The development of the Japanese version of the full and short form of Attitudes Towards Mental Health Problems Scale (J-(S) ATMHPS)

ABSTRACT

How a person perceives mental health problems impacts their mental health. Negative attitudes towards mental health problems are associated with shame, leading to poor mental health. Poor mental health is a cause for concern in Japan, especially among healthcare professionals. To date, no established measure exists in the Japanese language. The Attitudes Towards Mental Health Problems Scale (ATMHPS) is a well-used self-report measure employed in many studies, which led to the development of the short form (SATMHPS). We aimed to develop the Japanese version of (S)ATMHPS: J-(S)ATMHPS. Nursing professionals in Japan (n = 300) completed J-(S) ATMHPS and J-DASS-21. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed, and the internal consistencies of subscales were calculated. The original seven-factor structure model was replicated in J-SATMHPS. Internal consistencies for all J-(S)ATMHPS subscales were high. All subscales were associated with mental health. J-(S)ATMHPS can be used as a reliable measure for the attitudes towards mental health problems in Japanese.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes towards mental health problems
• mental health shame
• negative attitudes
• stigma
• scale development
• Japanese version

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).