Measures of Motivation for Psychiatric Treatment Based on Self-Determination Theory: Psychometric Properties in Dutch Psychiatric Outpatients

Self-determination theory is potentially useful for understanding reasons why individuals with mental illness do or do not engage in psychiatric treatment. The current study examined the psychometric properties of three questionnaires based on self-determination theory—The Treatment Entry Questionnaire (TEQ), Health Care Climate Questionnaire (HCCQ), and the Short Motivation Feedback List (SMFL)—in a sample of 348 Dutch adult outpatients with primary diagnoses of mood, anxiety, psychotic, and personality disorders. Structural equation modeling showed that the empirical factor structures of the TEQ and SMFL were adequately represented by a model with three intercorrelated factors. These were interpreted as identified, introjected, and external motivation. The reliabilities of the Dutch TEQ, HCCQ, and SMFL were found to be acceptable but can be improved on; congeneric estimates ranged from 0.66 to 0.94 depending on the measure and patient subsample. Preliminary support for the construct validities of the questionnaires was found in the form of theoretically expected associations with other scales, including therapist-rated motivation and treatment engagement and with legally mandated treatment. Additionally, the study provides insights into the relations between measures of motivation based on self-determination theory, the transtheoretical model and the integral model of treatment motivation in psychiatric outpatients with severe mental illness.

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