Psychometric validation of the Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) applied with Indigenous Australians.
OBJECTIVE
Empowerment is a complex process of psychological, social, organizational and structural change. It allows individuals and groups to achieve positive growth and effectively address the social and psychological impacts of historical oppression, marginalization and disadvantage. The Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) was developed to measure change in dimensions of empowerment as defined and described by Aboriginal Australians who participated in the Family Well Being programme.


METHODS
The GEM has two components: a 14-item Emotional Empowerment Scale (EES14) and 12 Scenarios (12S). It is accompanied by the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6), supplemented by two questions assessing frequency of happy and angry feelings. For validation, the measure was applied with 184 Indigenous Australian participants involved in personal and/or organizational social health activities.


RESULTS
Psychometric analyses of the new instruments support their validity and reliability and indicate two-component structures for both the EES (Self-capacity; Inner peace) and the 12S (Healing and enabling growth, Connection and purpose). Strong correlations were observed across the scales and subscales. Participants who scored higher on the newly developed scales showed lower distress on the K6, particularly when the two additional questions were included. However, exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that GEM subscales are separable from the Kessler distress measure.


CONCLUSIONS
The GEM shows promise in enabling measurement and enhancing understanding of both process and outcome of psychological and social empowerment within an Australian Indigenous context.
Haswell
Melissa R
MR
Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. m.haswell@unsw.edu.au
Kavanagh
David
D
Tsey
Komla
K
Reilly
Lyndon
L
Cadet-James
Yvonne
Y
Laliberte
Arlene
A
Wilson
Andrew
A
Doran
Chris
C
D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000208:ethnology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires