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Validation of the Recovery Assessment Scale for Chinese in recovery of mental illness in Hong Kong

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Abstract

Objective

Given the absence of well-validated measures to measure personal recovery in the Chinese communities, this study translated the 24-item Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS-24) into Chinese, investigated its psychometric properties, and confirmed its five-factor structure, as proposed by Corrigan et al. (Schizophr Bull 30(4):1035–1041, 2004), among a sample of people in recovery of mental illness in Hong Kong.

Methods

A sample of 596 people in recovery was recruited for scale validation. The RAS-24 was translated into traditional Chinese, and its factor structure was tested by confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to assess the internal consistency of the Chinese version of the RAS-24 (RAS-C). Concurrent and construct validity were examined by investigating the correlation of the RAS-C with Recovery Markers Questionnaire (RMQ), Test’s Life Satisfaction Scale, Self-Stigma Scale, and Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale.

Results

The RAS-C full scale and subscales yielded good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .73–.93). The finding supported the five-factor solution proposed by Corrigan et al. (2004), χ 2(242) = 783.81, p < .001, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .05. The RAS-C has established concurrent validity with RMQ and demonstrated construct validity with life satisfaction, self-stigma, as well as symptoms and functional difficulties.

Conclusion

The Chinese version of the RAS-24 was found to have promising psychometric properties in assessing the subjective perception of recovery among Hong Kong Chinese. The validation of RAS-C among Chinese enables its usage to gauge personal recovery outcomes among Chinese in recovery. In addition, the validated measure can contribute to the comparison of recovery across English-speaking and Chinese-speaking samples.

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Funding

The present study was funded by the research Grants from Social Welfare Development Fund of the Social Welfare Department, HKSAR (Ref. No.: SWDF-R01), as well as the Food and Health Bureau Commissioned Research on Mental Health Policy and Services (Ref. No. SMH-014).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Winnie W. S. Mak & Randolph C. H. Chan

  2. New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Sania S. W. Yau

Authors
  1. Winnie W. S. Mak
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  2. Randolph C. H. Chan
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  3. Sania S. W. Yau
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Correspondence to Winnie W. S. Mak.

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Conflict of interest

All of the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mak, W.W.S., Chan, R.C.H. & Yau, S.S.W. Validation of the Recovery Assessment Scale for Chinese in recovery of mental illness in Hong Kong. Qual Life Res 25, 1303–1311 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1157-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1157-6

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