Psychometrics of the students´ attitudes towards addressing sexual health scale for students in social work

Previous research regarding social work related to sexual health and sexuality shows the importance of competence in this field for social workers and therefore is a need to explore students´ attitudes, knowledge and view on working with sexual health in their future profession. This project aims to psychometrically test the questionnaire Students’ Attitudes towards Addressing Sexual Health (SA-SH) for students in social work. The results show good content validity, construct validity, internal consistency and intra-rater reliability for the SA-SH for students in social work (response rate of 91%, 242 students).

The SA-SH can therefore be recommended to be used to measure attitudes, believed competence, and knowledge regarding sexual health among social work students, and to follow up educational interventions.     

Attitudes toward poverty among exit students of undergraduate social work programs in eight Latin American countries

What is the attitude of Latin American undergraduate social work students toward poverty? An earlier study from Europe and other countries worldwide found that most graduating social work students who participated in the research were clear about the socio-structural causes of social problems such as poverty. Still, no data on this topic is available for Latin American countries. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe and to compare eight Latin American graduating undergraduate social work student groups regarding their attitudes toward poverty, as measured by two scales: Causes of poverty scale and Ways of dealing with poverty; and (2) to discuss some of the implications of the study for social work education and practice. Using a quantitative transnational-comparative design, a total sample of 525 nonrandomly selected, graduating undergraduate social work students from eight Latin American countries responded to a self-administered questionnaire. An individualistic attitude to understanding and to dealing with poverty emerged in the majority of the student groups. Multivariate procedures and inferential analyses demonstrated variations across the student groups. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.     

Habermas,Mead, and Rationality

This paper takes the position that symbolic interaction can become more relevant to the social issues of modernity and postmodernity by overcoming its traditional tendencies to be apolitical and to focus predominantly on micro aspects of social relations. It considers a serious reading of Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action as a contribution to this effort. Specifically it sees Habermas' reconstruction of the conception of the individual actor involved in communicating through significant symbols into one consistent with speech act theory and the concepts of speaker and listener as constructive and helpful. The paper also examines Mead's behav-ioristic theory of attitudes, types of attitudes and taking the attitude of the other(s), and relates it to his logical formulation of rational universals. It suggests that Mead's optimistic image of society and his position on rationality are no longer appropriate for discussing social issues in a global society with multiple rationalities. It sees possibilities for reformulation in Habermas' theory because, like Mead's theory, it construes rationality in communicative terms.     

Normative,Preferential, and Belief Modes in Adolescent Prejudice*

The concept of attitude often subsumes normative, preferential, and belief components; some attitude scales are composed of items exhibiting two or more of these modalities. Beliefs may, in turn, be classified as reports, stereotypes, consequences, and intentions. This article shows that attitude questions in different modes have differing origins and implications, and that it is an error to continue to use an attitude concept and attitude scales that are modally ambiguous. As well, it is an error to use factor analyses and lack of co-scalability as the only criteria for assessing modality differences within attitude scales. In support of this argument we show that adolescents respond differently to attitude questions concerning school integration that are phrased in the normative, preferential, and belief modes, although these same questions are also found to co-scale. A distinction is made between two ways of learning attitudes: through personal experience and through information from others. On the basis of this distinction, parallel results were predicted and found for preferences and intentions. These differed from results that we predicted and found for norms and stereotypes.     

Measuring warmth and competence at inter-group,interpersonal and individual levels / Medición de la cordialidad y la competencia en los niveles intergrupal,interindividual e individual

Abstract

Warmth and competence are universal dimensions of social perception that articulate the perception of other individuals and social groups. However, there are no scales that have systematically been used in psychosocial research. The purpose of this study is to construct two scales, one on warmth and another on competence, which could be used at the inter-group, interpersonal and individual levels. To accomplish this, we performed two studies. In Study I (N = 578 students and N = 540 general population), we tested the scales at the intergroup level (immigrant groups and Spaniards), the interpersonal level (people close to the participants) and the individual level (the participants themselves). In Study 2 (N = 184 students), the two scales were tested at an interpersonal level by evaluating 16 public figures. The results of both studies show that both the warmth scale (kind, pleasant, friendly, warm) and the competence scale (competent, effective, skilled, intelligent) achieved a high degree of reliability when reflecting the perception of groups, individuals and oneself.     

