Development and Validation of Christian Ministers Psychopathological Scale (CMPS)

This paper describes the development and validation of a Christian Ministers Psychopathological Scale (CMPS) to facilitate early diagnosis of mental health challenges among Christian Ministers, especially in Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and was carried out in four stages. The initial items were generated from an extensive review of literature and concerns raised from a focused group discussion among Christian ministers with Pentecostal affiliation. These concerns are perceived as possible predictors of mental health challenges among the ministers. Fifty-two (52) participants were randomly selected from Ede, Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria for the scale development, while four hundred and fifty-six (456) participants were randomly selected across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. They responded to the online versions of the 15- item instrument (CMPS) and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-14) for the congruent validation. The observed KMO measure was 0.47, and a significant sphericity test was observed (X2=1258.495, df= .703, p = .000). All the 15 items extracted from the Principal Components Analysis PCA were within the very good discrimination values. The CMPS has a Cronbach's alpha of .79. Congruent validity coefficient of (r =.368, p = .035); was observed between CMPS and DASS-14. Authors conclude that the CMPS is gender-sensitive, has acceptable psychometric properties and is recommended as a diagnostic tool for assessing psychopathological symptoms among Christian ministers.