Abstract
Moos (1974) postulates the existence and intermilieu equivalence of three, relatively uncorrelated, underlying domains of the psychosocial environment: relationship, system maintenance, and personal development. A partial, indirect test of these assertions can be obtained by evaluating and comparing the factor structures of the Class Atmosphere Scale for classrooms, the Group Atmosphere Scale for therapy groups, and the Ward Atmosphere Scale for psychiatric wards. Separate principal components analyses generate four factors for the first scale, and three each for the other two. Although the domains postulated by Moos can be discerned in all milieus, intersystemic differences occur. For the Class Atmosphere Scale, an additional “halo” factor emerges. Tucker congruence analysis shows that the two therapeutic settings possess equivalent relationship and personal development dimensions. Only the relationship factor is congruent among all three environments. Subscale meaning apparently varies somewhat between classroom and therapeutic settings. Conceptual elaboration of the Moos typology and component subscales is recommended.
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