The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) assesses mental health and social service provider attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practices. Comprised of four subscales (i.e., Appeal, Requirements, Openness, and Divergence) and a total scale score, preliminary studies have linked EBPAS scores to clinic structure and policies, organizational culture and climate, and first-level leadership. EBPAS scores are also related to service provider characteristics including age, education level, and level of professional development. The present study examined the factor structure, reliability, and norms of EBPAS scores in a sample of 1089 mental health service providers from a nationwide sample drawn from 100 service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study also examines associations of provider demographic characteristics with EBPAS subscale and total scores. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a second-order factor model, and reliability coefficients for the subscales ranged from .91-.67 (total scale = .74). The study establishes national norms for the EBPAS so that comparisons can be drawn for United States local and international studies of attitudes toward evidence-based practices. The results suggest that the factor structure and reliability are likely generalizable to a variety of service provider contexts and different service settings and that EBPAS scales are associated with provider characteristics. Directions for future research are discussed.

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Much body image research has been directed toward the study of males (H. G. Pope, K. A. Phillips, & R. Olivardia, 2000). However, little attention has been devoted to consideration of which methods yield the most accurate measurement of this population. Based on numerous social psychological studies indicating the salience of a muscular appearance (e.g., H. G. Pope, R. Olivardia, A. Gruber, & J. Borowiecki, 1999), 3 guidelines were derived for assessing male body image. Existing methods of male body image assessment were evaluated based on their adherence to these guidelines and avoidance of methodological shortcomings. The most effective measures of male body image were the Drive for Muscularity Scale (

Mental health and social service provider attitudes toward evidence-based practice have been measured through the development and validation of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, Ment Health Serv Res 6(2):61–74, 2004). Scores on the EBPAS scales are related to provider demographic characteristics, organizational characteristics, and leadership. However, the EBPAS assesses only four domains of attitudes toward EBP. The current study expands and further identifies additional domains of attitudes towards evidence-based practice. A qualitative and quantitative mixed-methods approach was used to: (1) generate items from multiples sources (researcher, mental health program manager, clinician/therapist), (2) identify potential content domains, and (3) examine the preliminary domains and factor structure through exploratory factor analysis. Participants for item generation included the investigative team, a group of mental health program managers (n = 6), and a group of clinicians/therapists (n = 8). For quantitative analyses a sample of 422 mental health service providers from 65 outpatient programs in San Diego County completed a survey that included the new items. Eight new EBPAS factors comprised of 35 items were identified. Factor loadings were moderate to large and internal consistency reliabilities were fair to excellent. We found that the convergence of these factors with the four previously identified evidence-based practice attitude factors (15 items) was small to moderate suggesting that the newly identified factors represent distinct dimensions of mental health and social service provider attitudes toward adopting EBP. Combining the original 15 items with the 35 new items comprises the EBPAS 50-item version (EBPAS-50) that adds to our understanding of provider attitudes toward adopting EBPs. Directions for future research are discussed.