Predicting treatment-seeking behavior: Psychometric properties of a brief self-report scale

Development of a brief instrument to assess attitudes toward treatment and predict treatment-seeking behavior among out-of-treatment substance misuser s is described. Exploratory factor analysis of an initial pool of 41 items identified four subscales: Perceived need for treatment: perceived drug pro blem severity; motivation to quit; and negative attitudes toward treatment. Psychometric analyses of data from 535 substance misusers participating in an outreach intervention project provided substantial support for the reli ability and construct validity of the first three subscales, and marginal s upport for the fourth. Evidence of predictive validity was provided by furt her analyses indicating significant relationships between the three primary scales and both treatment admissions and treatment-seeking during a 3-mont h follow-up period. The final instrument, the Treatment Attitude Profile (T AP), contains 25 items in a self-report format suitable for use with limite d literacy populations in field or office settings.