Psychological Reports, 1975,37, 1321-1322.
@ Psychological Repons 1975
EFFECTS OF BRIEF ALCOHOLISM TRAINING ON GENERAL HOSPITAL PERSONNEL1 M. K. DISTEFANO, JR., STELLA H. CRAIG,
GEORGE L. HENDERSON A N D MARGARET W. PRYER Cenhal Louisiana State Hospital, Pineville Summary.-A brief (31-hour) training program on alcoholism was provided by state mental hospital staff for 27 general hospital personnel. Pre- and post-training comparisons were made on a 20-item opinions about alcoholism scale and a 26-item test designed to measure knowledge of how t o interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. T h e results indicated that the program significantly improved both staff attitudes and knowledge. Substantial research has k e n conducted concerning the influence of training programs o n psychiatric knowledge and mental health attintdes of both professional and paraprofessional trainees in mental health settings (1, 3, 4, 6 ) . T h e training evaluated has been generally part of a more formal o r extended program. Recently attention has been given to assessing the effects of briefer mental health-oriented training such as special short courses or workshops involving community agency or general hospital personnel (2, 5 ) . T h e present study was developed after a 170-bed state-operated general hospital was authorized to open a short-term tre3tment unit primarily for the treatment of acutely ill alcoholics. The hospital requested the sraff of a nearby state mental hospital to provide a brief training program on alcohol~smfor personnel assigned to the unit. T h e purpose of the present research was to assess the extent to which the training program would ( a ) improve trainees' attitudes toward alcoholism and ( b ) increase trainees' knowledge of how to interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. The 27 staff trainees ( 9 males, 18 ferna!es) w e d in the study included 7 RNs, 5 LPNs, 9 nurse aides, 1 medical technician, 1 counselor, 1 food service supervisor, and 3 custodial workers. The mean age of the group was 34.0 yr. (range 19 to 57 yr.), the mean education was 12.8 yr. (range 6 to 16 yr.), and the mean tenure was 22.8 mo. (range 1 t o 130 mo.). T h e training program was conducted at the mental hospital by 4 staff members during a 2-wk. period and included approximately 2 8 hr. of classroom training and 3 hr. of observation of therapy. T h e basic content of the training program focused on the following topics: symptoms and stages of alcoholism; different alcoholic treatment modalities; special psychological, medical, and social problems of alcoholics; communicating i n a therapeutic manner with alcoholics; dealing with specific behavior problems; and community resources and referrals available to alcoholics. Attitudes toward alcoholism were measured on a 20-item o p i n b n scale. Each item consisted of a statement about alcoholism to be rated on a 6-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." Positive and negative statements were included i n a n attempt to reduce acquiescent response set. A 26-item multiple-choice test (mostly situational-type items) was used to assess knowledge of how to interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. The two instruments were developed especially for this program and were administered to trainees before and after the training program to assess change. 'Requests for reprints should be sent to M. K. Distefano, Jr., Research Department, Cmtral Louisiana State Hospital, Pineville, Louisiana 71360.
M. K. DISTEFANO, JR., ET AL.
1322
A before-after training comparison ( t test f o r correlated data) o n the attirude toward alcoholism scale showed significantly mote favorable attitudes after training ( t 2 0 = 2.119, p .05, one-tailed test). The mean attitude scores before and after training were 92.4 ( S D = 11.74) and 95.8 ( S D = 1 1 . 4 4 ) , respectively. Before-after comparison of trainees' performance o n the 26-item knowledge test indicated a significant improvement after training ( k = 2.37, p ,025, one-tailed test). Before training the group mean was 18.8 ( S D = 5.05) and the mean after training was 19.8 ( S D = 4.62). Tenure was not significantly correlated to pre-training attitude scores ( r = -.22) or to the amount of attirude change ( r = . 3 0 ) . Similarly, tenure was not significantly related to pre-training knowledge test scores ( r = .03) or to the amount of knowledge gained ( r = . O l ) . Education was positively correlated with both attitude ( r = .41, p .05) and knowledge ( r = .42, p .05) pre-training scores, but was not significantly related to the amount of gain for attitude ( r = .13) o r knowledge ( r = . 2 2 ) . Odd-even item correlations on both the attitude scale ( r = .82) and the knowledge tesr ( T = . 7 9 ) suggested high internal consistency. The knowledge test appeared to be fairly easy with median item difficulty levels of .76 before training and .81 after training. Although trainees demonstrated significant gain in attitude and knowledge after training, the magnitudes of these changes were small, apparently due in part to ceiling effects o n the attitude scale and difficulty level of the knowledge test.
