Validation of the Mental Health Changes Indicators Scale against Rasch measurement theory

Abstract

The Mental Health Changes Indicators Scale (MHCIS) is a brief instrument designed to assess changes in an individual's mental health that occur in response to a specific life event. Although adequate psychometric properties have been demonstrated for this instrument based on classical test theory, the MHCIS has not yet been validated against Rasch measurement theory (RMT). We applied RMT to examine the psychometric properties of the MHCIS using data from 807 Chinese university students. The nominated life event in this study was the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite modest violations of unidimensionality and misfit to the Rasch model, in general, the results supported the validity of the 10-item MHCIS. We recommend further exploration of the generalizability of these results in other populations and across a range of potentially adverse life events.