Full Digest V8, I2

10 TPC Digest T The frequency and complexity of mental health distress among the college student population is a growing and serious concern. College campuses, typically, offer a number of mental health-related resources for students at both on-campus and off-campus locations. Unfortunately, a troubling number of college students who are living with mental health issues do not receive treatment. In recent years, identifying and training counseling referral agents (e.g., student peers and faculty members) to recognize and refer students to the counseling center and other mental health resources has become a key role of college counselors. This new role for college counselors has created a need for research about new methods for aiding college counselors with their outreach and consultation work. To help meet this need, the authors developed a short questionnaire, the College Mental Health Perceived Competency Scale (CMHPCS), to be used as a tool by college counselors for identifying and training counseling referral agents to recognize and refer students/peers to resources for mental wellness. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the CMHPCS, a brief questionnaire for measuring the extent to which university community members are confident in their ability to promote a campus climate that is supportive, accepting, and facilitative towards mental wellness. Questionnaire items were developed based on self-determination theory (SDT), a psychological orientation to human motivation. Based on SDT, we predicted that increases in the extent to which individuals feel competent that they can perform an action or behavior is associated with increases in their motivation to participate in that action or behavior. Three major statistical analyses, including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical logistic regression, were computed using a sample of faculty members and undergraduate students. Results of these analyses supported the psychometric properties of the 12-item CMHPCS. In particular, the following subscales emerged from the data: engagement, knowledge, and fear. The engagement dimension estimates the degree to which a faculty member is involved with interacting, supporting, and working with students who are struggling with mental health disorders. The fear subscale appraises one’s anxiety or concern surrounding mental health issues on college campuses. The knowledge subscale reflects the extent to which the respondent was familiar with mental health issues on college campuses. We also found that student and faculty members’ scores on the CMHPCS were significant predictors of an increase in the odds of having made a student referral to the counseling center. On a practical level, the CMHPCS can be used by college counselors to provide a baseline measure of perceived competence for promoting mental health on campus among students and faculty members. The measure also is valuable for college counselors as they assist with new student and new faculty orientations. It is user-friendly, short, and versatile (for use with faculty and student populations). The results also can be used to aid college counselors in structuring the content of educational sessions for recognizing and referring students to the counseling center. Michael T. Kalkbrenner, NCC, is an assistant professor at New Mexico State University. Christopher A. Sink is a professor and Batten Chair at Old Dominion University. Correspondence can be addressed to Michael Kalkbrenner, 1780 E. University Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88003, mkalk001@nmsu.edu. Development and Validation of the College Mental Health Perceived Competency Scale Michael T. Kalkbrenner and Christopher A. Sink