@ Psychological Repons 1975
EFFECTS OF BRIEF ALCOHOLISM TRAINING ON GENERAL HOSPITAL PERSONNEL1 M. K. DISTEFANO, JR., STELLA H. CRAIG,
GEORGE L. HENDERSON A N D MARGARET W. PRYER Cenhal Louisiana State Hospital, Pineville Summary.-A brief (31-hour) training program on alcoholism was provided by state mental hospital staff for 27 general hospital personnel. Pre- and post-training comparisons were made on a 20-item opinions about alcoholism scale and a 26-item test designed to measure knowledge of how t o interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. T h e results indicated that the program significantly improved both staff attitudes and knowledge. Substantial research has k e n conducted concerning the influence of training programs o n psychiatric knowledge and mental health attintdes of both professional and paraprofessional trainees in mental health settings (1, 3, 4, 6 ) . T h e training evaluated has been generally part of a more formal o r extended program. Recently attention has been given to assessing the effects of briefer mental health-oriented training such as special short courses or workshops involving community agency or general hospital personnel (2, 5 ) . T h e present study was developed after a 170-bed state-operated general hospital was authorized to open a short-term tre3tment unit primarily for the treatment of acutely ill alcoholics. The hospital requested the sraff of a nearby state mental hospital to provide a brief training program on alcohol~smfor personnel assigned to the unit. T h e purpose of the present research was to assess the extent to which the training program would ( a ) improve trainees' attitudes toward alcoholism and ( b ) increase trainees' knowledge of how to interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. The 27 staff trainees ( 9 males, 18 ferna!es) w e d in the study included 7 RNs, 5 LPNs, 9 nurse aides, 1 medical technician, 1 counselor, 1 food service supervisor, and 3 custodial workers. The mean age of the group was 34.0 yr. (range 19 to 57 yr.), the mean education was 12.8 yr. (range 6 to 16 yr.), and the mean tenure was 22.8 mo. (range 1 t o 130 mo.). T h e training program was conducted at the mental hospital by 4 staff members during a 2-wk. period and included approximately 2 8 hr. of classroom training and 3 hr. of observation of therapy. T h e basic content of the training program focused on the following topics: symptoms and stages of alcoholism; different alcoholic treatment modalities; special psychological, medical, and social problems of alcoholics; communicating i n a therapeutic manner with alcoholics; dealing with specific behavior problems; and community resources and referrals available to alcoholics. Attitudes toward alcoholism were measured on a 20-item o p i n b n scale. Each item consisted of a statement about alcoholism to be rated on a 6-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." Positive and negative statements were included i n a n attempt to reduce acquiescent response set. A 26-item multiple-choice test (mostly situational-type items) was used to assess knowledge of how to interact with alcoholics in a more positive, therapeutic manner. The two instruments were developed especially for this program and were administered to trainees before and after the training program to assess change. 'Requests for reprints should be sent to M. K. Distefano, Jr., Research Department, Cmtral Louisiana State Hospital, Pineville, Louisiana 71360.
M. K. DISTEFANO, JR., ET AL.
1322
A before-after training comparison ( t test f o r correlated data) o n the attirude toward alcoholism scale showed significantly mote favorable attitudes after training ( t 2 0 = 2.119, p .05, one-tailed test). The mean attitude scores before and after training were 92.4 ( S D = 11.74) and 95.8 ( S D = 1 1 . 4 4 ) , respectively. Before-after comparison of trainees' performance o n the 26-item knowledge test indicated a significant improvement after training ( k = 2.37, p ,025, one-tailed test). Before training the group mean was 18.8 ( S D = 5.05) and the mean after training was 19.8 ( S D = 4.62). Tenure was not significantly correlated to pre-training attitude scores ( r = -.22) or to the amount of attirude change ( r = . 3 0 ) . Similarly, tenure was not significantly related to pre-training knowledge test scores ( r = .03) or to the amount of knowledge gained ( r = . O l ) . Education was positively correlated with both attitude ( r = .41, p .05) and knowledge ( r = .42, p .05) pre-training scores, but was not significantly related to the amount of gain for attitude ( r = .13) o r knowledge ( r = . 2 2 ) . Odd-even item correlations on both the attitude scale ( r = .82) and the knowledge tesr ( T = . 7 9 ) suggested high internal consistency. The knowledge test appeared to be fairly easy with median item difficulty levels of .76 before training and .81 after training. Although trainees demonstrated significant gain in attitude and knowledge after training, the magnitudes of these changes were small, apparently due in part to ceiling effects o n the attitude scale and difficulty level of the knowledge test.
