Validity and Reliability of Recovery Assessment Scale for Cantonese Speaking Chinese Consumers with Mental Illness

The present study aims to determine the reliability and validity of a 24-item Recovery Assessment Scale for Cantonese speakers (RAS-C) in the Chinese cultural context. The original English version of the RAS was translated into the RAS-C by means of forward and backward translation procedures. AThe cross-sectional research design adopted involving 295 participants randomly drawn from a population of Chinese Cantonese speaking consumers with mental illness who have been participating in community-based mental health services. The RAS-C has demonstrated high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha =.92. The RAS-C also shows significant and positive correlations with measures on the stage of recovery, self-esteem and quality of life of the service consumers. An explorative factor analysis of the RAS-C yielded five factors that were consistent with previous research results. The present study confirms the reliability and validity of the RAS-C. The RAS-C can facilitate the development of interventions that are effective in promoting the recovery of consumers in Chinese communities.