The adolescent risk-taking questionnaire: Development and psychometric evaluation

Compared to other life periods, adolescence is characterized by a heightene d potential for risky behaviors. This study reports the systematic developm ent and psychometric evaluation of a comprehensive Adolescent Risk-Taking Q uestionnaire (ARQ). It was developed using reports of 570 adolescents and w as psychometrically evaluated with a sample of 925 adolescents between 11 a nd 18 years of age. Principal components analyses yielded a four-factor ris k structure, and these factors were substantiated via a confirmatory factor analysis. One week rest-retest and internal consistency indices were demon strated to be sound. Age and gender differences were found to be consistent with reported trends in accident data. Older adolescents and boys reported lower risk perceptions and a higher frequency of risky behaviors than youn ger adolescents and girls, respectively, supporting the validity of the ARQ . Furthermore, consistent with past research perceiving higher levels of ri sk typically related to lower levels of engaging in the respective behavior s.