Internal consistency of the Mental Health Professional Culture Inventory: A pilot study in Romanian population

Background: The objective of this study (registered under number 2020 006) was to assess the internal consistency of the revised Mental Health Professional Culture Inventory (MHPCI) scale, which comprises 15 items, among mental health service workers in Romania. Methods: To examine the psychometric properties of the MHPCI questionnaire within the Romanian population, we employed two main methods: The partial credit model (PCM) and Exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Results: A total of 94 individuals were interviewed, and among them, 71 provided complete responses to the questionnaire. All 15 items demonstrate a strong fit with the PCM, as indicated by mean-square (MSQ) outfit and MSQ infit values falling within the range of 0.5 to 1.5. But items 3 and 11 exhibit MSQ values greater than 1.5, suggesting that it may be challenging to predict individuals' responses to these items. The KMO index stands at 0.7, surpassing the recommended threshold of 0.6, signifying an acceptable level of suitability. Nevertheless, only 59.3% of the total variance is accounted for by the first four factors, and these factors do not align with the dimensions identified in the original article. Conclusion: The internal structure of the Romanian version of the MHPCI demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties. These properties will need to be further validated through additional studies conducted in diverse socio-cultural contexts.