Development and Validation of the EspaiJove.net Mental Health Literacy (EMHL) Test for Spanish Adolescents

Pere Castellvi, Rocío Casañas, Victoria-Mailen Arfuch, Juan José Gil Moreno, María Torres Torres, Carlos García-Forero, Dyanne Ruiz-Castañeda, Jordi Alonso and Lluís Lalucat-Jo
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Pere Castellvi: School of Medicine, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08195 Sant Cugat del Vallés, Spain
Rocío Casañas: Research Department, Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
Victoria-Mailen Arfuch: Research Department, Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
Juan José Gil Moreno: Child and Juvenile Mental Health Centre of Les Corts and Sarrià- Sant Gervasi, Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
María Torres Torres: Child and Juvenile Mental Health Centre of Les Corts and Sarrià- Sant Gervasi, Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
Carlos García-Forero: School of Medicine, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08195 Sant Cugat del Vallés, Spain
Dyanne Ruiz-Castañeda: Fundación para la Investigación Biosanitaria en Andalucía Oriental (FIBAO), 04009 Almería, Spain
Jordi Alonso: Health Services Research Unit, Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Lluís Lalucat-Jo: Research Department, Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, 08029 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: There is evidence of the effectiveness of implementing mental health literacy (MHL) programs. However, there are substantial limitations in the instruments available for measuring MHL. This study aimed to develop and validate the EspaiJove.net MHL test (EMHL) for Spanish adolescents by assessing its psychometric properties. The development of the EMHL test was conducted using item pool generation and a pilot study. A convenience sample of students aged 13–15 years ( n = 355) participated in the validity study. Reliability was assessed for internal consistency and via test-retest. Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing the effect sizes among known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, the correlation with mental health-related instruments, and the item discrimination index. A final version of a 35-item EMHL test was obtained with two parts: (i) a binary choice format (yes/no) for the identification of mental disorders; (ii) a multiple choice question with four possible answer options. Internal consistency was acceptable in the first part (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.744; Guttman’s lambda 2 = 0.773) and almost acceptable in the second part (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.615; Guttman’s lambda 2 = 0.643). The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the test (first part, ICC = 0.578; second part, ICC = 0.422). No ceiling and floor effects were found. The EMHL test scores discriminated between known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge and it is associated with several-related constructs of MHL. Conclusions: The EMHL test is a relevant measure for assessing MHL in adolescents into Spanish context with acceptable validity and stability.

Keywords: measurement; mental health literacy; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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