DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADOLESCENT HEALTH CONCERNS INVENTORY

Health concerns of adolescents are important factors to consider when developing and implementing school health education programs. In addit ion, an understanding of adolescent concerns compared to their teacher s' and parents' beliefs about adolescents' concerns may enhance commun ication between adolescents and adults. Despite the need to identify t he health concerns of adolescents and beliefs about them among parents and teachers, few instruments exist. The inventory described in this article is one approach to assessing adolescent health concerns. Three forms of the Adolescent Health Concerns Inventory (AHCI) were develop ed to assess: (1) the health concerns of adolescents, (2) teachers' be liefs about adolescent health concerns, and (3) parents' beliefs about adolescent health concerns. The final version of the instrument conta ined 150 health-related items grouped into 12 topical subscales. Relia bility estimates for -the 12 subscales as measured by Cronbach's alpha ranged from .76 to .92. A panel of experts was used to assess content validity. Construct validity was assessed using principal components factor analysis. All items were positively loaded on factor 1. Readabi lity was estimated at the eighth grade as measured by the SMOG readabi lity formula. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument and recom mendations for the use of the AHCI are presented.