Developing a New Scale of Treatment Readiness

描述(申请人提供)：本申请符合NIH PA-06-343(行为和社会科学中的方法论和测量)；该项目也符合PA-06-307和PA-06-337。这项拟议的研究旨在开发一种新的治疗准备程度量表，并为其提供初步有效性数据。在药物滥用治疗中寻求治疗和保留治疗的比率较低，这引发了对理解和增强改变动机的持续调查。然而，目前的治疗准备程度量表有许多局限性，我们的量表将解决这些局限性。与目前的激励措施不同，我们的工具评估了有助于治疗准备情况的特定因素。此外，与目前的措施不同，我们预计我们的量表将显示出强大的有效性，作为寻求治疗意图的指标。建议的规模在理论上是基于Aizen的计划行为理论(TPB；1985,1991)，这是一个强大的、简约的模型，已广泛应用于公共卫生领域。城市规划委员会提供了强有力的经验支持历史，以及寻求治疗的意图与该意图的预测因素(即个人的态度、主观规范和感知到的控制)之间的严格指定关系。在第一阶段，这项研究将通过审查现有文献、包括从加利福尼亚州康特拉科斯塔县一家门诊药物滥用治疗地点的收治预约招募的15名客户以及咨询专家小组来制定初步就绪量表。该量表将涉及TPB的所有四个组成部分(即态度、主观规范、感知控制和意图)。在第二阶段，将通过计算机对从同一地点招聘的200名新客户进行初步测评。受访者还将完成与治疗相关的态度和阶段变化量表的现有测量；问题严重程度和后果；社会影响变量；以及人口变量。这些初始样本的一半(随机抽取)也将被重新联系以进行电话跟踪，一周后再次完成TPB量表。访谈后6个月的治疗利用情况将从整个样本的计划记录中收集。将对数据进行分析，以完善该量表，并建立该量表的心理测量学特性、同时效度、预测效度和重测信度。通过制定新的就绪性量表，该项目旨在澄清治疗就绪性的来源，提出增加治疗开始和保留的干预点。这项研究还将开发一种筛查工具，用于识别(和干预)接受治疗准备程度低的个人。该项目是开发性/探索性的，因为其目的是开发和测试一种新的心理社会措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application responds to NIH PA-06-343 (Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences); the project is also consistent with PA-06-307 and PA-06-337. The proposed research aims to develop, and provide preliminary validity data for, a new scale of treatment readiness. Low rates of treatment seeking and retention in substance abuse treatment have provoked sustained inquiry into understanding, and enhancing, the motivation to change. However, current scales of treatment readiness have a number of limitations that our scale will address. Unlike current measures of motivation, our instrument assesses the specific factors that have contributed to treatment readiness. Also unlike current measures, we expect that our scale will show strong validity as an indicator of the intention to pursue treatment. The proposed scale is theoretically grounded in Aizen's theory of planned behavior (TPB; 1985, 1991), a powerful, parsimonious model that has been widely applied in the field of public health. The TPB offers a strong history of empirical support and tightly specified relations between the intention to pursue treatment and predictors of that intention (i.e., the individual's attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control). In Phase One, the study will develop a preliminary readiness scale via reviewing the available literature; a focus group including 15 clients recruited from intake appointments at an outpatient substance abuse treatment site in Contra Costa County, CA; and consultation with an expert panel. The scale will address all four components of the TPB (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and intentions). In Phase Two, the preliminary scale will be computer-administered to a new cohort of 200 clients recruited from the same site. Respondents will also complete existing measures of treatment-related attitudes and stage of change scales; problem severity and consequences; social influence variables; and demographic variables. Half this initial sample (selected at random) will also be recontacted for telephone follow-ups, completing the TPB scale again one week later. Treatment utilization for 6 months following the interview will be collected from program records for the entire sample. Data will be analyzed to refine the scale and establish the scale's psychometric properties, concurrent validity, predictive validity, and test-retest reliability. By developing a new readiness scale, the project aims to clarify the sources of treatment readiness, suggesting points of intervention for increasing treatment initiation and retention. The study will also develop a screening instrument useful for identifying (and intervening with) individuals low on treatment readiness at intake. The project is developmental/exploratory because the aim is to develop and test a new psychosocial measure.