EXPLORATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS OF ADOLESCENT ATTITUDES TOWARD ALCOHOL AND RISK

This 2-year longitudinal study of 302 high school students in the stat e of Indiana examined attitudes toward the use of alcohol in 25 potent ially hazardous settings, varying from riding in a car, to swimming, t o simply drinking at home. Student ratings indicated that they were ca pable of rationally evaluating alcohol-related risks. Principal compon ents factor analysis identified three factors underlying student respo nses: propensity/desirability of the behavior, choice/control of the r isk, and fear/consequences/likelihood of the risk. Each of these facto rs was comparable to factors found to be important in past studies of adult risk perception. The finding that self-reported behavioral prope nsity and desirability were weakly correlated with the measures of per ceived risk is of particular interest. Attempts to reduce the use of a lcohol by adolescents have traditionally focused on risk awareness. Th e implication of this study is that intervention programs might be mor e successful if they focused on modifying perceived value.