Psychometric evaluation of protective measures in Native STAND: A multi-site cross-sectional study of American Indian Alaska Native high school students

PLoS One. 2022 May 17;17(5):e0268510. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268510. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth are strong in culture and rich in heritage and experience unique strengths and challenges throughout adolescence. Documenting conditions that protect against risk factors associated with poor health outcomes are needed. We explored scales that measure self-esteem, culture, social support, and community from a sample of 1,456 youth involved in Native STAND, a culturally-relevant evidence-based sexual health intervention. We established content validity by reviewing existing literature and community feedback. Construct validity was examined using factor analysis. The final self-esteem model included seven items, factor loadings ranged from 0.47 to 0.63 for positive self-esteem and 0.77 to 0.81 for negative self-esteem. The final culture model included three items, factor loadings 0.73 to 0.89. The social support scale included four items, factor loadings ranged from 0.86 to 0.87 for family social support and 0.75 to 0.77 for friends social support. The community and community safety scale included three items; factor loadings ranged from 0.52 to 0.82. Coefficient alphas for scales ranged from α = 0.63 to α = 0.86. This study validated scales in a national sample of AI/AN youth-psychometric scales provide an essential tool for documenting the needs and strengths of AI/AN youth.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Alaska Natives*
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American*
  • Psychometrics
  • Students

Grants and funding

This work was supported in part by the award number 5 U48DP005006-05 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cooperative Agreement. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.