2005 · Study · English
Measurement properties of the Communities That Care Youth Survey across demographic groups
Glaser, R.R., Van Horn, M.L., Arthur, M.W., Hawkins, J.D. and R. F. Catalano
Glaser, R.R., Van Horn, M.L., Arthur, M.W., Hawkins, J.D. and R. F. Catalano (2005). Measurement properties of the Communities That Care Youth Survey across demographic groups. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 21(1), 73–102. doi.org/10.1007/s10940-004-1788-1
Summary
Large measurement study of the Communities That Care Youth Survey, the instrument that captures the risk and protective factors known to predict adolescent substance use and related problem behaviour. Using a sample of 172,628 pupils surveyed in seven US states in 1998, the authors examined the factor structure of the risk and protective factor scales and tested whether the measurement models were equivalent across five racial and ethnic groups (African Americans, Asians or Pacific Islanders, Caucasians, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans), four grade levels (6, 8, 10 and 12) and both genders. The results support the construct validity of the scales and show that the measures are equally reliable for boys and girls and across the five groups. Implications for science-based prevention planning are discussed. Published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, the study is the psychometric foundation on which later adaptations of the survey, including the German and Portuguese versions, build.