Spanish adaptation and validation of the Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale (PMHSS-24)

Jesús de la Higuera-Romero; Andrea Candelas-Muñoz; Andrea Jiménez-González; Cristina Castañeda-Jiménez; Paula Fuica-Pereg; María Zurita-Carrasco; Eloísa Martínez-Fernandez-Repeto; Cristina Senín-Calderón

doi:10.1016/j.rpsm.2020.06.004

Spanish adaptation and validation of the Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale (PMHSS-24)

Rev Psiquiatr Salud Ment (Engl Ed). 2020 Jul 21:S1888-9891(20)30073-2. doi: 10.1016/j.rpsm.2020.06.004. Online ahead of print.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

Jesús de la Higuera-Romero¹, Andrea Candelas-Muñoz², Andrea Jiménez-González², Cristina Castañeda-Jiménez³, Paula Fuica-Pereg², María Zurita-Carrasco², Eloísa Martínez-Fernandez-Repeto², Cristina Senín-Calderón⁴

Affiliations

¹ Unidad de Gestión Clínica de Salud Mental, Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Cádiz, España. Electronic address: jar@cop.es.
² Unidad de Gestión Clínica de Salud Mental, Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
³ Complejo Asistencial Hermanas Hospitalarias, Málaga, España.
⁴ Departamento de Psicología, Facultad de CC de la Educación, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz, España.

PMID: 32709572
DOI: 10.1016/j.rpsm.2020.06.004

Abstract

Introduction: There is currently a growing interest in interventions aimed at the reduction of stigma towards people with emotional difficulties in adolescents. Unfortunately, the number of scales available in Spanish to assess stigma at these ages is limited. This paper aims to adapt and validate the scale of stigmatizing attitudes towards mental health among peers (Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale PMHSS-24).

Material and methods: A total of 443 adolescents (46.6% female and 53.7% male) between 13 and 17 years of age participated (M_age=14.64; SD=.83) in the 3rd and 4th grades of Obligatory Secondary Education. The internal consistency of the test was calculated, an exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) was performed with half of the sample and a confirmatory one (CFA) with the other half, and the invariance of measurement of the scale through sex was found.

Results: The EFA showed a two-factor structure for the negative scale (53% of the variance explained) and another 2for the positive scale (62% of the variance explained). The CFA corroborated the factor structure with appropriate goodness-of-fit indicators (CFI>.95; NNFI>.95, SRMR<.08, RMSEA<.08). Factor loads ranged from .49 to .89, with α factor correlation between r=.53 and .45. Both subscales exhibited optimal alpha values (negative .94 and positive .81). The scale was invariant between the sexes.

Conclusions: The data suggest that PMHSS-24 may be a useful scale for the initial screening of the stereotypes exhibited by adolescents toward people with mental illness.

Keywords: Adolescence; Adolescencia; Estigma; Mental health; PMHSS-24; Salud mental; Stigma.