The International Mental Health Assessment: Validation of an Efficient Screening Inventory

The International Mental Health Assessment (IMHA) was developed to provide efficient screening facilitate prevention and early intervention among employees or community adults at three levels of analysis: a P-factor general functioning tendency toward disorder; broad spectra internalizing externalizing tendencies for life difficulties; nine subscales common, familiar psychological behavioral health categories. This study describes the development, refinement, validation inventory using item response theory (IRT), specifically partial credit model (PCM). Explicit, behavior-focused items drew on commonalities domain-specific inventories, DSM-V empirical literature. A scale based concrete frequency occurrence over last month avoid reference-group effects that plague cross-group survey research, facilitating comparison both levels. In Study 1, preliminary 69-item version administered 5,307 employees, family members, counseling clients. PCM calibration used remove with overlapping discrimination unclear correspondence. 2, refined 59-item IMHA 4,048 employees. 3, were compared relevant established inventories assess confirm their convergent/divergent validity in third sample (N = 500). final 54-item IMHA, intended problems research including cross-cultural comparisons, is made available freely educational, non-profit purposes. three-level measurement strategy draws recent evidence continuous nature psychopathology well-established co-morbidity traditional disorder categories, making use them communication purposes without unnecessarily reifying model.