Intermethod reliability and factors affecting recall with the Temple University Community Participation measure

Background: Increased interest in promoting community inclusion of adults with serious mental illnesses will necessitate advances in measuring community participation as an outcome of such efforts.Aims: The primary aim of this study is to examine the intermethod reliability of the Temple University Community Participation (TUCP) measure with a daily checklist approach. Secondary aims are to explore the influence of frequency and importance of participation on recall consistency.Method: One hundred and seven individuals diagnosed with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression completed a daily checklist of community participation in 25 areas. Approximately 30 days later they completed the TUCP measure involving recall of participation in these same areas.Results: TUCP responses were highly correlated with totals from the daily checklists. Participation areas with more participation days have higher TUCP-diary checklist correlations. Importance of the participation area did not appear to affect correlations.Conclusions: The TUCP is a usable and relatively unobtrusive measure of community participation. Modest evidence found that more frequent events were recalled more consistently.