Predictors of Providers' Intention to Use a Military-Adapted Assessment Tool for Adjustment Disorder

Adjustment disorder is the most prevalent mental health diagnosis in the U.S. military, significantly impacting readiness. There has been a longstanding lack of diagnostic clarity for adjustment disorder; however, recent shifts in diagnostic classification have led to new adjustment disorder assessment tools like the ADNM-20-MIL, designed for military use. The perceived impact and acceptability of such a tool has yet to be assessed in those providing healthcare to U.S. service members. This study used the theory of planned behavior to examine predictors of U.S. military healthcare provider's intent to use the ADNM-20-MIL.

We used a theory of planned behavior-based questionnaire to study the role of providers' (N = 60) attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in predicting their intent to use the proposed ADNM-20-MIL tool in clinical practice.

The overall model shows significant fit, indicating the 3 constructs of the theory of planned behavior do impact a provider's intention to use the ADNM-20-MIL in their practice. Attitudes significantly influenced providers' intention to use the ADNM-20-MIL, while subjective norms and perceived behavioral control provided little additional predictive value beyond attitudes alone in this sample.

Study findings indicate that providers' attitudes will drive their intention to incorporate the ADNM-20-MIL into their practice. Integration of this tool into the Military Health System could strengthen standardized assessment and monitoring of adjustment disorder, and bring it in line with the assessment practices established for other common mental health disorders.