Attitudes and beliefs of doctors prescribing methadone to addicts in the Westfalen-Lippe region of Germany

Doctors who prescribe methadone to heroin addicts in the Westfalen-Lippe re gion of Germany were surveyed in 1996 to develop and use German versions of existing Australian and American scales, Two scales were developed from 24 7 responses using confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. The 10 -item abstinence orientation (AO) scale measures strength of commitment to abstinence-orientated treatment policies, and the five-item disapproval of drug use (DDU) scale measures disapproval of illicit drug use. Half the res pondents supported and a quarter strongly supported abstinence-orientated p olicies, while a quarter supported a punitive societal response to illicit drug use. Scores on the two scales were highly and positively correlated; t he stronger the support for abstinence-orientated policies, the greater the disapproval of illicit drug use. The doctors' median score on a test of kn owledge of the risks and benefits of methadone maintenance was six of a pos sible 10, While allowing for DDU scores, support for abstinence-orientated policies was stronger among the less well-informed doctors. The attitudes a nd beliefs and lack of knowledge identified in the survey are a cause for c oncern, Previous work has shown there were similar problems among methadone prescribers and staff of methadone units in Sydney, Australia and New York City, USA.