Development and validation of the Japanese version of Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale version 4 (MICA-4)

Abstract

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale version 4 (MICA-4), a tool designed to gauge attitudes towards mental illness and mental health care. The scale is tailored for those working in the health care sector and for students aspiring to become professionals in this field. Its face validity was confirmed through a translation process aligning with the guidelines of the ISPOR Task Force. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of 323 nurses and 116 medical students revealed that the Japanese version of MICA-4 exhibited a three-factor structure, demonstrating internal consistency and retest reliability. Some subscales of the Japanese version of MICA-4 showed positive correlations with the Devaluation-Discrimination Scale and negative correlations with the Intention to Help-Seeking Scale, indicating a certain level of construct validity. The Japanese version of MICA-4 can be used with the same 16 items as the original version and its foreign language counterparts, indicating its applicability for international comparisons.