Adolescent Health-risk Behavior Scale (AHRBS): Development and Standardization
Usha Chivukula, Aysha Thasleema, Meena Hariharan, Meera Padhy, Adarsh K. VermaBackground:
Health-risk behaviors among adolescents are increasing at an alarming rate, as observed by families, educational institutions, and medical professionals. These risk behaviors are diverse and extensive. There is a need to identify the indulgence of adolescents in various risk behaviors and have a composite assessment of the same for any planned intervention initiative to enhance adolescent well-being. The authors, endorsing this need, have attempted to develop a comprehensive scale to assess the overall health-risk behavior of adolescents.
Method:
The adolescent health-risk behavior scale was standardized on a sample of 1388 adolescents aged 14-19 years from India.
Results:
The initial scale of 49 items was run through an exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a 30-item scale with nine factors. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a final scale of 20 items with seven factors.
Conclusion:
The scale showed satisfactory reliability and validity measures, resulting in a comprehensive assessment tool to assess adolescent risk behaviors. The scale can be used not just for research but also as a simple and comprehendible diagnostic tool to assess adolescent risk behaviors.