Validation of a translated comprehensive mental health literacy measure for adolescents (KAMHS-NL)

Mental health literacy (MHL) is considered to be of crucial importance for early recognition and self-management of mental health problems, and for the use and acceptance of mental health services. MHL has been identified as an important factor for the promotion and prevention of mental health problems, especially during adolescence. Recently, the Knowledge and Attitudes to Mental Health Scales (KAMHS) has been developed to assess MHL in adolescents. Studies show that the KAMHS is a comprehensive instrument that could potentially be widely used within the research community. However, it has thus far not been validated in different contexts. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the content, structural, and construct validity of a translated version of the KAMHS in another country, namely the Netherlands. First, we established the content validity of the translated KAMHS (KAHMS-NL) through cognitive interviewing with adolescents (n = 16). Next, we collected data among adolescents aged 13-16 attending secondary schools in the Netherlands (n = 404) on mental health literacy (KAMHS-NL), mental health, resilience, and use of mental health support. We then assessed structural validity by applying confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. Lastly, construct validity was assessed by analyzing convergent and divergent correlations between subscales of the KAMHS-NL and other instruments. Preliminary results suggest that the KAMHS-NL has good content validity, while the factor structure previously identified by the developers was confirmed with two models for the Dutch version. For construct validity, significant although relatively small-to-moderate convergent correlations with the reference scales (r = 0.14-0.40) and small divergent correlations (r = 0.00-0.06) were found. More detailed results will be made available at the time of the presentation. We conclude that the KAMHS-NL is a reliable and valid measure for adolescent MHL which deserves wider implementation. KEY MESSAGES: • The KAMHS-NL is a reliable and valid measure for adolescent mental health literacy. • Cross-cultural translation and validation of the KAMHS is needed for wider and more streamlined measurement of adolescent mental health literacy.