Mj. Gilmer et al., THE YOUTH HEALTH SURVEY - RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH HABITS IN ADOLESCENTS, Journal of school health, 66(3), 1996, pp. 106-111
The Youth Health Survey (YHS) was developed as part of a school-based
longitudinal study (Cardiovascular Health in Children and Youth) to as
sess and track behavior and attitudes related to cardiovascular risk f
actors in children and adolescents. This paper reports the psychometri
c properties of each of the subscales of the the YHS and the results o
f a pilot study with sixth, seventh and eighth grade students (n = 205
) at two schools in the Southeast. The eight subscales of the YHS asse
ss health habits and attitudes of the adolescent as well as selected p
eer and family influences on those health behaviors. Internal consiste
ncies for seven of the eight subscales ranged from .74 to .89. Test-re
test reliability for six of the eight subscales ranged from .67 to .89
. Construct validity was established through factor analyses of four o
f six of the subscales. Findings support using the YHS with some minor
revisions to assess behaviors, attitudes and influences which may lea
d to CVD in adulthood.