A suggested revision of the Ward Atmosphere Scale.
OBJECTIVE
In a previous study, we have suggested a revision of the Anger/Aggression and the Spontaneity subscales. The main aim of this study was to re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the other eight subscales of the Ward Atmosphere Scale.


METHODS
A total of 550 patients and 822 staff members on 54 psychiatric wards for psychotic patients completed the WAS and the Good Milieu Index (GMI). We calculated Cronbach's alpha, the Corrected Item Total subscale Correlation, subscale intercorrelations and the correlation between subscales and GMI.


RESULTS
By removing a total of 16 items, the psychometric properties improved. The revised subscales had acceptable psychometrics and gave a clearer picture of the relationship between the perceived level of patient satisfaction and the WAS subscale scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The revision suggested in this study 'modernized' several of the subscales. We suggest that this revision is implemented in the future use of the WAS.
Røssberg
J I
JI
Department of Psychiatry, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. j.i.rxssberg@psykiatri.uio.no
Friis
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000786:Anger; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D011594:Psychometrics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support