Adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese and Latin-American Spanish and psychometric properties of the Mental Illness Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale (MICA v4)

Abstract Objective To describe translation to Spanish and Portuguese and adaptation of the Mental Illness Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale version 4 (MICA v4). Methods The questionnaire was administered to primary care physicians (PCPs) from four Latin-American countries, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and Cuba. The validation process included four phases: 1) translation of the questionnaire to Spanish and Portuguese; 2) assessment of face validity; 3) assessment of reliability; and 4) evaluation of construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results The study sample comprised 427 PCPs. The mean age of the Spanish-speaking sample (n = 252) was 40.1 (S.D = 9.7) years and the mean age of the Portuguese-speaking sample (n = 150) was 40.2 (S.D = 10.9) years. Both models demonstrated “appropriate” internal reliability. Total omega was 0.91 for the Spanish-speaking sample and 0.89 for the Portuguese-speaking sample. The CFA of both questionnaires showed an appropriate fit for a three-factor model (Portuguese: CFI = 0.927; TLI = 0.913; RMSEA = 0.066; Spanish: CFI = 0.945; TLI = 0.935; RMSEA = 0.068). Conclusion The Latin-American versions of the MICA v4 in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese have appropriate psychometric properties, good internal consistency, and are applicable to and acceptable in the Latin-American context. The instrument proved its validity for collecting data on stigmatizing attitudes among health professionals in different contexts and cultures.