Development of an Instrument to Measure Volunteers' Attitudes Towards People With Aids

Abstract

An instrument to measure volunteers' attitudes towards people with AIDS was developed. A 37-item questionnaire was initially determined to have content validity. The questionnaire was administered to a random sample of youth services volunteers (n = 150) and to members of an AIDS volunteer organization (it = 247); results of a factor analysis produced five subscales. Reliability of the constructed scale was determined. The initial construct validity of two of the subscales was established. Results of this research are promising, and further testing and refinement of the instrument could provide a method to empirically measure attitudes of volunteers who work with people with AIDS.