Substance Use, Bullying, and Body Image Disturbances in Adolescents and Young Adults Under the Prism of a 3D Simulation Program: Validation of MySchool4web.
BACKGROUND
The use of virtual reality or three-dimensional (3D) simulation programs has been explored in different mental health problems and contexts. One of the applications that showed evidence of a suitable assessment for behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents is the 3D questionnaire called MySchool4web. The aim of this work was to analyze the psychometric properties of a tailored version of MySchool4web.


METHODS
A correlational, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was carried out. The participants were 668 secondary students from schools in Santiago, Chile with a mean age of 15.74 years. Adolescents completed MySchool4web in the informatics classroom of each school.


RESULTS
Results indicated that two of the items had to be removed, and a three-factor solution was found representing the dimensions substance use, bullying, and body image. This final model of 10 items showed acceptable internal consistency per factor, and its scores were significantly associated with other related measures in nine items.


CONCLUSIONS
These outcomes suggest that this version of MySchool4web is a reliable and valid measure of a 3D instrument for the screening of risky behaviors and emotional problems in adolescents and young adults in a school context.
1 Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality, School of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile , Santiago, Chile .
Álvaro I
ÁI
Langer
2 Department of Psychology, University of Almeria , Almeria, Spain .
José Manuel
JM
Aguilar-Parra
3 Faculty of Psychology, Del Desarrollo University , Santiago, Chile .
Valentina G
VG
Ulloa
2 Department of Psychology, University of Almeria , Almeria, Spain .
José A
JA
Carmona-Torres
2 Department of Psychology, University of Almeria , Almeria, Spain .
Adolfo J
AJ
Cangas
D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying; D002677:Chile; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult
body image disturbances; bullying; substance use; three-dimensional simulation