Measuring personal loss among adults coping with serious mental illness.
Psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of personal loss for adults coping with psychiatric disability are examined. The Personal Loss from Mental Illness Scale (PLMI) is a 20-item measure that assesses overall perceptions and four interrelated aspects of personal loss from mental illness. Using a sample of 158 adults with serious mental illness, the PLMI was found to have a meaningful factor structure, good internal consistency and high test-retest reliability. Construct validity is evidenced by positive correlations between personal loss scores, number of psychiatric hospitalizations, self-reports of loneliness, psychological symptoms, and problems with alcohol. PLMI scores were unrelated to scores on a personal growth measure and negatively correlated with scores on a positive well-being scale. Implications of the PLMI for research on coping, adaptation and recovery from serious mental illness are discussed.
Stein
Catherine H
CH
Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA. cstein@bgnet.bgsu.edu
Dworsky
Dryw O
DO
Phillips
Russell E
RE
Hunt
Marcia G
MG
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic