Measuring practitioner attitudes toward psychosis and recovery: Exploratory factor analysis of the Psychosis...

Practitioner attitudes regarding the nature of psychosis and prospects of recovery are important targets in supervision and training of practitioners who work therapeutically with this population. The 19-item Psychosis Attitudes Scale (PAS) was developed as a way to monitor changes in psychosis-related attitudes among practitioners being trained in an Evidence Based Treatment (EBT) for psychosis. This study reports the development and underlying factor structure of the PAS.

Three hundred twenty-five community mental health clinicians completed the PAS following a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) multiday workshop training. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis to investigate the underlying structure of the initial set of items.

Our analyses suggest that the PAS taps into four attitude groupings, which can be conceptualized as perceived confidence in working with individuals with psychosis (Factor 1), a recovery orientation (Factor 2), expectations of fulfillment (Factor 3), and a stress-vulnerability orientation (Factor 4).

Factors 1 and 3 appear to tap into general themes relevant to training practitioners in an evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention for psychosis. Factors 2 and 4 are consistent with guiding principles of high-fidelity CBTp. At the individual level, practitioner attitudes have implications for training retention and treatment delivery. At the organizational level, the collective attitudes of staff in a given setting may serve as an indicator of readiness for EBT for psychosis implementation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).