Development of 7-Item Perceived Meaning of Activity in Housing (PMA-H-7) to Assess Opportunities for Meaningful Activities in the Supported Housing Context for People With Psychiatric Disabilities

Abstract

People with psychiatric disabilities need to be able to express their views about their support, for example, the provision of meaningful activity in supported accommodation. Brief scales may be necessary to avoid strain and discomfort for this group. The aim was to develop a brief version of Perceived Meaning in Activity—Housing (PMA-H) and investigate its factor structure, internal consistency, evidence for convergent and discriminant validity, and any floor or ceiling effects. Two data sets from people with psychiatric disabilities living in congregate supported housing were reanalyzed. Seven-item PMA-H-7 was developed in Sample 1 and then tested for psychometric properties in Samples 1 ( n = 155) and 2 ( N = 35). Questionnaires addressing phenomena supposed to be similar to PMA (satisfaction with accommodation), or dissimilar (health, psychiatric symptoms, level of functioning), were administered. A single factor explained 44% of the variation in PMA-H-7. Internal consistency was α = .74/.75 in the two samples. Correlations of r s = .47/.52 with housing satisfaction indicated convergent validity. Low and insignificant associations were found for the remaining variables, supporting discriminant validity. No floor or ceiling effects were identified. PMA-H-7 showed adequate psychometric samples for use with people with psychiatric disabilities in assessing opportunities for meaningful activity in the supported housing context.