An Examination of the Attitudes Underlying Sexual Coercion Among Acquaintances

Summary

Analyses of rape-supportive attitudes, with few exceptions, have not included conceptual or operational definitions of attitudes, and analysts have not explicitly examined the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of attitudes toward rape. The purposes of the present article are to (a) use a social psychological framework for the analysis of attitudes toward rape and (b) examine the usefulness of distinguishing between the affective and cognitive components of attitudes toward rape. Three studies are presented. In Study 1, items from 14 published attitudes-toward-rape scales were categorized as affective, cognitive, or behavioral. Results revealed that 1.1% of the items were identified as behavioral; 52.2% of the items were categorized as cognitive and 46.7% as affective. Secondary analyes of published data revealed the respondents reported more disagreement with affectively-based rape attitude items than cogintively-based rape attitude items. In study 2, we further examined the distinction between affective and cognitive components of attitudes using Burt'S (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Data collected from college men confirmed the affective-cognitive distinction. Furthermore, affectively-based attitudes, but not cognitively-based attitudes, were correlated with level of self-reported sexual coercion. In Study 3, we compared affective and cognitive components using a factor-analytically derived attitude measure. These analyses replicated the findings from Study 2. Together, these results support the importance of attending to the separate components of attitudes. In particular, the affective component of attitudes toward rape may have more predictive utility than the cognitive component.     

US Social Work Students' Attitudes Shift Favorably Towards a Harm Reduction Approach to Alcohol and Other Drugs Practice: The Effectiveness of Consequence Analysis

Given the increasing numbers of people in need of treatment for problems associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) problems and the concomitant likelihood that social worker caseloads currently reflect this increase, a critical analysis of social work student attitudes towards different approaches to AOD treatment is warranted. Our study examined United States' social work students' (n = 100) attitudes towards treatment approaches to practice with people who misuse/abuse AOD and enlisted a Consequence Analysis (CA) intervention designed to shift attitudes towards considering a harm reduction approach. The Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale (HRAS), as well as a two-item response measure, measured pretest and posttest attitudes. Findings demonstrate that at pretest both intervention and comparison groups were willing to consider a goal of moderation (a proxy for the acceptability of a harm reduction approach and a client-centered perspective), and neutral on the effectiveness of an abstinence-oriented approach. At posttest, the intervention group became more flexible and open to the broader philosophical perspective of a harm reduction approach while the comparison group became less so. Consequence Analysis appears responsible for producing the observed changes in attitude towards harm reduction. Implications for international social work education and training are discussed.     

Value,Attitude, and Belief Determinants of Willingness to Accept a Facility for the Homeless

Basic values, attitudes toward the homeless, and specific beliefs about a proposed facility were examined, along with the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon, to explore if, and to what degree, these factors affect community acceptance or rejection of a facility for the homeless. Previously designed Protestant ethic (PE) and Humanitarian-Egalitarian (HE) scales were used to measure two basic values (Katz & Hass, 1988). Scales to measure attitudes toward the homeless and beliefs about a planned facility were developed. As predicted, values, attitudes, and beliefs correlated with each other and were related to plan acceptance, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were positively related to acceptance, and PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were positively related to rejection. Also as predicted, four proximity measures were all related to acceptance of the plan.     

Construction and Validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ): A Self-report Measure to Determine Attitudes Toward and Experiences of Positive Touch

Despite growing interest in the beneficial effects of positive touch experiences throughout our lives, and individual differences in how these experiences are perceived, there is not yet available a contemporary self-report measure of touch experiences and attitudes, for which the factor structure has been validated. This article describes four studies carried out during the construction and validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ). The original TEAQ, containing 117 items relating to positive touch experiences was systematically constructed. Principal component analysis reduced this measure to 57 items and identified six components relating to touch experiences during childhood and adult experiences relating to current intimate touch and touch with friends and family. Three attitudinal components were identified relating to attitude to intimate touch, touch with unfamiliar people, and self-care. The structure of this questionnaire was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis carried out on data obtained from a second sample. Good concurrent and predictive validity of the TEAQ compared to other physical touch measures currently available was identified. Known-group validity in terms of gender, marital status and age was determined, with expected group differences identified. This study demonstrates the TEAQ to have good face validity, internal consistency, construct validity in terms of discriminant validity, known-group validity and convergent validity, and criterion-related validity in terms of predictive validity and concurrent validity. We anticipate this questionnaire will be a valuable tool for the field of physical touch research.     

