ABSTRACT
Problem
Mental health stigma (MHS) presents a significant barrier to help-seeking and adversely affects the quality of life and support for adolescents with mental health difficulties, yet culturally adapted assessment tools for adolescents in China remain scarce. The objectives were to translate the Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale (PMHSS) into Chinese and evaluate its psychometric properties, including reliability and criterion validity.
Methods
The Chinese version of PMHSS (C-PMHSS) was developed through forward and backward translation, synthesis, comparison and cross-cultural debugging. Psychometric properties were evaluated in a stratified cluster sample of 530 adolescents (13–18 years). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed structural validity, while reliability was tested through Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest correlations.
Findings
Factor analyzes confirmed a two-factor negative subscale (57.74% variance; χ²/df = 2.303, RMSEA = 0.071) and trifactorial positive subscale (70.32% variance; χ²/df = 2.143, RMSEA = 0.066). The C-PMHSS demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.83) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.86). Significant MHS variations emerged across age, grade, and sex (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
The C-PMHSS demonstrates robust psychometric properties, establishing itself as the first psychometrically validated Chinese instrument for early MHS identifying among adolescents. It holds promise for the early identification of adolescents with elevated mental health stigma and for guiding tailored interventions to reduce MHS and promote adolescent mental wellbeing.