Reliability and Validity of a short form of the Mental Health Inventory in an Iranian population

Valid screening questionnaires for mental health are useful tools for research and clinical practice. These instruments could play a major role in detecting patients with psychiatric disorders in medical centers. The main aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a short form of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-28) in an Iranian general population. 214 referrals to the counseling centers of Tehran University and Iran University of Science and Technology in two groups of patients (n= 107; 64 females, 43 males) and normals (n= 107; 64 females, 43 males) were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the MHI-28, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The MHI-28 was developed on the basis of psychometric properties of a longer form of the scale, MHI-38. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the MHI-28 were examined at satisfactory levels. Test-retest and alpha correlation coefficients were calculated for both groups. The coeffcients for psychological well-being and psychological disteress were from 0.85 to 0.91 for test-retest reliability and 0.89 to 0.94 for internal consistency, respectively. All correlations were significant at P< 0.001 level. Concurrent validity of the MHI-28 was calculated according to correlation coefficients between the scores on the MHI-28 and total score of the GHQ. The coefficients for psychological well-being and psychological distress were -0.87 and 0.88, respectively. All correlations were significant at P<0. 001. The results also supported discriminant validity of the MHI-28. It can be concluded that the MHI-28 is a valid measure and can be used for both research and clinical purposes by physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers in the field of healt care.