ABSTRACT
Currently, most surveys assessing adolescent health concerns focus primarily on risk behaviors and negative influences rather than positive influences such as assets. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and validation of the Adolescent Health Attitude and Behavior Survey (AHABS). This instrument was developed to measure the prevalence of youth health risk behaviors, attitudes towards adolescent sexual behavior and youth assets in a statewide evaluation effort. The questionnaire was completed by 4368 public high school students in Grades 9-12. Content validity was established through an extensive review of literature, a group process and factor analyses. Reliability was established through Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Factor loadings ranged from 0.48 to 0.84 for scales measuring attitudes towards adolescent sexual behavior and alpha coefficients ranged from 0.61 to 0.81. Factor loadings ranged from 0.34 to 0.90 for scales measuring youth assets and alpha coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 0.85. Because of several limitations (e.g. construct validity was not measured), additional development work is needed. Therefore, the AHABS is still in a developing, but promising, state. Additional psychometric work will provide program practitioners and evaluators with a psychometrically sound tool to measure behaviors, attitudes and assets.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Risk-Taking , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Parent-Child Relations , Peer Group , Sexual Behavior , Social Support , South CarolinaABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between perceived global life satisfaction and selected substance use behaviors among 5032 public high school students. METHODS: The 1997 South Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey substance abuse and life satisfaction variables were used. An adjusted polychotomous logistic regression analysis utilizing SAS/SUDAAN, revealed a significant race/gender interaction. Subsequent multivariate models were constructed individually for four race/gender groups. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to assess the magnitude of risk for selected substance abuse behaviors and their association with reduced global life satisfaction. RESULTS: Cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, regular alcohol use, binge drinking, injection drug, and steroid use were significantly (p < .05) associated with reduced life satisfaction for specific race/gender groups (white males; black males; white females; and black females). In addition, age (< or = 13 years) of first alcohol drink, first marijuana use, first cocaine use, and first cigarette smoked were also significantly (p < .05) associated with reduced life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether dissatisfaction with life is a consequence or determinant of substance abuse behavior for adolescents.
Subject(s)
Personal Satisfaction , Quality of Life/psychology , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Perception , Psychology, Adolescent , Risk-TakingABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore relationships between life satisfaction and violent behaviors among 5,032 adolescents. METHODS: Adjusted polychotomous logistic regression analyses and multivariate models were used via SUDAAN with the 1997 CDC YRBS. RESULTS: Carrying a weapon; carrying a gun; carrying a weapon at school; physical fighting; physical fighting at school; physical fighting that required physician treatment; drinking and driving; riding with a drinking driver; having property stolen/damaged at school; feeling unsafe while at, going to or returning from school; and being injured/ threatened with a weapon were associated (p=.05) with reduced life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Measures of life satisfaction as a component of comprehensive assessments of adolescent violence/aggression in field-work, research, and program-evaluation efforts should be considered.
