title: Development of the Systems Thinking Scale for Adolescent Behavior Change.
abstract: This report describes the development and psychometric testing of the Systems Thinking Scale for Adolescent Behavior Change (STS-AB). Following item development, initial assessments of understandability and stability of the STS-AB were conducted in a sample of nine adolescents enrolled in a weight management program. Exploratory factor analysis of the 16-item STS-AB and internal consistency assessments were then done with 359 adolescents enrolled in a weight management program. Test-retest reliability of the STS-AB was .71, p = .03; internal consistency reliability was .87. Factor analysis of the 16-item STS-AB indicated a one-factor solution with good factor loadings, ranging from .40 to .67. Evidence of construct validity was supported by significant correlations with established measures of variables associated with health behavior change. We provide beginning evidence of the reliability and validity of the STS-AB to measure systems thinking for health behavior change in young adolescents.
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Shirley M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Vilailert
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Komton
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adegbite-Adeniyi
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dolansky
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Heather K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.affiliation: 1 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Elaine A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Borawski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013597:Systems Analysis; D061217:Weight Reduction Programs / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards
keywords: adolescent; health behavior; instrumentation; psychometrics; systems thinking