Development and psychometric evaluation of the Chinese mental health support scale

ObjectiveTo culturally adapt a self-report measure of mental health first aid behaviours, the Mental Health Support Scale (MHSS), into Chinese.MethodThe MHSS has two versions that measure either Intended support, or Provided support, and is applicable to a range of mental health problems. The MHSS was adapted for consistency with Chinese mental health first aid guidelines, forward- and back-translated, and pre-tested with 19 adult residents of mainland China to check the scale was understandable, acceptable and clear. The psychometric properties of the final translation were evaluated with a convenience sample of 406 Chinese adults. Participants completed both versions of the Chinese MHSS: the Chinese MHSS Intended, which measures help a respondent intended to provide if a person close to them developed a mental health problem or crisis, and the Chinese MHSS Provided if they had supported a person with a mental health problem, as well as measures of stigma and mental health literacy.ResultsThe Chinese MHSS Intended comprised two factors: Recommended Actions with 17 items and Not Recommended Actions with 5 items. The Chinese MHSS Provided comprised 10 items in a single factor. Scales demonstrated excellent internal consistency and there was evidence in support of validity, particularly for the Chinese MHSS Intended.DiscussionThese preliminary results suggest the Chinese MHSS has acceptable psychometric properties. Future research should examine the responsiveness of the scales to MHFA training.