The Meharry Questionnaire: The Measurement of Attitudes Toward AIDS-Related Issues
Measures attitudes and behaviors of health care facility workers and the general public concerning AIDS-related issues, including moral conservatism.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The The Meharry Questionnaire: The Measurement of Attitudes Toward AIDS-Related Issues was developed by Frederick A. Ernst, Rupert A. Francis, Joyce Perkins, Quintessa Britton-Williams, & Ajaipal S. Kang (1989). It is designed to measure Attitudes toward AIDS-related issues. The scale is intended for use with Health care facility workers and the general public.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 13 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Moral Conservatism, General Attitudes.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Moral Conservatism | 2,4,6,9,10,11,13 | 7 |
| General Attitudes | 1,3,5,7,8,12 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Strongly Disagree, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = Strongly Agree.
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from -5 to 30. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Moral Conservatism: -5 – 10
- Moderate Moral Conservatism: 11 – 20
- High Moral Conservatism: 21 – 30
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach alpha of .70, split-half reliability of .74.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 7 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.