The Prejudice Towards People with Mental Illness Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version (PPMI-IT)
Currently, there are no validated instruments in Italian specifically designed to assess mental illness stigma or prejudice. Moreover, implicit measures, while insightful, are often resource-intensive and impractical for large-scale population studies of Italian speakers. The present study investiga...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/7/126 |
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| Summary: | Currently, there are no validated instruments in Italian specifically designed to assess mental illness stigma or prejudice. Moreover, implicit measures, while insightful, are often resource-intensive and impractical for large-scale population studies of Italian speakers. The present study investigated the validity of the Italian version of the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness scale (PPMI-IT) in measuring biases toward individuals with mental health issues. The original instrument by Kenny et al. was translated from English into Italian and vice versa. A sample of 455 Italian-speaking participants (65% female; M<sub>age</sub> = 33.39; SD = 13.21) was utilized to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis, confirming a four-factor structure (<i>fear/avoidance, malevolence, authoritarianism, unpredictability</i>). Factor loadings indicated that each dimension was well represented, supporting the construct validity of the scale. Model fit indices, including chi-square (χ<sup>2</sup> = 782.54, df = 296.00, χ<sup>2</sup>/df = 2.64), RMSEA (0.06, 90% CI: 0.060–0.07), CFI (0.93), TLI (0.91), and SRMR (0.06), suggest an excellent model fit. Furthermore, the analysis of correlations and the heterotrait/monotrait (HTMT) ratio provides evidence supporting the discriminant validity of the PPMI scale compared with social desirability. These findings confirm that the PPMI scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing biases toward individuals with mental health issues, making it suitable for academic research, clinical interventions, and public policy contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 2174-8144 2254-9625 |