Assessment of self-determination in mental health: A new application field of the AUTODDIS scale.

OBJECTIVE: Self-determination enhances well-being and quality of life. It is also considered a fundamental pillar in improving the efficacy of interventions used to treat people with severe mental disorders (SMD). Yet the assessment of self-determination in relation to mental health requires further research. The aim of this study was to analyze the adequacy and psychometric properties of the AUTODDIS scale in a Spanish population with SMD. METHOD: The scale was originally developed and validated to assess self-determination in people with intellectual disability. The scale was administered to a sample of 333 adults with SMD (M = 47.6 years, SD = 11.68), most of whom were receiving treatment in an outpatient setting or at long-stay care facilities in six specialized centers in Spain. RESULTS: The quality of the items and the reliability of the scale and its subscales were analyzed. External validity was also explored, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the fit of the data to different models. The results indicate that the scale demonstrated sufficient evidence of reliability and validity, supporting the adequacy of its use in the field of mental health. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The use of this scale as a tool to assess self-determination and its domains in the mental health field is warranted. The article also discusses the need for more research and assessment tools to facilitate decision making by clinical and organizational stakeholders in promoting self-determination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Determination in People with Intellectual Disability: The Mediating Role of Opportunities.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have proclaimed the basic right of people to make one's own choices, have an effective participation and inclusion. Research in the field of disability have stressed self-determination as a key construct because of its impact on their quality of life and the achievement of desired educational and adulthood related outcomes. Self-determination development must be promoted through specific strategies and especially, by providing tailored opportunities to practice those skills. Providing these opportunities across environments could be especially relevant as a facilitator of self-determination development. This manuscript aims to ascertain if opportunities at home and in the community to engage in self-determined actions are mediating the relationship between people intellectual disability level and their self-determination. Results have confirmed direct effects of intellectual disability level on self-determination scores. Indirect effects also predicted self-determination and almost all its related components (self-initiation, self-direction, self-regulation, self-realization, and empowerment) through opportunities in the community and at home. Autonomy was predicted by the intellectual disability level through an indirect effect of opportunities at home, but not in the community. These results highlight the need for further research to better operationalize and promote contextually rooted opportunities for people with intellectual disability to become more self-determined.