Assessment of multicultural competence of a group of mental health providers who care for schizophrenia patients in Puerto Rico

Psychosis is a syndrome that occurs in many cultures interpretations are based on cultural beliefs. This said, mental health professionals are called to be multiculturally competent. However, clinicians are not free from cultural influences. The present study included a sample of 53 mental health providers, who practice in Puerto Rico, from the following fields: Social Work, Psychological Counseling, Clinical Psychology, and Psychiatry. A questionnaire was developed to measure multicultural competency based on four components: awareness, knowledge, and skills as well as cognitive, affective, and cultural empathy. An exploratory factor analysis found that 15 items measured one main component (multicultural competencies) that explains 31% of the total variance. A Varimax rotation revealed that the items could regroup themselves in four factors that explain 63% of the total variance: awareness, knowledge, skills, and therapeutic alliance. The final scale has an internal reliability index (Cronbach's alpha) of .82. In summary, results indicate that 58% of the participants demonstrated multicultural competences. Participants displayed a low level of multicultural competence in the test as hole, but a high competence when evaluated by subscales. The questionnaire managed to keep the essential components suggested by the literature to assess multicultural competencies. This study is the first contribution to several disciplines regarding multicultural competence to intervene with patients with schizophrenia in Puerto Rico.