Assessing knowledge and attitudes about mental illness in Ningxia, China

Area of Science:

• Psychometric evaluation of mental health assessment tools.
• Community mental health research in public health settings.

Background:

• China's initiatives aim to improve community mental health literacy and reduce stigma.
• Validated instruments are crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of these public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess the psychometric properties of new questionnaires measuring mental health knowledge and attitudes.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of China's mental health literacy and anti-stigma campaigns.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ) and Mental Health Attitude Questionnaire (MHAQ).
• Pilot testing and revision of the questionnaires.
• Administration to a representative sample of 2425 adults in Ningxia Province, with a re-test on 188 individuals to assess internal consistency, factor structure, and test-retest reliability using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

Main Results:

• The 25-item MHKQ demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha = .71) and identified 6 factors. Test-retest reliability (ICC) was .40.
• The 14-item MHAQ attitudinal subscale showed good internal consistency (alpha = .69), with 3 factors and an ICC of .47.
• The 7-item MHAQ causal attribution subscale had acceptable internal consistency (alpha = .60), 3 factors, and an ICC of .26. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable model fit for all measures.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed MHKQ and MHAQ exhibit satisfactory internal consistency and factor structure for assessing mental health literacy and attitudes in community settings.
• Further research is recommended to improve the test-retest reliability (stability) of the scales.
• Future work should also focus on establishing construct validity and responsiveness to evaluate changes over time and in response to interventions.