medical students' perceptions of psychiatry.
- Internal validity of assessment tools is crucial for reliable measurement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the internal validity of the APS.
- To identify underlying dimensions within the APS questionnaire.
- To refine the APS for better assessment of medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry.
Main Methods:
- Principal-components analysis was employed on 28 APS questions from 549 Indian and Ghanaian medical students.
- Questions were analyzed independently of the original five dimensions.
- Cronbach's alpha was used to test for data redundancy.
Main Results:
- The analysis identified five dimensions, with four demonstrating good independent correlation.
- The four validated dimensions were: inspiration from medical school, stigma of psychiatry, psychiatry as scientific medicine, and treatment effectiveness.
- A suggested edited scale was developed based on these dimensions.
Conclusions:
- Principal-components analysis revealed four intuitive themes related to attitudes toward psychiatry.
- These emerging themes differ from Balon et al.'s original subscales but share similarities.
- A modified APS questionnaire with good internal validity was proposed, utilizing the identified themes.
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