The Illness Management and Recovery Scale: Adaptation and Validation Study of the Spanish Version

Abstract

This study translated, adapted, and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) Scale for Spanish-speaking populations, including both clinician and client versions. The translation followed the International Test Commission’s 2018 guidelines to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness. A total of 172 mental health service users completed the client version, while their reference professionals provided the corresponding responses to the clinician version and Health Nation Outcome Scale. Users also completed the Recovery Assessment Scale, the Functional Social Support Questionnaire, and the Dispositional Hope Scale. The Spanish versions demonstrated good adequacy, revealing a three-dimensional structure—goals and connectedness, management, and medication/substance use—consistent across both versions and aligned with prior studies. The management dimension showed adequate internal consistency, whereas the other two dimensions had lower reliability. Correlations with established recovery measures supported the IMR scale’s external validity. Findings support the Spanish IMR scale as a valuable tool for assessing mental health recovery, capturing both clinician and user perspectives. This research contributes significantly to the evaluation of illness management and recovery among Spanish-speaking individuals with severe mental disorders, offering a culturally adapted and psychometrically sound measure.