The Text-Picture Integration Scale for Perspectives on Mental Illness: Development and Validation

Area of Science:

• Psychological Measurement
• Mental Health Research
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Understanding public perception of mental illness is crucial for developing effective anti-stigma strategies.
• Existing tools may not adequately capture nuanced public perspectives on mental illness.
• Addressing mental illness stigma is essential for improving recovery outcomes and overall well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a stable and effective rating scale for predicting public perspectives on mental illness.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the developed Text-Picture Integration Scale.
• To provide a tool for evaluating the impact of destigmatization initiatives.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional study utilizing online internet survey data.
• Involved 200 volunteers who completed the survey.
• Developed a 10-item Text-Picture Integration Scale and analyzed its psychometric properties.

Main Results:

• The Text-Picture Integration Scale demonstrated strong content validity (CVI: 0.83–1.00, scale-level: 0.97) and acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α = .80).
• The scale showed satisfactory criterion-related validity with the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) (r = .76, p < .001).
• Mean scale scores indicated a clear measure of public perspectives on mental illness.

Conclusions:

• The Text-Picture Integration Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing public perspectives on mental illness.
• The scale can effectively evaluate the success of destigmatization interventions.
• Findings support the use of this scale in mental health research and practice, including by occupational therapists.