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Measuring therapeutic attitudes in the prison environment: development of the Prison Attitude to Drugs scale
Author(s) -
Airey Nick,
Marriott James
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00246.x
Subject(s) - prison , scale (ratio) , psychology , therapeutic community , medicine , criminology , psychiatry , geography , cartography
Aims To develop and test the validity of a scale measuring therapeutic attitudes among prison staff working with drug misusers. Design A cross‐sectional postal questionnaire study using 27 statements with a five‐point Likert scale. Setting Four prisons in the south‐west of England Participants A total of 252 prison staff (response rate 70%), including 67 for test–retest (response rate 57%). Findings 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.