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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of a new tool called the Experiences of Occupational Performance Questionnaire (EOPQ) and also to investigate whether there were any gender differences in the answers. The EOPQ was completed by 32 women and 73 men with severe mental disorders, who participated in an occupation arranged by the healthcare system in Sweden. The EOPQ was originally developed from interviews with six women participating in occupational therapy. An analysis of the content validity of the EOPQ was performed with the help of seven occupational therapists. Forty-six of the 49 items in the EOPQ were valued as representative of the concept occupation as a resource in therapy. Principal component analysis performed in two steps yielded seven factors called: "Satisfaction with own ability"; "Confidence in own ability"; "Capability to perform"; "Challenge"; "Ability to handle difficult situatio"; "Forgetting time and self"; and "Identification with others". The internal consistency calculated by Cronbach's f values varied between 0.63 and 0.91 in the seven factors. No gender differences were found on the factor level but differences in five items were found. The results showed that EOPQ could be used as a tool to measure therapeutic potentials in occupations and could also contribute to knowledge to secure the use of occupations as a therapeutic resource for individuals with severe mental disorders.