Psychometric properties of the hebrew translation of the mental illness attribution questionnaire: Factor structure and culture-specific elements.

Many studies demonstrate the multidimensional and cross-cultural nature of mental illness attributions. These characteristics call for the ongoing assessment of measures of mental illness attributions across different cultures and the potential cultural influences on their factor structure. In this study we aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Hebrew translation of the Mental Illness Attribution Questionnaire and to examine shared and culture-specific elements of the scale. Subjects (N = 318) completed the Hebrew translation of the Mental Illness Attribution Questionnaire via online platform. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a seven-factor solution, which explained 54.10% of the total variance. Six factors thematically corresponded to factors of the original model, with one unique factor emerging pertaining to psychosocial disparities. Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from .780 to .920. The highest ranked factor was social/stress attributions, and the highest ranked item was traumatic experiences. These results suggest that the current factor structure differs from the structure emerging from the original scale, thus demonstrating the importance of cultural elements and their impact on mental illness attributions.