AUTHOR=Kerry Matthew J. , Robin Dominik , Albermann Kurt , Dratva Julia 

TITLE=Measuring mental health action competencies in school teachers: internal and external validity evidence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Digital Health

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1257392

DOI=10.3389/fdgth.2024.1257392

ISSN=2673-253X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Mental health literacy is receiving increasing research attention due to growing concerns for mental health globally. Among children, teachers have recently been recognized as playing a vital role in the recognition and reporting of potential mental health issues.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A nationally sampled cross-section of teachers was surveyed to examine the discriminant validity of the mental health literacy measure across levels of teaching. A survey collected a total of <italic>n = </italic>369 teacher responses in Switzerland (Kindergarten = 76, Primary = 210, Secondary = 83). Item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Inspection of psychometric properties indicated removal of two weak performing items. The 15-item measure exhibited a significant mean difference, such that class-responsibility function scored higher (<italic>M </italic>= 2.86, <italic>SD </italic>= .45) than non-responsible function (<italic>M </italic>= 2.68, <italic>SD </italic>= .45) teachers [<italic>t</italic>(<sub>309</sub>) = −2.20, <italic>p </italic>= .01]. It also exhibited a significant mean difference, such that more subjective experienced scored higher (<italic>M </italic>= 2.86, <italic>SD </italic>= .45) than less subjective experienced (<italic>M </italic>= 2.68, <italic>SD </italic>= .45) teachers [<italic>t</italic><sub>(210)</sub> = −8.66, <italic>p </italic>&lt; .01].</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Hypotheses regarding age and role tenure were in the expected direction, but non-significant. The MHL measure for teachers demonstrated sound measurement properties supporting usage across teaching levels.</p></sec>