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Value on Health and Adolescent Conventionality: A Construct Validation of a New Measure In Problem‐Behavior Theory 1
Author(s) -
Costa Frances M.,
Jessor Richard,
Donovan John E.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1989.tb01225.x
Subject(s) - psychosocial , psychology , construct (python library) , personality , construct validity , discriminant validity , social psychology , scale (ratio) , developmental psychology , health belief model , value (mathematics) , health education , clinical psychology , public health , psychometrics , medicine , mathematics , statistics , psychiatry , physics , nursing , quantum mechanics , computer science , internal consistency , programming language
A five‐item measure of value on health, a new variable in the Personality System of Problem‐Behavior Theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977), was construct‐validated using cross‐sectional data from 1588 male and female 7–12th grade students. Three aspects of construct validity were explored: first, the convergent and discriminant validity of the Value on Health Scale with other health‐related psychosocial measures; second, the predictive validity of the Value on Health Scale in relation to health behaviors; and third, the theoretical validity of the Value on Health Scale in relation to other constructs reflecting conventionality‐unconventionality in Problem‐Behavior Theory. Value on Health related significantly to other health‐related psychosocial measures such as self‐description of health, and parental and peer models for health‐enhancing behavior. Value on Health also related significantly to greater involvement in health‐enhancing behaviors (e.g., regular physical exercise, seatbelt use, and attention to healthy diet). Finally, Value on Health was linked to a larger network of psychosocial and behavioral characteristics that reflect the underlying dimension of conventionality‐unconventionality in the Problem‐Behavior Theory framework. Value on health seems to be a useful addition to personality attributes that help explain variation in health behavior among adolescents. It would also seem to be an important target for prevention/intervention efforts with that age group.