Measuring public attitudes to severe mental illness in Greece: Development of a new scale

Background and Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to develop an attitudinal schedule, the Attitudes to Severe Mental Illness (ASMI) scale, which synthesizes elements from different conceptual frameworks of the field, while addressing gaps on the existing literature on stigma measurement. Methods: A national representative sample of 2039 adults from the general population was interviewed by telephone. Results: Factor analysis revealed 4 factors to underlie the data, namely “stereotyping” “optimism”, “coping” and “understanding”, which explained 67% of total variance. The instrument’s face and predictive validity were also supported, while its internal consistency and test –retest reliability were found to be high for the overall scale and its factors. Conclusions: Consistent with these, the ASMI scale emerges as a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of attitudes towards severe mental illness, while it opens new directions for advancing scientific understanding of the topic. Received: 8 February 2011 Revised: 30 September 2011 Accepted: 26 October 2011 56 MICHAEL MADIANOS ET AL.