Evidence-based practices in youth mental health: knowledge, attitudes and organizational characteristics

Abstract

Based off of the "Multi-level Conceptual Framework of Organizational Innovation Adoption," this project investigated the extent to which knowledge of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and organizational characteristics significantly influenced EBP attitudes, while controlling for social desirability and organization membership. Participants were public sector practitioners from Hawaii's Department of Education (n=108) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division (n=61). Stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted with the total sample and separately for each of the organizations to determine which factors significantly predicted EBP attitudes. Findings for the total sample suggest that the model that best predicted EBP attitudes included the variables of social desirability and organization membership. Additionally, the models that best predicted EBP attitudes for each organization incorporated different predictor variables. Findings are discussed as they relate to the importance of including social desirability in future research and identifying the different factors that influence EBP attitudes across various organizations.