4 Measurement instrument
The “Attitude Scale Towards Alcohol, Alcoholism and Alcoholics” (ASTAAA) was used for data collection. This scale
was developed and validated in Brazil and consists of 84 items, divided into the following five factors: Factor 1: Work
and interpersonal relations of the alcoholic; Factor 2: Etiology (alcoholism); Factor 3: Alcoholic drinks. The internal
consistency of this scale was 0.90 (Cronbach’s Alpha). Item-score correlations varied from 0.35 and 0.65, with an average
of 0.50. Data regarding psychometric analyses of this metric showed that it adequately measured professional attitudes
towards alcohol, alcoholism and alcoholics. According to the authors who created this scale 15, individuals who score high
on the ASTAAA tend to adopt positive attitudes, while those with low scores tend to adopt negative attitudes. Together
with the attitude scale, the Demographic Profile Questionnaire (DPQ) was administered. The DPQ consists of two
sections. Section 1 consists of questions related to the students’ demographic characteristics (gender, age, race, and
religion). Section 2 covers areas related to instructions the students received with respect to alcohol and other drugs during
the nursing education program (school, workload devoted to the theme of alcohol and other drugs during the
undergraduate program).