Consumer attitudes towards evidence based mental health services among American mental health consumers

The Consumer Attitudes towards Evidence Based Services (CAEBS) scale is a 29‐item questionnaire designed to assess public views on the role of science in helping to guide mental health treatment. The aim of the current study was to assess the Factor structure the CAEBS in an online sample of adults seeking information about mental health services. The CAEBS was administered to a nationwide sample of participants from websites offering classified advertisements for mental health related study participation (n = 312). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) suggested four factors based on 26 of the items: Beliefs Regarding Therapists' Practices, Attitudes about Mental Health Policy, Negative Personal‐Level Attitudes toward EBPs, and Negative Societal‐Level Attitudes towards EBPs. In order to increase consumer empowerment within the mental health‐care system and develop policies supporting EBP usage, mental health professionals need to increase communication with the public to address these concerns and leverage positive attitudes.