Development and validation of a psychotherapy change motivation scale

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Objective Develop a Psychotherapy Change Motivation Scale (PCMS) with robust psychometric properties. Method A literature review, semi-structured interviews, and expert evaluation were used to draft the scale. The scale was administered to participants receiving psychological counseling or therapy at specialized hospital psychological intervention centers, university mental health education centers, and social psychological counseling agencies using convenience sampling. The initial sample (n = 178) was subjected to item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, and the formal sample (n = 180) was then subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and reliability and validity testing. Criterion validity was tested using the Outcome Questionnaire-45(OQ-45) and the revised Chinese version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA). Results The final scale comprised 19 items across four dimensions: Activation, Expected benefits, Agency, and Maintenance and Orientation. The Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from 0.608 to 0.897 for the total scale and subscales; split-half reliability was 0.796; cumulative explained variance was 58.363%, with good structural validity (X2/df = 1.69, RMSEA = 0.062, GFI = 0.875, CFI = 0.915, IFI = 0.917, TLI = 0.901). PCMS scores and its four factors were negatively correlated with OQ-45 (r = −0.234 to −0.375, p<0.01) and positively correlated with the Chinese URICA (r = 0.386–0.694, p<0.01). Conclusion The developed PCMS demonstrates good reliability and validity, meeting psychometric standards.