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Measurement Properties of the Motivation for Youth Treatment Scale with a Residential Group Home Population

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Abstract

Background

A client’s motivation to receive services is significantly related to seeking services, remaining in services, and improved outcomes. The Motivation for Youth Treatment Scale (MYTS) is one of the few brief measures used to assess motivation for mental health treatment.

Objective

To investigate if the psychometric properties of the MYTS previously found for youth receiving outpatient treatment would be replicated in a sample of youth entering residential care.

Methods

The study was conducted at a large residential group care agency in the Midwest with 145 youth who completed the 8-item MYTS upon intake into the group homes. To investigate the psychometrics of the MYTS, we used classical test theory, Rasch modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis approaches.

Results

Most of the psychometric properties were strong and replicated previous research in outpatient settings. The primary divergent finding was that the two subscales, problem recognition and treatment readiness were not significantly correlated in the residential sample, in contrast to the moderate correlations found in outpatient samples.

Conclusions

The MYTS can be recommended for use in residential settings, however, researchers and practitioners should carefully examine the sub-scale scores. Future research needs to replicate these findings in residential settings and further explore why the two subscales are minimally correlated.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported herein was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health through Grant R34MH080941 and by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R324B110001 to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the U.S. Department of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 211 Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE, 68583, USA

    Matthew C. Lambert

  2. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 204F Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE, 68583, USA

    Kristin Duppong Hurley

  3. Vanderbilt University, 151 Peabody, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA

    M. Michele Athay Tomlinson

  4. Father Flanagan’s Boys Home, 100 Crawford Drive, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA

    Amy L. Stevens

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  1. Matthew C. Lambert
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  2. Kristin Duppong Hurley
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  3. M. Michele Athay Tomlinson
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  4. Amy L. Stevens
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Correspondence to Matthew C. Lambert.

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Lambert, M.C., Hurley, K.D., Michele Athay Tomlinson, M. et al. Measurement Properties of the Motivation for Youth Treatment Scale with a Residential Group Home Population. Child Youth Care Forum 42, 555–570 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-013-9217-y

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