Perceived Family Support for Mental Health Services: A Scale Development and Psychometric Validity Study with Muslims in the United States

Abstract

Muslims in the United States encounter stress, discrimination, and Islamophobia which are linked to lower mental health outcomes. Despite the need for mental health services, Muslims experience disparities in service utilization. Perceived family support for mental health services plays an important role in help-seeking behaviors. To my knowledge, there are no measures that capture this construct. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985), I conducted a three-phase, community-engaged, mixed-methods preregistered study to develop the Perceived Family Support for Mental Health Services Scale for Muslims in the United States and to examine the psychometric properties of scale scores. Phase 1 included interviews with 20 Muslim community members and community informants (e.g., religious leaders, community elders, mental health providers). Qualitative content analysis informed generation of scale items. Then, feedback was incorporated from six Muslim community members and community informants and five content experts to ensure the scale was culturally sensitive, comprehensive, and easily understandable. Phase 2 involved administering the scale to 600 Muslims from regions across the United States (M age = 34; 28% Middle Eastern and North African, 26% Asian, 24% other groups (e.g., Latino, White, multiracial), and 22% Black). Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor scale with 26 items. The four subscales included Family Stigma, Family Openness and Engagement, Family Support for Culturally Aligned Services, and Family Mistrust of Mental Healthcare Systems. Phase 3 included confirmatory factor analysis that supported the four-factor structure. Evidence supported reliability and validity of scale scores. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.