The mental health of adolescents, particularly higher secondary school students, is an area of increasing concern in the Indian educational context. Despite growing awareness, culturally appropriate and psychometrically sound tools for assessing the mental well-being of students are limited. This study aims to develop and validate a new Mental Health Scale tailored specifically for higher secondary students (ages 16–18) in West Bengal, India. The scale was designed as a paper-pencil, self-administered instrument incorporating six key domains of mental health: Physical Soundness, Emotional Stability, Adjustment, Intellectual Maturity, Self-confidence, and Joyful Living. A rigorous methodological framework was followed, including item selection from Indian literature, expert validation, pilot testing, and large-scale administration. A 5-point Likert scale was used for responses. The initial 72 items were refined through expert feedback and item analysis (t-test of mean score of upper group and lower group), resulting in a final version comprising 60 validated items. The reliability of the scale was established through the Split-Half method (r = 0.806) and Spearman-Brown formula (rtt = 0.876), indicating high internal consistency. Content, face, concurrent, and construct validity were also confirmed. Norms were developed using a representative sample of 576 students from Birbhum and Purba Bardhaman districts. This new scale offers a reliable, valid, and contextually appropriate tool for identifying and understanding the mental health status of adolescents in West Bengal, facilitating timely intervention and support.
Susmita Pal (Sat,) studied this question.