Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey in people with serious mental illness

Abstract

Introduction Facilitating engagement in meaningful activities is a key intervention in the recovery process of people with serious mental illness. This study validates the use of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey in the Spanish mental health population for the purposes of measuring such engagement. Method Two hundred and ninety-five people with serious mental illness (68.3% were male; M = 47.5, SD = 9.7 years) participated voluntarily and anonymously in the study. All gave written informed consent. A translation into Spanish and back-translation to English was made. Reliability and validity of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey was assessed by the internal consistency, temporal stability and dimensionality of the scale. Results The Cronbach’s alpha of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey scale was 0.91 and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.76. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of the scale (χ 2 = 93.906, p < .001; comparative fit index = .96, Tucker–Lewis index = .95, root-mean-square error of approximation (90% confidence interval) = .05 (.03–.07) and standardized root mean square residual = .04). All the items showed significant standardized factor loadings above .59. Correlation between the two factors was .97 ( p < .001). Conclusion The instrument could be useful for assessing engagement in meaningful activities and helpful for recovery process interventions focused on enhancing community adjustment in people with serious mental illness.