title: The Health Knowledge Inventory-Alpha: a personal health knowledge test for high school seniors.
abstract: This study assessed validity and reliability of the Health Knowledge Inventory-Alpha (HKI-Alpha) in a sample of high school seniors. The HKI-Alpha, a general health knowledge test, consists of 110 multiple choice items covering 11 health content areas. All seniors attending one of four high schools completed HKI-Alpha twice, one week apart. A secondary sample of college students also was tested. Descriptive analysis revealed the test discriminated among examinees and avoided ceiling and floor effects. Test-retest reliability was .81 (n = 355). Internal consistency reliability (KR20) was .85 (n = 418). A sample of college students scored significantly higher than the high school students, demonstrating construct validity. Other estimates of content validity, criterion-related validity, and construct validity were high.
authors.affiliation: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green 42101.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Case
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012572:School Health Services