Development and validation of Attitudes towards Recovery Questionnaire across Chinese people in recovery, their family carers, and service providers in Hong Kong

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2018-09, Vol.267, p.48-55
• Main Authors: Mak, Winnie W.S., Chan, Randolph C.H., Yau, Sania S.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Attitudes towards Recovery Questionnaire; Caregivers - psychology; Family carers; Female; Focus Groups; Hong Kong - ethnology; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders - ethnology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental health service providers; Mental Health Services - standards; Middle Aged; People in recovery of mental illness; Personal recovery; Recovery of Function - physiology; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.047

•The Attitudes toward Recovery Questionnaire (ARQ) was developed and validated.•The ARQ includes an indigenous dimension of recovery—family involvement.•The instrument showed good reliability and validity across different stakeholders.•The ARQ is a culturally sensitive instrument for assessing recovery attitudes. Considering the lack of existing measures on attitudes toward personal recovery and the need to acknowledge the cultural milieu in recovery attitude assessment, the present study developed and validated the Attitudes towards Recovery Questionnaire (ARQ) in a sample of people in recovery of mental illness, family carers, and mental health service providers in Hong Kong. The ARQ was developed based on existing literature and measures of recovery, and focus group discussions with various stakeholders. Findings of the multi-sample confirmatory factor analyses supported a five-factor structure: (1) resilience as a person in recovery, (2) self-appreciation and development, (3) self-direction, (4) family involvement, and (5) social ties and integration. The ARQ was positively correlated with recovery outcomes, empowerment, recovery knowledge, and recovery orientation of mental health services. As a tool for examining recovery attitudes, the ARQ informs us of the mindset across stakeholders and areas that need enhancement to facilitate the recovery process.