Reliability and normative data for the Behavioral Health Measure (BHM) in primary care behavioral health settings

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Primary Care Medicine
• Mental Health Assessment

Background:

• The Behavioral Health Measure (BHM) is a self-report tool for assessing psychological distress and functioning.
• Its use in integrated primary care settings is common, but psychometric validation in these specific environments is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the BHM, including factor structure and reliability.
• To establish normative data for the BHM within integrated primary care clinics.
• To assess the BHM's suitability for mental health outcome tracking in primary care.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the BHM's factor structure.
• Reliability was assessed using internal consistency estimates (Cronbach's alpha).
• Normative data were collected from three large integrated primary care clinics.

Main Results:

• Confirmatory factor analysis indicated adequate fit for 1-factor and 3-factor models, improving with item omission.
• Internal consistency estimates ranged from adequate to very good (α = .72–.93).
• Women reported significantly higher distress scores than men; scores were stable across samples.

Conclusions:

• A revised 17-item BHM demonstrates adequate psychometric properties and reliability.
• The BHM is appropriate for use in primary care settings for mental health outcome tracking.
• The study provides valuable normative data for the BHM in primary care populations.