The influence of participation in adult basic education on attitudinal changes among a selected group of adults from rural Appalachia was studied. Specific aims of the study were: (1) to determine the relationship between participation in ABE and change in anomia, (2) to determine the extent of anomia among rural Appalachian adults with educational deficiencies, and (3) to determine the relationship between demographic factors and anomia of ABE participants. Ten hypotheses were tested. Using the Srole Anomia Scale, data were collected from seven classes in four different locations in rural Appalachia (four in Eastern Kentucky and three in Northern Alabama). The median age of the subjects was 30.5 years; the mean age was 31.4 years. There were 26 females and 11 males in the sample, 59.4% being married. Nearly one-half of the subjects had completed 7 or 8 grades of school before dropping out, and over 60% were employed. The mean anomia pretest score was 3.5 and the mean posttest score was 2.9. This change in anomia scores implies that ABE students see the program as a means of removing obstacles to the achievement of their goals. No significant relationships were identified between the demographic factors, age, sex, marital status, educational level, and employment status and anomia. A significant finding was that students who remained in the adult program had significantly higher anomia scores than did drop-outs. (DB)