Measuring recovery: Validity of the “Recovery Process Inventory” and the “Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire”

Considerable lack of publications and inconsistent results on construct validity make it difficult to choose an appropriate instrument to measure recovery. The aim of the present study was to evaluate additional psychometric aspects of two established measures of personal recovery with differing focusses. Bivariate associations of the recovery measures with personal, clinical and subjective factors were conducted as indicators of concurrent (convergent and divergent) validity. The scales were also tested concerning internal consistency. The sample comprised of 81 inpatients on an acute psychiatric ward (main diagnoses: 27% substance-related disorders, 27% schizophrenic disorders, 25% affective disorders, 10% neurotic or stress-related disorders, and 11% personality disorders). The “Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ)” has to be reevaluated before further administration due to serious psychometric shortcomings concerning internal consistency and concurrent validity. The “Recovery Process Inventory (RPI)” total scale showed acceptable concurrent and within-scale validity and can be recommended in order to measure the personal recovery process for clinical and scientific purposes.