Construct and Criterion-Related Validity of the Adult-Attitudes toward Computers Survey for a Sample of Professional Nurses

While the literature indicates that attitudes towards computers and associated technologies needs further investigation in health care environments, there is a lack of formal research directed towards determining how professional nurses view the impact of computers in their work setting. The purposes of this study were to locate a valid instrument for assessing nurses' attitudes toward computers and to examine nurses' attitudes in relation to selected variables. The Adult-Attitudes Toward Computers Survey (Adult-ATC Survey) was administered to a sample of 210 practicing nurses who also responded to questions regarding their background experiences, work setting, use of computers, and attitudes toward this technology. A principal factor analysis using oblique and varimax rotations produced a conceptually meaningful 2-factor solution with high alpha reliabilities. Correlations are reported between each of the demographic variables and the subscales of the Adult-ATC Survey. The results of this study support the use of this instrument with practicing nurses and corroborate the reported high reliability of the instrument.