Cited by 857Mental Health and Patient InvolvementCommunity Health and DevelopmentPsychometric Methodologies and Testing

A consumer-constructed scale to measure empowerment among users of mental health services

Erna Sally Rogers, J Chamberlin, Marsha Langer Ellison, Tim Crean·1997·Psychiatric Services

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A scale to measure the personal construct of empowerment as defined by consumers of mental health services was developed and field tested. METHODS: After extensive development, pilot testing, and analyses, a 28-item scale to measure empowerment was tested on 271 members of six self-help programs in six states. Factor analyses were used to identify the underlying dimensions of empowerment. To establish the scale's reliability and validity, responses were factor analyzed, and other analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Analyses revealed five factors: self-efficacy-self-esteem, power-powerlessness, community activism, righteous anger, and optimism-control over the future. Empowerment was related to quality of life and income but not to the demographic variables of age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, or employment status. Empowerment was inversely related to use of traditional mental health services and positively related to community activism. CONCLUSIONS: The findings set a framework for a clearer understanding of the imprecise and overused concept of empowerment. The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency and some evidence for validity. Further testing must be done to establish whether it has discriminant validity and is sensitive to change.

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Crossref · 10.1176/ps.48.8.1042

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Authors
Rogers, E. S., Chamberlin, J., Ellison, M. L., & Crean, T.
Affiliations
Boston University (US)
Venue
Psychiatric Services
Published
1997-08-01
Volume
48
Issue
8
Pages
1042-1047
ISSN
  • 0022-1597 (ISSN-L)
  • 1075-2730
  • 1557-9700
OpenAlex
W51019709
Cited by
854
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 62 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 48 · 2012: 40
FWCI
17.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychiatric Services (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Community Health and Development
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Keywords
empowerment, mental health service users, scale development, self-help programs, self-efficacy, self-esteem, powerlessness, community activism, righteous anger, optimism, quality of life, mental health service utilization
MeSH terms
Adult, Community Participation, Consumer Behavior, Humans, Internal-External Control, Mental Health Services, Personality Inventory, Pilot Projects, Power, Psychological, Psychometrics, Quality of Life, Self Concept, Self-Help Groups, United States, Reproducibility of Results

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