| This dissertation explains the development and validation measurements of a 23-item scale designed to measure the knowledge base of supervisory personnel's understanding of the symptoms of hidden substance abuse in the workplace. A study was conducted to examine the new Hidden Substance Abuse in Workplace Comprehension (HSAWC) scale's psychometric properties. This study examined the content validity of the HSAWC scale using subjective methods based on subject matter experts' (SMEs) ratings of the various items of this measure (e.g., appropriateness of substance abuse, workplace substance abuse, how the scale was to be scored). The alternative hypothesis regarding content validity was cautiously accepted but warrants further research. Construct validity is iterative process; innovative and self-refining. In this study 13 items had a Cronbach's Alpha of .499. In this study the HSAWC scale did demonstrate construct validity with respect to measuring substance abuse in the workplace, and the alternative hypothesis was cautiously accepted, but future studies are necessary in order to increase the HSAWC's reliability statistics. A factorial analysis and an internal consistency analysis indicated that there were substantial issues concerning multidimensionality and low internal consistency of the developed scale. The HSAWC scale did not demonstrate internal reliability; therefore, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis stating the HSAWC scale would not demonstrate internal reliability.;Key Words: Substance abuse, substance dependence, addiction, withdrawal, intoxication, opioids, methamphetamine, Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), benzodiazepines, lysergic acid (LSD), Ecstasy, and cocaine. |
