Program Outcomes for Youth
Reduction of Risk Behaviors in Youth including: 
Adolescent Sexuality  
Measures 

Compilations of Sexuality Related Measures

Card, J.J. (Ed.)(1993). Handbook of Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy: Research and Evaluation Instruments. Newbury Park, Ca: Sage. Includes measures used in four national surveys of to assess teen sexual behavior, pregnancy and their behavioral antecedents and correlates. Specific psychometric properties of individual scales can be obtained by contacting the primary investigators of the individual projects. The book also includes a list and description of measures which have been used in studies of adolescent pregnancy since 1955. All instruments described can be ordered in their entirety. Many of the items listed in this volume have been used in other research.

Kirby, D. (Ed.)(1990). Sexuality Questions and Scales for Adolescents. Santa Cruz, Ca. ETR Associates. This volume contains scales that have been used to evaluate sexuality education programs. Psychometrics for each scale and information regarding its purpose and origin are included.
 
Name: Attitude Toward Condom Scale (ATC)
Author: Idalyn S. Brown
Date: 1984
Instrument Description:  A 40 item measure on a Likert type scale was developed to determine specific attitudes toward condoms.
Where Available: See literature reference
Literature Reference: Brown, I.S.(1984). Development of a scale to measure attitude toward the condom as a method of birth control. Journal of Sex Research, 20, 255-263.
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Developed on college students but can be used to assess the effect of education on attitudes toward condoms in younger individuals.
Subscales:  
Psychometrics: Reliability coefficient equaled .93.
Advantages/Disadvantages Frequently used to assess attitudes toward condoms in a large variety of populations. Has been shown to be reliable and valid. Results can be compared to other studies as this scale has been used frequently.
 
Name: Healthy Oakland Teens Instrument
Author: Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
Date: 1994
Instrument Description:  The questionnaire contains 102 items at pre-test and 97 at post-test. It takes about 40 minutes to complete. These items assess STI related knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, sexual behavior and drug and alcohol use.
Where Available: http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/projects/hotinst.html
Literature Reference: N/A
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Junior high school students
Subscales: There are subscales addressing AIDS knowledge, costs and benefits of condom use, perceived prevalence of peers risk, attitudes regarding sexually active teens, partner norms, self-efficacy, and alcohol consumption.
Psychometrics: Reliability coefficients for the subscales showed great variability. The specific values were as follows AIDS knowledge =.64, costs and benefits of condom use = .47, perceived prevalence of peers risk = .62, attitudes regarding sexually active teens = .88, partner norms = .69, and self-efficacy = .62.
Advantages/Disadvantages Looking at the reliability coefficients, many of the subscales in this instrument seem to be unreliable, however many of them include a small number of items and this is therefore to be expected. This instrument was developed and pilot tested on junior high students and therefore may be more appropriate for this age group than some other measures.

 

Name: Sexual Risks Scale
Author: Dana D. DeHart & John C. Birkimer
Date: 1997
Instrument Description:  38 items in a five point response format made up the questionnaire. Subscales corresponding to predictors of condom use and perceived susceptibility to HIV.
Where Available: See literature reference
Literature Reference: DeHart, D.D. & Birkimer, J.C.(1997). Trying to practice safer sex: Development of the sexual risks scale. Journal of Sex Research, 34, 11-25.
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Developed on college students but could be useful with other populations
Subscales: Attitudes about safer sex, normative belief, intention to try to practice safer sex, expectations about the feasibility of safer sex, perceived susceptibility to HIV and substance abuse
Psychometrics: Alphas for subscales range from .88 to .76. Alpha for the entire scale equals .86.
Advantages/Disadvantages Only recently developed, not frequently used. However it includes a number of interesting subscales that are not often examined.

 

Author: John DeLamater & Patricia MacCorquodale
Date: 1979
Instrument Description:  A 9 item Guttman scale which assesses lifetime engagement in specific sexual behaviors.
Where Available: See literature reference
Literature Reference: DeLamater,J. & MacCorquodale, P. (1979). Premarital Sexuality. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Was originally developed to be used on college students.
Subscales: N/A
Psychometrics: Original coefficients of validity range from .95 to .97. Coefficients of reliability ranged from .94 to .96.
Advantages/Disadvantages Primary advantage is that it is a very frequently used and easy to interpret method of determining what sexual behaviors an individual has engaged in. A potential disadvantage is that the measure is older and the language may be a bit dated.