Identifying as an evidence-based social worker: the influence of attitudes,access, confidence,and education

This study explored United States-based social workers’ (N = 152) attitudes toward, access to, and confidence in engaging in evidence-based practice (EBP), the extent to which social work education prepared them to engage in EBP, and the factors that contributed to their identification as an evidence-based practitioner. Findings indicated that although practitioners had a positive attitude toward engaging in EBP, they were only moderately confident in doing so, rarely accessed evidence, and were only moderately prepared through their education. Believing that EBP should be implemented, more educational preparation, and positive attitudes contributed to greater identification as an evidence-based practitioner, areas that social work and continuing education should further support to enhance social workers’ EBP skills.     

Value,attitude, and belief determinants of willingness to accept a facility for the homeless

Basic values, attitudes toward the homeless, and specific beliefs about a proposed facility were examined, along with the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon, to explore if, and to what degree, these factors affect community acceptance or rejection of a facility for the homeless. Previously designed Protestant ethic (PE) and Humanitarian-Egalitarian (HE) scales were used to measure two basic values (Katz & Hass, 1988). Scales to measure attitudes toward the homeless and beliefs about a planned facility were developed. As predicted, values, attitudes, and beliefs correlated with each other and were related to plan acceptance, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were positively related to acceptance, and PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were positively related to rejection. Also as predicted, four proximity measures were all related to acceptance of the plan.     

Attitudes,accounts and impact assessment

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the sociological study of environmental issues. One area in which this is evident is in the application of social scientific methods in social impact assessment (SIA): the study of the anticipated social impact of proposed changes to the environment. This paper addresses one aspect of the debate about appropriate methods for SIA; whether, and how, to include the expressed views and perceptions of those who will be affected. It is argued first that although SIA ostensibly deals with the social effects of projects there is a tendency for assessments to avoid any detailed consideration of the ways in which people are affected. Instead there is an emphasis upon technical and economic considerations. When assessments do attempt to incorporate the perceptions of local people they typically do so through some form of attitude research. However if language is viewed as a form of social action rather than as a detached commentary on reality there are radical implications for the methods traditionally used in SIA to gauge people's views and attitudes. I conclude by outlining an alternative to the traditional practice of viewing peoples' accounts as a repository of their attitudes, arguing that they might be more profitably used to explore how social impacts are socially constructed.     

Nuclear and Extended Family Attitudes of Jordanian Arabs

Using a sample of 419 families from the northern region of Jordan, people's attitudes toward extended and nuclear family types were measured on two separate attitude scales. Each scale consisted of 42 Liker-type items. The alpha coefficients were .93 and .94 for extended family and nuclear family attitude scales, respectively. The effects of sex, level of education, area of residence, age, and marital status on the two attitudes were investigated. Appropriate statistical analyses of the data revealed that Education and Marital Status had significant effects on the extended family attitude but not on the nuclear family attitude. Sex, and Area of Residence, in contrast, had significant effects on the nuclear family attitude but not on the extended family attitude. The age factor, however, had significant similar effects on both attitudes. The two attitudes were found to be rather independent of than complementary to each other.     

The behavioural relevance of ethnic attitude studies∗

The assumption implicit in many ethnic attitude studies that attitudes influence behaviour and that knowledge of ethnic attitudes permits socially and politically important behavioural predictions is critically evaluated. Four main arguments are elaborated on to question the validity of the claim of a simple causal link from attitudes to behaviour: (a) situational variance of attitude effects (b) the problematic of an isomorphism between cognitive and behavioural phenomena, (c) empirical evidence indicating an influence from behaviour to attitudes, and (d) the question of valid self‐perception in attitude measurement. It is argued that the question of an attitude behaviour link cannot be meaningfully answered when the social context within which attitudes are learned and behaviour is shaped is neglected in the analysis. The social context and a corresponding reinforcement pattern are seen to provide social meaning to both attitudes and behaviour and secondly to determine the particular relationship between these variables, i.e. consistency, inconsistency, or irrelevance.     

Variables that affect teachers' attitudes towards disability and inclusive education in Mumbai, India

Teacher attitude is one of the most important variables in the education of children with disabilities. Attitudes of general educators in the city of Mumbai, India, toward disabilities and inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools were studied through the usage of two attitude scales. The study investigated whether variable background characteristics such as age, gender, income level, education levels, years of teaching experience, acquaintance with a person with a disability, having a family member with a disability, frequency of contact and closeness to a person with disability affect the attitudes of teachers towards people with disabilities and towards inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools. The analyses revealed that while some of the variables of interest did affect teachers' attitudes towards disabilities, the only variable that affected teachers' attitudes towards inclusion was prior acquaintance with a person with a disability.     

