Michael T. Compton|Dana Hankerson?Dyson|Beth Broussard
Development, item analysis, and initial reliability and validity of a multiple-choice knowledge of mental illnesses test for lay samples
George Washington University|Emory University|George Washington University
publics level mental health literacy remains low despite growing access information regarding mental illnesses measures exist assess level knowledge mental illnesses lay samples multiplechoice knowledge mental illnesses test mckomit developed initially use study involving police officers received 40 h training focused recognizing mental illnesses using verbal deescalation techniques making mental health referrals appropriate report details initial development 100 questions item bank eventual selection final 33 items retained 33 items internal consistency demonstrated testretest reliability examined among officers mental healthrelated training completed test monday morning friday afternoon construct validity examined three hypothesis tests mckomit sensitive change related educational intervention scores significantly correlated years educational attainment officers reporting past current treatment mental health problem scored higher without history initial report suggests mckomit may useful quantifying knowledge mental illnesses police officers diverse lay samples