Instrument for the measurement of individual and societal attitudes toward drugs.

Due to the importance of the relation between attitudes and the experimentation with and use of drugs among adolescents, an instrument was developed composed of individual and societal attitudes toward drugs. A pilot study was carried out on the basis of which a questionnaire containing 63 items was constructed. This questionnaire was given to the research sample of 566 Israeli high school students aged 15-17. Three criteria were used to determine the final version of the instrument, which contains 55 items. Factor analysis revealed seven factors: curiosity and willingness to use drugs, social concern, individual freedom, attribution of positive characteristics to drugs, perceived harmfulness of drugs, perceived characteristics of drug users, and legalization of drugs. Reliability of the factors ranges from alpha = 0.64 to alpha = 0.88; reliability of the entire questionnaire is alpha = 0.89. A short version of the questionnaire consisting of 27 items (alpha = 0.80) was developed for special populations. These findings suggest that the Green Individual and Societal Attitudes Toward Drugs Questionnaire can be employed as a diagnostic tool to identify potential drug experimenters, and as a planning and evaluation measure to preventive drug educational programs.