Psychometric Validation of the Bangla Attitude Towards Mental Help-Seeking Scale

Attitude towards professional mental health help-seeking is an important determinant of service utilization. However, no validated Bangla instrument was available in Bangladesh. This study aimed to validate the Bangla version of the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS-B).

A validation study was conducted between July 2025 and June 2026 among medical students and Imams using purposive sampling. The MHSAS was translated and culturally adapted through forward and back-translation, multidisciplinary expert review, and pilot testing. Participants were divided into separate subsamples for exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 249) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 250). Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation was used for EFA. Reliability, convergent validity, and measurement invariance across population group and sex were assessed.

A total of 499 participants were included (256 medical students and 243 Imams). EFA supported a unidimensional seven-item structure after removal of Items 8 and 9, which formed a distinct factor. The final model explained 65.1% of the variance, with factor loadings of 0.71-0.86. CFA demonstrated excellent fit (CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.053, SRMR = 0.048), with standardized loadings of 0.70-0.94. Cronbach's α was 0.87, McDonald's ω 0.87, composite reliability 0.94, and AVE 0.68. Partial scalar invariance was supported across population group and sex. Medical students demonstrated significantly more favorable attitudes toward professional mental health help-seeking than Islamic religious leaders (p = 0.030).

The MHSAS-B demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, supporting its use as a culturally appropriate measure of mental help-seeking attitudes among Bangla-speaking populations.