[Design and validation of scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality, addictive substances and road safety. Are they related to behaviour?]. / Diseño y validación de escalas para medir la actitud adolescente hacia: sexualidad, sustancias adictivas y seguridad vial ¿se relacionan con los comportamientos?

BACKGROUND: To validate scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality (EAS), toward addictive substances (EASA) and toward vial security (EASV), and to examine their correlations with behaviour on these areas. METHODS: We designed the scales by literature review; we validated their content using a Delphi-on-line panel with 18 experts, and a pre-test with a sample of 21 fourth-grade high-school students (similar to 10th in US) in Seville, Spain. The scales were administered to 188 fourth-grade high-school students in order to test their construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), their reliability (Alpha Cronbach test), and to determinate their correlations with age, gender, experience of sexual intercourse, substance use and road behaviour. RESULTS: EAS-10 obtained α=0.73, EASA-12 obtained α=0.80, EASV-12 obtained α=0.79. They showed evidence of one-dimensional interpretation after factor analysis, a) all items achieved weights r>0.30 in the first factor, which explained a significant proportion of variance before rotations, and b) total variance explained by the main factors extracted was greater than 50%. We found correlations between EASA-12 and tobacco use (r=-0.43, p<0.001), alcohol use (r=-0.30, p<0.001), age of alcohol initiation (r=0.32, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.55, p<0.001), and between EASV-12 and safe road behaviour (r=0.41, p<0.001), tobacco use (r=-0.23, p=0.003), alcohol use (r=-0,22, p=0,003), age of first experience of drunkenness (r=0.22, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.27, p=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The scales showed their reliability and validity. They could be employed for assessing adolescent attitudes to these priority intervention areas, for carrying out studies on their mediating role on adopting behaviour, and for designing and evaluating health programs.

Diseño y validación de escalas para medir la actitud adolescente hacia: sexualidad, sustancias adictivas y seguridad vial. ¿Se relacionan con los comportamientos? / Design and validation of scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality, addictive substances and road safety. Are they related to behaviour?

Fundamento. Validar escalas para evaluar la actitud adolescente hacia la sexualidad (EAS), las sustancias adictivas (EASA) y la seguridad vial (EASV), y examinar sus relaciones con comportamientos en dichas áreas. Material y métodos. Se diseñaron las escalas mediante revisión bibliográfica, se valido su contenido mediante panel Delphi on-line con 18 expertos y pretest con 21 alumnos de cuarto de educación secundaria obligatoria en Sevilla. Estas se administraron junto a preguntas sobre comportamientos a otros 188 alumnos para determinar su validez de constructo (análisis factorial exploratorio), fiabilidad (Alfa de Cronbach) y su correlación con las variables: edad, genero, inicio de relaciones sexuales, consumo de sustancias y practicas viales. Resultados. La escala EAS-10 obtuvo un alfa=0,73, EASA-12 de alfa=0,80, y EASV-12 de alfa=0,79. Mostraron evidencias de unidimensionalidad en el análisis factorial, a) pesos r>0,30 en el primer factor, que explicaba una proporción importante de varianza, b) varianza total explicada por factores principales mayor al 50%. Se encontraron correlaciones entreEASA-12 y experimentación con tabaco (r=-0,43, p<0,001) y alcohol (r=-0,30, p<0,001), edad de inicio al alcohol (r=0,32,p=0,003), edad de la primera borrachera (r=0,31, p=0,003), y consumo de sustancias (r=-0,55, p<0,001), y entre EASV-12 y practicas viales seguras (r=0,41, p<0,001), experimentación con tabaco (r=-0,23, p=0,003) y alcohol (r=-0,22, p=0,003),edad de la primera borrachera (r=0,22, p=0,003), y consumo de sustancias (r=-0,27, p=0,014). Conclusiones. Las escalas demostraron validez y fiabilidad. Pueden ser utilizadas para valorar la actitud de adolescentes españoles hacia estas áreas, determinar su papel mediador en la adopción de comportamientos y diseñar y evaluar programas de salud (AU)

Background. To validate scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality (EAS), toward addictive substances (EASA) and toward vial security (EASV), and to examine their correlations with behaviour on these areas. Methods. We designed the scales by literature review; we validated their content using a Delphi-on-line panel with18 experts, and a pre-test with a sample of 21 fourth-grade high-school students (similar to 10th in US) in Seville, Spain. The scales were administered to 188 fourth-grade high school students in order to test their construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), their reliability (Alpha Cronbach test), and to determinate their correlations with age, gender, experience of sexual intercourse, substance use and road behaviour. Results. EAS-10 obtained alpha=0.73, EASA-12 obtained alpha=0.80,EASV-12 obtained alpha=0.79. They showed evidence of one dimensional interpretation after factor analysis, a) all items achieved weights r>0.30 in the first factor, which explained a significant proportion of variance before rotations, and b) total variance explained by the main factors extracted was greater than 50%. We found correlations between EASA-12 and tobacco use (r=-0.43, p<0.001), alcohol use (r=-0.30, p<0.001), age of alcohol initiation (r=0.32, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.55, p<0.001), and between EASV-12 and safe road behaviour (r=0.41, p<0.001), tobacco use (r=-0.23,p=0.003), alcohol use (r=-0,22, p=0,003), age of first experience of drunkenness (r=0.22, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.27, p=0.013).Conclusions. The scales showed their reliability and validity. They could be employed for assessing adolescent attitudes to these priority intervention areas, for carrying out studies on their mediating role on adopting behaviour, and for designing and evaluating health programs (AU)