Development of an HIV/STD Screening Index to Measure HIV/STD Risk in Adolescents

Abstract

The development of an adolescent screening assessing risk of exposure to HIV/sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and its psychometric evaluation is described. An initial set of 31 items was administered to 1418 adolescents. Item and factor analyses resulted in an 18-item HIV/STD risk screening index. Reliability analysis indicated favorable evidence for index internal consistency (alpha = .86) and temporal stability over 6 to 10 days (r = .92). Construct validity was supported by the ability to use the index to differentiate between groups that differed in history of HIV/STD. Convergent validity was evidenced by significant correlations of the index with conceptually related measures. The screening index shows favorable psychometric evidence among diverse samples of adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescents
• HIV measurement
• HIV risk index
• HIV risk screen

Acknowledgments

The preparation of this article was supported by grant R01-DA-14717 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. The authors acknowledge Dr. Robert Francis for his contribution in preliminary data analysis and the researchers in charge of data collection for their efforts, including Brenda Chabon, PhD, with the Montefiore Medical Center; Tonya Dodge, PhD, with the George Washington University; Catherine Martin, MD, with the University of Kentucky; David Pugatch, MD, with the Rhode Island Hospital; Cynthia Rowe, PhD, with the University of Miami; Holly Waldron, PhD, with the Oregon Research Institute; Elizabeth Whitmore, PhD, with the University of Colorado School of Medicine; and Ken Winters, PhD, with the University of Minnesota. We are grateful to Drs. Ken Winters and Brenda Chabon for their comments to an earlier version of this article and to NOVA Research Company for its support in preparing this article.

Notes

Note: ^a Percentage of sample responding in the direction of risk.

^b Item of the final 18-item HIV/STD Risk Index.

*See Table 1 for complete wording of items.

¹No further analysis on the index's factor structure was conducted because this study aimed to create a screening tool of key items related to HIV/STD risk for adolescents rather than explore the different aspects of HIV/STD risk.

*p < .01.