Measurement Properties of the Thought Disturbance Scale of the MAYSI-2: An Assessment of Its Appropriateness for Girls

Studies informing gender-responsive programming in the juvenile justice system reveal high levels of mental health problems amongst girls; however, relatively neglected has been attention to thought disturbances. A major impediment in this regard is that the Thought Disturbance subscale of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-2 (MAYSI-2), the most widely used screening measure for mental health problems amongst detained youth, was not deemed reliable for use with girls in the original validation studies. Given the pervasive use of the MAYSI-2 and the importance of identifying thought disturbance amongst girls, a more robust evaluation is needed. An evaluation of the measurement properties, including confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, and measurement invariance models, was conducted in a sample of 5615 detained youth. Findings suggested that the Thought Disturbance subscale may be suitable for mental health screening with girls.