Measuring Adolescent Prosocial and Health Risk Behavior in Schools: Initial Development of a Screening Measure

Risk behavior in adolescence is widely researched and is an important focus for researchers, federal and state agencies, and schools; however, goals differ across these settings and as such the measurement strategies must also differ. Schools require more frequent and efficient measures that better align with educational goals of increasing positive behaviors. The Prosocial and Health Adolescent Risk Behavior Scale was developed to meet this need. Participants were 682, 9th through 12th grade students (53 % female; 57 % White), from three midwestern high schools. Reliability and preliminary validity analyses resulted in a brief 20 item scale that measures both prosocial and health risk behavior participation. This scale has the potential to move adolescent risk behavior research and measurement forward through its unique conceptualization of risk behavior and its potential use across both research and applied settings.