Validation of the Egk Questionnaire for the promotion of mental health In gatekeeper schools

Abstract

This study is part of a more extensive research about suicide in a school context. In Portugal, one of the approaches to prevention is the online training for gatekeeper teachers. This EGK questionnaire aims to assess the skills of teachers as gatekeepers and conditions of the school context. Faced with low levels of literacy in mental health and suicide prevention, it is necessary to develop and implement teacher training strategies that support the reduction of this affliction in the future. The EGK questionnaire comprises 20 items, with five response levels in a Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The questionnaire was developed after a literature review and exploratory studies. The sample for this study is composed of 1144 teachers (ranging from pre-school to high school teachers), who answered online. A factorial analysis revealed five factors. The assumptions of the KMO (> 0.60) and Bartlett's sphericity test (p < 0.001) were established. The factors included staff conditions; teacher preparation and confidence; competence of the school; ability of the teacher to refer student and capacity of the teacher to communicate. The global Cronbach's alpha value was established at α = 0.67 for reliability. Results show appropriate psychometric characteristics, indicating good validity and reliability of content and good internal consistency. This allows the use of the EGK questionnaire as a valid tool to measure the skills of teachers in gatekeeper roles. Further study is required to ensure the effectiveness of this pilot study.