title: Attitudes and beliefs of staff working in methadone maintenance clinics.
abstract: Two attitudinal scales measuring commitment to abstinence-oriented treatment policies and disapproval of illicit drug use were derived from a survey of 90 staff working in 10 public methadone maintenance clinics in Sydney, Australia. The two scales were shown to be valid constructs by confirmatory factor analysis and to be internally reliable and to have high test-retest reliability. The factors underlying the two scales were highly correlated (r = .77), indicating support for policies that enforce abstinence and limit the duration of maintenance is highly associated with personal disapproval of drug use. There was no significant correlation between staff's knowledge of the benefits of methadone maintenance and their support for abstinence-oriented policies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Caplehorn
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Irwig
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Saunders
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000534:rehabilitation*
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone