The study aimed at constructing, validating, and testing two instruments, one of which measured attitude change toward Civil Defense adult education, and one which measured level of knowledge about Civil Defense practices; and evaluating the effectiveness of the Personal and Family Survival (PFS) Course in terms of attitude change and knowledge gained on the part of selected participants. Data were collected from 52 senior nurses from Evansville, Indiana, and 43 from Indianapolis. All participants were administered the Civil Defense Adult Education Attitude Scale and the Civil Defense Knowledge Scale as a pre-test and post-test of attitudes and knowledge under investigation. The experimental group comprised the Evansville students who received the 12 hour PFS. They had never participated in a Civil Defense course. Both scales were content validated through expert opinion, and construct validated empirically by using known populations. In addition, a measure of reliability was established for each scale. Differences in pre-test data were also compiled, tested, and evaluated. Prior to the treatment, both groups exhibited a favorable attitude toward Civil Defense adult education. Thus it appears that among the student nurses of this study, the PFS course was not necessary to bring about favorable changes. (author/nl)