A pioneering study by Inês Marta dos Santos, Ana Isabel Pereira, and Helena Moreira on the attitudes of child mental health psychologists in Portugal towards Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) has yielded revealing results, highlighting the importance of understanding attitudes of mental health professionals to improve the implementation of evidence-based approaches.
The research sought to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the Evidence-Based Practices Attitudes Scale (EBPAS) and explore the attitudes of these professionals in the field of children’s mental health.
The results of the study revealed that Portuguese psychologists show more favorable attitudes towards EBPs compared to samples from other countries. This finding suggests a positive receptivity towards evidence-based approaches in the community of child mental health psychologists in Portugal.
Furthermore, when analyzing the differences in attitudes based on therapeutic approaches and professional experience, it will be observed that psychologists with a cognitive-behavioral orientation and fewer years of professional experience will show more favorable attitudes towards EBPs.
The research contributes to knowledge about the attitudes of mental health professionals, enabling more effective strategies to promote the adoption of evidence-based practices in the field.