Objective:

To examine the content validity, internal structure, and internal consistency of a Peruvian scale assessing reasons why workers are reluctant to attend consultations with a psychiatrist.

Approach:

• Study Design: An instrumental study conducted in Peru involving item development, expert validation, pilot testing, and psychometric evaluation.
• Sample: Questionnaire administered to 3001 workers from various Peruvian departments using non-random sampling.
• Analysis: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory analyses were performed, with internal consistency estimated using Cronbach’s alpha, ordinal alpha, and ordinal omega total.

Key Findings:

• Most Aiken’s V coefficients were 0.70 or higher, indicating strong relevance and clarity of items, with only one item showing lower representativeness.
• Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor structure explaining 80.96% of the variance, with factor loadings ranging from 0.8425 to 0.9365.
• High reliability estimates were found in both main and sensitivity analyses, indicating the scale's robustness.

Interpretation:

The CONSULT-PSYCHIATR is a brief 10-item instrument with evidence of content validity, internal structure, and internal consistency for assessing perceived reasons for reluctance to attend psychiatric consultations.

Limitations:

• Findings may not generalize to other populations and settings, limiting the applicability of the scale beyond the studied group.
• Further studies are needed to assess additional sources of validity evidence to strengthen the scale's overall reliability.

Conclusion:

The scale shows promise for identifying barriers to psychiatric consultation among workers in Peru.