Validating the Media, Morals, and Youth Questionnaire (MMaYQue): A Scale to Assess Media Preference and Moral Judgement of Antisocial Media Content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the psychometric quality of a scale to measure adolescents' preferences and moral judgements of media portraying antisocial, risky and norm-crossing behaviours, titled the Media, Morality, and Youth Questionnaire (MMaYQue). We applied confirmatory factor analyses with two independent samples of adolescents (N = 666 and 780). A model with method effects and two correlated constructs (i.e., media preferences and moral judgements), fitted the data best and measurement invariance was confirmed. In addition, the MMaYQue successfully discriminates between groups and significantly correlates with relevant personality traits and related measures, supporting good discriminant, convergent and criterion validity of the MMaYQue. Findings provide evidence for the validity and applicability of the MMaYQue in various research designs, including experiments, to incorporate media use in research regarding youth and adolescent development.

Keywords::

• Scale Validation/Scale Development
• Adolescents
• Media Preferences/Selection
• Moral Judgement
• Media Content

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ According to standardised tests in the Netherlands, pupils were divided into different educational ability levels, referred to as low, middle or high ability (cf. IQ measurements; Nije Bijvank, Konijn, & Bushman, 2012).

We are very grateful to Mayke Huiberts for her work during the initial stage of this project. We also thank Anouk den Hamer, Truuske van den Berg, Kirsten Wain, Rianne Wijmenga, Marieke van Breukelen, Suzanne Bijman, Jolien de Groot, Iris Deen and Nienke Overhaus for their help with collecting data. Without the support of the schools and their participants, we could not do our research – a big thank you!^*E-mail: [email protected]