Measurement equivalence of the Empowerment Scale for White and Black persons with severe mental illness.

Abstract

Objective The current study examined the measurement equivalence on a measure of personal empowerment for African American and White consumers of mental health services. Methods Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to assess measurement equivalences of the 28-item Empowerment Scale (Rogers, Chamberlin, Ellison & Crean, 1997), using data from 1,035 White and 301 African American persons with severe mental illness. Results Metric invariance of the Empowerment Scale was supported, in that the factor structure and loadings were equivalent across groups. Scalar invariance was violated on three items; however, the impact of these items on scale scores was quite small. Finally, subscales of empowerment tended to be more highly inter-correlated for African American than for White respondents. Conclusions and Implications for Practice Results generally support the use of Empowerment Scale for ethnic group comparisons. However, subtle differences in the psychometric properties of this measure suggest that African Americans and White individuals may conceptualize the construct of empowerment in different ways. Specifically, African American respondents had a lower threshold for endorsing some items on the self-esteem and powerlessness dimensions. Further, White respondents viewed the three dimensions of empowerment (self-esteem, powerlessness and activism) as more distinct, whereas these three traits were more strongly interrelated for African Americans.

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Peer-Delivered and Technology Supported Self-Management Intervention for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness

“…Scores range from 12–48 with higher the scores indicating a higher level of hope. To measure empowerment we used the Empowerment Scale [26], which was developed with consumers with SMI and is a valid, reliable 28-item scale that measures empowerment [27, 28]. Scores were totaled and averaged with a potential score of one through four, in which lower scores indicated higher levels of empowerment.…”

Measurement invariance of the Short Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale and of the Health Empowerment Scale in German and French women

“…The HES has never been used in cross-cultural research and no studies have tested its measurement invariance. Research tested measurement invariance of the Empowerment Scale (ES; Morris et al, 2014) and the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ; Brunet et al, 2015). Morris et al (2014) compared Caucasian and Afro-American people with severe mental illness on the ES.…”

“…Research tested measurement invariance of the Empowerment Scale (ES; Morris et al, 2014) and the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ; Brunet et al, 2015). Morris et al (2014) compared Caucasian and Afro-American people with severe mental illness on the ES. They did not find a full measurement invariance: metric invariance was met, while full scalar and strict invariances were not.…”