Psychometric Properties of the Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs Scale for Adolescents.
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, Stephanie Kelly, Alai Tan
PMID 33518442WHAT IT FOUND
The Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs Scale for Adolescents reliably measures two distinct areas: beliefs about physical health behaviors and beliefs about coping with family support.
It works consistently for both boys and girls and across Hispanic and non-Hispanic teens, making it a valid tool for assessing adolescent lifestyle beliefs.
Key findings
01The scale identifies two distinct factors: beliefs about behaviors impacting physical health and beliefs about coping and family support impacting mental health.
02The scale demonstrates strong internal consistency for the total score and both subscales.
03The measurement structure is equivalent across gender and ethnic groups, indicating it functions similarly for different populations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study analyzed baseline data from a specific intervention trial, so the sample was limited to high school students in a metropolitan area in the southwest United States. The paper reports psychometric properties (validity and reliability) but does not provide evidence that the scale predicts future health outcomes or responds to interventions. Residual variances differed across ethnic groups, suggesting some minor inconsistencies in how items were interpreted regarding error, though the core structure remained valid.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this scale to predict whether an adolescent will successfully change their behavior or improve their health outcomes. The study validates the tool's internal structure and reliability for measuring current beliefs, but it does not test its ability to forecast future health status or intervention success.