Abstract
The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Religious Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigma Scale (I-RBMIS): a self-report measure of religious beliefsthat may contribute to stigma regardingmental disorders. Scale validation included: linguistic validation; pilot test for understandability; face validity; factor analysis as test of dimensionality; Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test to evaluate sample sampling adequacy; internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha; scale validity was assessed through concurrent criterion validity using as gold standard the Italian version of Attribution Questionnaire 27 and mental health knowledge schedule; A total of311 people agreed to participate in the study. Face validity showed that 13 items out of 16 were completely understandable while only three items (4, 9 and 13) highlighted small lexical concerns. The average compilation time was under 4min. Bartlett's test for sphericity was statistically significant (Χ2 = 1497.54; df = 120; p < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha values were acceptable both for the entire questionnaire (0.80) and for the morality/sin subscale (0.73), whereas it was slightly below the standard cutoff for the spiritually oriented causes/treatments (0.68). Scale validity showed a positive correlation between I-RBMIS and AQ-27-I, and a negative correlation between I-RBMIS and MAKS-I. I-RBMIS demonstrated good psychometric properties to assess stigmatizing religious beliefs toward mental illness in general population.
Highlights
The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Religious Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigma Scale (I-RBMIS): a self-report measure of religious beliefs which may contribute to stigma for mental disorders, presenting original theoretical constructs, with satisfactory psychometric properties and already used in several studies
Scale validity showed a positive correlation between I-RBMIS and AQ-27-I, and a negative correlation between I-RBMIS and MAKS-I
The factorial analysis conducted on the Italian questionnaire replicated the patterns of item loadings found in published studies using the English version (Wesselmann et al 2015; Wesselmann & Graziano 2010)
Summary
The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Religious Beliefs and Mental Illness Stigma Scale (I-RBMIS): a self-report measure of religious beliefs which may contribute to stigma for mental disorders, presenting original theoretical constructs, with satisfactory psychometric properties and already used in several studies. One way to understand this paradox is to examine how one’s religious beliefs relate to the type of prejudice in question (e.g., racism or heterosexism), how one’s religious beliefs relate to target groups (Laythe et al 2002). Given that most modern religious groups normally condemn racism (Batson et al 1993), religious beliefs are likely to correlate negatively with racial prejudice; heterosexism, may be related positively with religious beliefs given how many mainstream religions view homosexuality negatively, or at least ambivalently (Laythe et al 2001; Rowatt and Franklin 2004). Persons with mental illness are another stigmatized group that typically experiences various forms of prejudice and discrimination from various sources, sometimes including their religious communities (Pargament 1997). Other denominations may reject this idea and stigmatize mental health concerns and treatment options
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