A measure of risk taking for young adolescents: Reliability and validity assessments |
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| Authors: | Cheryl S Alexander Young J Kim Margaret Ensminger Karin E Johnson B Jill Smith Lawrence J Dolan |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA;(2) Department of Population Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA;(3) Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA;(4) School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Salisbury State University, USA;(5) Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA;(6) Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA |
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| Abstract: | Researchers often define adolescent risk taking in terms of individual behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, early sexual activity, and reckless driving. It is not clear whether these behaviors defined by adults as  risky have the same meaning for adolescents. This paper describes the development and preliminary testing of an instrument to assess risk taking among young adolescents. The six item scale was constructed by asking small groups of eighth grade boys and girls to describe things that teenagers your age do for excitement or thrills. The measure was then used in a longitudinal study of 758 young adolescents from three rural counties in Maryland. The scale shows good reliability, as indicated by coefficient alpha and factor analyses. Eighth-grade scores on the scale are associated with the initiation of sexual activity and substance use in ninth grade among virgins and nonusers of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills in eighth grade. |
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