The Prejudice Towards People with Mental Illness Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version (PPMI-IT)

• Francesca Bruno ^[1] ; Francesco Chirico ^[2] ; Hicham Khabbache ^[3] ; Younes Rami ^[3] ; Driss Ait Ali ^[3] ; Valentina Cardella ^[1] ; Maria Chayinska ^[1] ; Ivan Formica ^[1] ; Amelia Rizzo
  1. [1] University of Messina

     University of Messina

     Mesina, Italia

     
  2. [2] Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

     Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

     Milán, Italia

     
  3. [3] Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University

     Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University

     Fes-Medina, Marruecos

     

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• Localización: EJIHPE: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, ISSN 2174-8144, ISSN-e 2254-9625, Vol. 15, Nº. 7, 2025, págs. 126-126
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe15070126
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• Resumen

  • Currently, there are no validated instruments in Italian specifically designed to assess mental illness stigma or prejudice. Moreover, implicit measures, while insightful, are often resource-intensive and impractical for large-scale population studies of Italian speakers. The present study investigated the validity of the Italian version of the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness scale (PPMI-IT) in measuring biases toward individuals with mental health issues. The original instrument by Kenny et al. was translated from English into Italian and vice versa. A sample of 455 Italian-speaking participants (65% female; Mage = 33.39; SD = 13.21) was utilized to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis, confirming a four-factor structure (fear/avoidance, malevolence, authoritarianism, unpredictability). Factor loadings indicated that each dimension was well represented, supporting the construct validity of the scale. Model fit indices, including chi-square (χ2 = 782.54, df = 296.00, χ2/df = 2.64), RMSEA (0.06, 90% CI: 0.060–0.07), CFI (0.93), TLI (0.91), and SRMR (0.06), suggest an excellent model fit. Furthermore, the analysis of correlations and the heterotrait/monotrait (HTMT) ratio provides evidence supporting the discriminant validity of the PPMI scale compared with social desirability. These findings confirm that the PPMI scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing biases toward individuals with mental health issues, making it suitable for academic research, clinical interventions, and public policy contexts.

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