title: [Design and validation of scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality, addictive substances and road safety. Are they related to behaviour?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To validate scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality (EAS), toward addictive substances (EASA) and toward vial security (EASV), and to examine their correlations with behaviour on these areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed the scales by literature review; we validated their content using a Delphi-on-line panel with 18 experts, and a pre-test with a sample of 21 fourth-grade high-school students (similar to 10th in US) in Seville, Spain. The scales were administered to 188 fourth-grade high-school students in order to test their construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), their reliability (Alpha Cronbach test), and to determinate their correlations with age, gender, experience of sexual intercourse, substance use and road behaviour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EAS-10 obtained α=0.73, EASA-12 obtained α=0.80, EASV-12 obtained α=0.79. They showed evidence of one-dimensional interpretation after factor analysis, a) all items achieved weights r>0.30 in the first factor, which explained a significant proportion of variance before rotations, and b) total variance explained by the main factors extracted was greater than 50%. We found correlations between EASA-12 and tobacco use (r=-0.43, p<0.001), alcohol use (r=-0.30, p<0.001), age of alcohol initiation (r=0.32, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.55, p<0.001), and between EASV-12 and safe road behaviour (r=0.41, p<0.001), tobacco use (r=-0.23, p=0.003), alcohol use (r=-0,22, p=0,003), age of first experience of drunkenness (r=0.22, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.27, p=0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The scales showed their reliability and validity. They could be employed for assessing adolescent attitudes to these priority intervention areas, for carrying out studies on their mediating role on adopting behaviour, and for designing and evaluating health programs.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología, Sevilla.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lima-Serrano
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lima-Rodríguez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sáez-Bueno
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cáceres-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D019529:Sexuality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs