Norwegian social work and child welfare students’ attitudes toward research-supported treatments

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has increasingly become a part of social work education, but there is a lack of knowledge about students’ attitudes towards it. This study evaluated Norwegian social work students’ attitudes towards research-supported treatments (RSTs). Method: Attitudes were measured with the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale-36 (EBPAS-36), a validated measure including 12 subscales. Results: The findings suggest that master’s students are more positive towards RSTs compared to bachelor’s students. Having less educational training in EBP was associated with more skepticism towards the concept, suggesting that educational training in EBP contributes to facilitating a positive attitude towards RSTs. Discussion: These findings indicate a need to emphasize EBP in social work education. To enable EBP engagement in practice, we argue that emphasis should be put on teaching students to critically appraise research.