Staff attitudes towards working with drug users: development of the Drug Problems Perceptions Questionnaire

Aim  To evaluate the psychometric properties of an adaptation of the Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perceptions Questionnaire to measure the attitudes of staff to working with drug users (the DDPPQ). Design  Postal survey: a questionnaire was mailed to participants on two occasions. Setting  A large urban National Health Service (NHS) mental health service. Participants  A stratified random sample of medical staff, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and nurses ( n  = 672) who work within generic mental health, adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and alcohol and drug services. Response rate at Time 1 was 56% and 68% at Time 2. Measurements  A structured demographic questionnaire; individual item and total scores for the DDPPQ administered on two occasions 4 weeks apart; data relating to the content validity of the instrument. Findings  A principal component analysis confirmed the DDPPQ's construct validity and participants confirmed its content validity. Following analysis of the instrument's test–retest reliability and its principal component structure it was reduced to a 20‐item scale. Its five subscales related to role adequacy, role support, job satisfaction, role‐specific self‐esteem and role legitimacy. Conclusion  The refined DDPPQ was shown to be a valid and reliable tool which can be used to measure attitudes of people in relation to working with drug users.