Development and psychometric evaluation of the mental readiness for military transition scale (MT-Ready)

BMC Psychiatry

Research

Philip J. Batterham¹  Gina Fisher²  Madeline Romaniuk³  Matthew Sunderland⁴ 

[1] Centre for Mental Health Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;Greenslopes Private Hospital, Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, 121 Newdegate Street, 4120, Greenslopes, QLD, Australia;Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia;Greenslopes Private Hospital, Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, 121 Newdegate Street, 4120, Greenslopes, QLD, Australia;Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia;Centre for Mental Health Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental health and Substance use, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia;

关键词: Reintegration;    Adjustment;    Transition;    Military;    Defence;    Psychometric development;    Measure;    Scale;    Veteran;    Mental health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-023-05032-z

 received in 2023-05-01, accepted in 2023-07-17,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe transition to civilian life following separation from military service is associated with increased risk of mental health disorders, suicide, and poor adjustment. No measure currently enables pre-separation screening to assess mental readiness for transition and identify personnel most at risk of poor outcomes. The Mental Readiness for Military Transition Scale (MT-Ready) was developed to identify psychosocial factors predictive of post-separation psychological adjustment and mental health.MethodsPhase I was a qualitative study including transitioned veterans (n = 60), partners of transitioned veterans (n = 20) and mental health clinicians (n = 20) which enabled development of candidate items that were subsequently piloted with a current serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) sample (n = 19). Phase II included evaluation of the factor structure, psychometric properties, and scale refinement of the initial pool of 50 items with a convenience sample of transitioning ADF personnel (n = 345). Analyses included exploratory factor analysis, evaluation of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent, divergent, discriminant and predictive validity. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis was also conducted to determine an optimal cut-off score.ResultsExploratory factor analysis resulted in a 15-item, three-factor solution that explained 62.2% of the variance: Future focus and optimism; Anger and perceived failure; Civilian connections and social support. Reliability and convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity was established. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis determined a cut-off score of 55. MT-Ready scores significantly differentiated those reporting adjusting versus not adjusting to civilian life 3.7 months post-separation, and predicted post-separation outcomes including symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, psychological adjustment and quality of life.ConclusionsThis evaluation provides promising evidence the MT-Ready is a valid, reliable measure of mental readiness for transition, with predictive capability and considerable potential to assist prevention of poor post-separation outcomes among military personnel.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023