Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep:68:31-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2016.05.004. Epub 2016 May 14.

Validation of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) in Substance use Disorder Treatment Organizations

Gregory A Aarons  1 , Mark G Ehrhart  2 , Elisa M Torres  3 , Natalie K Finn  4 , Scott C Roesch  5
Affiliations

Validation of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) in Substance use Disorder Treatment Organizations

Gregory A Aarons et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

There have been recent calls for pragmatic measures to assess factors that influence evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation processes and outcomes. The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) is a brief and efficient measure that can be used for research or organizational development purposes to assess leader behaviors and actions that actively support effective EBP implementation. The ILS was developed and validated in mental health settings. This study validates the ILS factor structure with providers in alcohol and other drug (AOD) use treatment agencies. Participants were 323 service providers working in 72 workgroups from three AOD use treatment agencies. Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability analyses were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the ILS. Convergent and discriminant validity were also assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated good fit to the hypothesized first and second order factor structure. Internal consistency reliability was excellent. Convergent and discriminant validity was supported. The ILS psychometric characteristics, reliability, and validity were supported in AOD use treatment agencies. The ILS is a brief and pragmatic measure that can be used for research and practice to assess leadership for EBP implementation in AOD use treatment agencies.

Keywords: Addictions; Alcohol; Drug; Implementation leadership; Leadership; Substance abuse; Substance use disorder treatment; Treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aarons GA. Transformational and transactional leadership: Association with attitudes toward evidence-based practice. Psychiatric Services. 2006;57(8):1162–1169. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aarons GA, Ehrhart MG, Farahnak LR. The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS): Development of a brief measure of unit level implementation leadership. Implementation Science. 2014;9(1):45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aarons GA, Ehrhart MG, Farahnak LR, Hurlburt MS. Leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI): a randomized mixed method pilot study of a leadership and organization development intervention for evidence-based practice implementation. Implementation Science. 2015;10(1):11. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aarons GA, Ehrhart MG, Farahnak LR, Sklar M. The Role of Leadership in Creating a Strategic Climate for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation and Sustainment in Systems and Organizations. Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research. 2014;3(4):3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aarons GA, Ehrhart MG, Farahnak LR, Sklar M, Horowitz J. Discrepancies in leader and follower ratings of transformational leadership: Relationships with organizational culture in mental health. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. In press. doi: 10.1007/s10488-015-0672-7. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types