Reliability and normative data for the behavioral health measure (BHM) in primary care behavioral health settings

The Behavioral Health Measure (BHM) is a brief self-report measure of general psychological distress and functioning developed for the tracking of mental health outcomes in outpatient psychotherapy settings (Kopta & Lowry, 2002). Although the BHM is used in integrated primary care behavioral health clinics, the scale's psychometric properties have not been evaluated in these settings. The current study investigated the BHM's psychometric properties, including its factor structure and reliability, and presents normative data from 3 large integrated primary care clinics. Mean scores for each of the BHM's 4 scales were significantly lower (i.e., more distress) for women than men, with scores being stable across the 3 primary care samples. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated adequate fit for the 3-factor and 1-factor models, with fit improving when 3 items were omitted. Internal consistency estimates for the BHM's 4 scales ranged from adequate to very good ( α range: .72-.93). The 4 scales were highly intercorrelated, suggesting they measure similar constructs. Results suggest a revised, 17-item version of the BHM has adequate structure and reliability estimates, and is appropriate for use in primary care settings.