Gihane Endrawes

Western Sydney University, Australia

Title: Psychometric Properties Assessment of the Arabic Version of Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill Scale

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Biography

Dr Gihane Endrawes is a lecturer at Western Sydney University with more than 20 years teaching and mental health experience.  Gihane completed here PhD in 2003 on the caregiving experience of caring for a relative with mental illness, and worked as a Clinical Nurse Consultant -transcultural mental health, involved in review and development of policies, practice guidelines and various quality improvement projects. She received 2 Nurse Achievement awards and “Excellence in Engagement” award – Mental Health Theme due to her contribution to mental health nursing.  She has experience in research supervision, leading research teams, obtaining research grants, developed and reviewed curriculum, coordinating under-graduate and post-graduate subjects for many years.

Abstract

Background: Mental illness is a stigmatized issue affecting various cultural groups, however, there is limited knowledge about Arabic communities’ attitudes and beliefs related to mental illness. This could be related to the lack of culturally appropriate measuring tools examining Arabic communities’ attitudes towards people with mental illness. The study aimed to report on the psychometric properties of the translated Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill 40-item scale among Arabic communities living in Australia.

Design: A quantitative cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the reliability of internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to assess the factor structure of the translated scale.

Method: A convenience sample of 312 participants was recruited from various Arabic organizations in Australia.

Results: Significant difference between the Arabic and English cohorts were identified in terms of age, gender, country of birth, English proficiency, and knowing someone with mental illness. A confirmatory factor analysis of the original 40-item CAMI indicated inadequate fit indices, leading to reduction of items to a 27-item version. This shortened version demonstrated improved internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.835) and a viable 4-factor structure: Stigmatization and Exclusion, Community Integration, Social Rejection, and Tolerance and Compassion.

Conclusions: The Arabic version of CAMI Scale is found to be a culturally appropriate, reliable, and valid tool for examining Arabic communities’ attitudes towards people with mental illness, living in Australia.