Instrument development: the Mental Health-Related Self-Care Agency Scale

This article addresses the development and initial testing of an instrument to measure individual's capabilities to perform mental health related self-care. A two-step process of development and judgment (Lynn, 1986) was used to develop and evaluate this instrument's content validity. The development phase included explication of the content domains, item generation, and instrument formation. Evaluation of the content validity was addressed by an expert panel for theoretical and clinical relevance. These processes resulted in a 35 item, self-report questionnaire. A pilot study supported the Mental Health Self-Care Agency Scale as a reliable and valid instrument appropriate for theory-testing research.