Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions of Individuals With Drug Use Problems: Confirming the Factor Structure of the Drug and Drug Problems Perception Questionnaire

The Drug and Drug Problems Perception Questionnaire (DDPPQ) is a multidimensional instrument that measures healthcare providers' attitudes toward working with patients who use drugs. Five- and six-subscale versions of the DDPPQ have been published. Although the reliability of the DDPPQ subscales was reported to be satisfactory, the factor structure of either version was not validated by a confirmatory factor analysis. The aim of this study was to examine the internal factor structure of the 22-item DDPPQ instrument using a sample of undergraduate nursing students. This study was a secondary analysis that utilized baseline data from the Addiction Training for Nurses using Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Program. The DDPPQ was administrated during the undergraduate nursing students' junior year in a single university setting in southwestern Pennsylvania. A sample of 473 students was used in this study. The sample was split equally to conduct both principal component analysis (n = 237) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 236). On average, the sample had a mean age of 22.9 years and was predominantly female (87.2%) and Caucasian (90.9%). A principal component analysis revealed that a five-factor structure had the best fit after the removal of two items. Reliabilities of the five subscales ranged from α = .696 to α = .904. Thus, a five-factor structure with removal of Items 9 and 19 is recommended when using the DDPPQ with undergraduate nursing students.