 

Name: Opinion poll of Adolescent Lifestyles (OPALS-1)
Author: Wendy Gamble
Date: 1996
Instrument Description:  OPALS-1 is an instrument specifically designed to be used as a tool in evaluating the effectiveness of an abstinence based program. Three different versions of OPALS-1 designed to be appropriate for different age groups were developed. All versions include questions on demographic information, sexual behavior, family influences, delinquency and drug use, sexual self-efficacy, the manning of sexuality and an identification of risks for early sexual behavior. Other behaviors, attitudes and beliefs are included in the versions for older groups. All questions are multiple choice but each scale uses a different format.
Where Available: Contact Dr. Wendy Gamble, The University of Arizona, Family and Consumer Resources, P.O. Box 210078, Room 210, Tucson, AZ 85721-0033.
Literature Reference: N/A
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Versions for pre-teens, young teens, and middle adolescent teen leaders have all been developed.
Subscales: Exactly which subscales are used depend on which version of the measure is used.
Psychometrics:  
Advantages/Disadvantages Developed specifically as a tool for program evaluation to be used in extension programming. This instrument has been used successfully in Arizona for several years.

 

Name: Condom Attitude Scale (CAS)
Author: William P Sacco, Brian Levine, David L Reed & Karla Thompson
Date: 1991
Instrument Description:  143 items which were scored on a 7 point Likert scale were included in the CAS. All items dealt with attitudes toward condoms. Subscales dealt with specific attitude factors.
Where Available: The complete instrument is available from William P Sacco, Department of Psychology, Beh 339 University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620.
Literature Reference: Sacco, W.P., Levine, B., Reed, D.L., & Thompson, K. (1991). Attitudes about condom use as an AIDS-relevant behavior: Their factor structure and relation to condom use. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3, 265-272.
Cost:  
Intended Audience: The instrument was developed on heterosexual college students but is meant to used with other populations who have been or intend to be sexually active.
Subscales: Interpersonal impact, effect on sexual experience, self-control, global attitude, perceived risk, inhibition, promiscuity, relationship safety
Psychometrics: Alphas for subscales range from .62 to .91. Test-retest correlation's for subscales range from .52 to .84. Alpha for the entire instrument is .92. Test-retest correlation for the entire instrument is .86.
Advantages/Disadvantages This instrument was developed for use with older populations but has been used with younger adolescents. It could be extremely useful primarily because it incorporates subscales that are often overlooked. However, the instrument should be examined carefully to make certain that it is appropriate for the community and the age group in question.

 

Author: Bonita Stanton, Maureen Black, Susan Feigelman, Izabel Ricardo, Jennifer Galbraith, Xiaoming Li, Linda Kaljee, Virginia Keane & Rodney Nesbitt
Date: 1995
Instrument Description:  Likert scales, multiple choice, true/false and open-ended questions were originally included in this instrument. Extensive work was done to ensure that the instrument was culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate. The instrument is based upon Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). The instrument is meant to be used differently to assess different behaviors. Behaviors that are related to sexuality and included in the measure are initiation of intercourse and condom use.
Where Available: See literature reference
Literature Reference: Stanton, B, et al. (1995) Development of a culturally, theoretically and developmentally based survey instrument for assessing risk behaviors among African-American early adolescents living in low income neighborhoods. AIDS Education and Prevention, 7, 160-177.
Cost: N/A
Intended Audience: Urban African-American adolescents and preadolescents
Subscales: Extrinsic Rewards, Intrinsic Reward, Severity, Vulnerability, Response Efficacy, Self-efficacy, Response Costs
Psychometrics: Alphas for the subscales range from .41 to .88 depending on which behaviors are being examined.
Advantages/Disadvantages The primary advantage of this instrument is that it is culturally and developmentally sensitive. However, depending on what behavior is being examined the items used in each subscale differ, making it potentially difficult to use. This instrument has not been widely used outside of the initial studies.

 

 
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