title: [Reduction in the number of questions of a scale designed for measuring opinions].
abstract: In order to study people's opinions on concepts such as mental health, mental illness and assistance in mental health, the Scale for Measuring Opinions (SMO) was built and applied. With the aim of improving the efficiency of this instrument, the present study was conducted on the basis of three criteria: (a) critical analysis of the sentence and of the pertinence of each question, observing repetitions and problems understanding the sentences; (b) importance of the assertion based on the total score, calculating Pearson's correlation coefficients; (c) correlation of each question with the average score per category. Questions have been reformulated, regrouped or eliminated, considering their pertinence or low correlation with the average score. As a result, a 34-item SMO was obtained.
authors.affiliation: Depto Enfermagem Psiquiátrica e Ciências Humanas da EERP, USP.
authors.forename: Vera Lúcia Mendiondo
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Osinaga
authors.forename: Antônia Regina Ferreira
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Furegato
authors.forename: Jair Licio Ferreira
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services; D011639:Public Opinion; D011996:Records