Consequences,opportunities, and Arrovian impossibility theorems with consequentialist domains

We examine the possibility of Arrovian social choice when alternatives consist of outcomes and opportunity sets from which they are chosen. Consequentialism is a choice attitude towards outcomes and opportunities for choice and prioritizes outcomes rather than opportunities for choice. We first propose a sufficient condition for a restricted domain on which Arrow’s impossibility theorem holds. A domain such that there exists a similarity of choice attitudes within consequentialism satisfies the proposed domain condition. We observe that a diversity of choice attitudes within consequentialism is crucial to resolve an Arrovian impossibility, but this resolution is restricted in plausibility.     

Fertility Behavior and Interspousal Authority Relationships

Abstract

The most important issue which surrounds attitude theory today is the so called “consistency issue.” It is an issue which focuses on the failure of attitude theory and research to demonstrate the kind of causal relationship between attitudes and behavior which has been traditionally asserted in the logical underpinnings of that theory.

For some time, the critics of attitude theory and research have suggested that the inconsistency between attitudes and acts would not be reduced until attitudes were rooted in the social process within which human behavior occurs. This criticism has been responded to by contemporary attitude specialists who have made notable modifications in theory and research to take account of social variables which influence the assumed relationship between attitudes and behavior.

However, some of the criticisms of attitude theory have gone beyond pointing out the lack of a “socialized” conception of the problem to attack the logical underpinnings of the entire enterprise. While this paper is not a renewal of these criticisms of attitude theory, it is an attempt to identify and explicate a conception of attitudes which is a true sociological alternative to more traditional psychological conceptions.     

A psychoanalytic study of contraception

The purpose of this study was to evaluate three sets of predictors of attitudes toward homosexuality: (a) anti‐black and orthodox religious attitudes, (b) sexual permissiveness, and (c) the effect of an introductory human sexuality course. Significantly more positive attitudes were expected for those holding more positive attitudes toward blacks and those who were more sexually permissive. A negative relationship was expected for those holding orthodox religious attitudes. Furthermore, information from a college course in human sexuality was expected to produce positive attitude change toward homosexuality. A survey instrument consisting of several scales and indexes measuring the aforementioned variables, as well as several indexes of sexual behavior, was administered to 194 students in a human sexuality course and 120 students in an introductory psychology course. Results showed significant regression coefficients for anti‐black attitudes and religious orthodoxy, confirming the predictions. Sexual permissiveness did not significantly add to the prediction of attitudes toward homosexuality, although the Pearson correlation was significant, r = .19 (p < .05). The experimental group showed significantly greater change in attitude toward homosexuality than the control group, F(1, 291) = 23.70, p < .001. A fourth objective was to assess sex differences on a series of sexual behavioral indexes. Results show a number of significant differences suggesting that sexual behavior still reflects a double standard in U.S. society.     

The Effect of Nonviolent Action on Social Attitudes*

Nonviolent action will produce attitude change to the exlent that it satisfies either or both of two prerequisites. It must either interfere with the functions served by the attitudes or it must produce some inconsistency between the attitudes and other orientations of the persons affected by the action. The three major functions served by attitudes are object orientation, ego-support, and ego-defense. For many social attitudes the ego-support provided by attitudes which help define a person's relation to a reference group is especially powerful, Functions may be blocked by a particular set of conditions, which may have little in common with one another. Inconsistencies may occur among different attitudes or among the components of a single attitude. One class of inconsistencies that is of particular importance occurs when people are persuaded or mildly pressured into action contrary to their attitudes. Each of the sources of attitude change pressure carries its own requirements for producing change and its own mechanisms for protecting attitudes against change pressures. Nonviolent action does not necessarily meet these requirements or overcome the defenses. However, with knowledge of the functional bases and conceptual contexts of the attitudes being challenged it may be possible to utilize the resources present in nonviolent action to increase the likelihood of a desirable impact.     

The Association Between Social Competence in Adolescents and Mothers’ Parenting Style: A Cross Sectional Study on Iranian Girls

This study is to determine the association between parenting style of mothers and the social competence of their adolescent daughters in effective communication, problem solving skills and use of basic social skills dimensions. The data were gathered for the mean age of 11–15 years on 737 Iranian adolescent girls in a cross sectional study design. The parenting style of mothers was based on their demand and responsiveness. These scales classified mothers into four parenting styles as follows: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful. The social competence was also categorized into effective relationship, problem solving skills, use of basic social skills dimensions. The mean scores of the adolescents’ social competence whose mothers had permissive and authoritative parenting style was higher than that for the two other groups for all the dimensions (p < 0.05). The results showed that with the expectation of controlling roles, the supportive role of mothers can be more effective in providing opportunities for social competence performance.