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Abstract
The Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) is an instrument designed to measure motivation to change behavioural and psychological problems. While the original that described a three-factor structure of the scale has been replicated by some studies, some others found rather a two-factor structure. The factor structure may vary if used in different care settings, as there tends to be considerable differences in the severity of substance abuse problems and in the perception of these problems between individuals. All previously published validation studies have used the scale to assess the motivational status with regard to alcohol consumption. The scale has, however, been used for other drugs, often in mixed samples using different drugs. No study has reported on the utility of SOCRATES for this. Notably, no study has tested whether the factor structure was maintained when using the scale addressing different drugs. The objective of the present study is to address this concern and to establish the factor-structure of a French version of the SOCRATES in different groups of patients presenting different substance-abuse problems. Methods: The study was realised in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The SOCRATES scores of four groups of patients were included in the present analyses: 90 hospitalised multi-drug dependent patients, 11 cannabis-abusing schizophrenic patients, and 24 tobacco smokers. The terms used in addressing patients’ motivation were “drugs”, “cannabis” or “smoking”. Results: A PCA followed by a varimax rotation revealed a three-factor solution. Only one item was clearly classified as being part of another than the original factor (item 14 in Recognition instead of Taking steps). Cronbach's alpha were 0.90 for Recognition, 0.73 for Ambivalence, and 0.91 for Taking Steps. Conclusions: The factor-structure of the French language version of the SOCRATES applied to different groups of patients presenting different substance abuse problems corresponded almost exactly to that originally proposed by Miller and Tonigan (Miller WR, Tonigan JS. Citation. Assessing drinkers’ motivations for change: The stages of change readiness and treatment eagerness scale (SOCRATES). Psychology of Addictive Behaviours 10:81–89) supporting the internal validity of the SOCRATES. The present data suggest that the type of drug can be changed without changing internal consistency and construct validity of the French version of the SOCRATES.