Measuring therapeutic attitudes in the prison environment: development of the Prison Attitude to Drugs scale.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and test the validity of a scale measuring therapeutic attitudes among prison staff working with drug misusers.


METHODS
A cross-sectional postal questionnaire study using 27 statements with a five-point Likert scale.


METHODS
Four prisons in the south-west of England


METHODS
A total of 252 prison staff (response rate 70%), including 67 for test-retest (response rate 57%).


RESULTS
The study resulted in a three-dimensional, nine-item scale: the Prison Attitude to Drugs scale (PAD). The three subscales measure confidence in skills (four items), personal rewards (three items) and job satisfaction (two items). Test-retest correlations for the questions were above 0.7, with each factor having an internal coherence (coefficient alpha) of greater than 0.7.


CONCLUSIONS
The PAD is a reliable tool that can be used in the prison environment.
Airey
Nick
N
Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust, Beech Court, Taunton Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 3LS, UK.
Marriott
James
J
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D011330:Prisons; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom