Validating the empowerment scale with a multisite sample of consumers of mental health services.
OBJECTIVE
Empowerment is a key aspect of recovery and a common term in the mental health field, but there are few consistent definitions or validated measures of the construct. This study conducted psychometric testing on the Empowerment Scale, a widely used measure in the field.


METHODS
As part of the Consumer-Operated Multi-Site study funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, consumers with a psychiatric disability were administered the Empowerment Scale along with several other scales to measure clinical status and psychosocial factors.


RESULTS
Analyses produced five factors with acceptable fit statistics. The total scale demonstrated excellent reliability and validity.


CONCLUSIONS
Analyses provide additional evidence that the total Empowerment Scale score is a reliable, valid measure; subscales of the scale appear less robust. Empowerment is considered an essential factor in recovery-oriented programs and systems, and the use of psychometrically sound measures such as the Empowerment Scale therefore may be useful to evaluators.
Rogers
E Sally
ES
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. erogers@bu.edu
Ralph
Ruth O
RO
Salzer
Mark S
MS
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014481:United States