Reliability, Validity, and Associations With Sexual Behavior Among Ghanaian Teenagers of Scales Measuring Four Dimensions of Relationships With Parents and Other Adults

Jeffrey B. Bingenheimer, Elizabeth A. Asante, Clement Ahiadeke

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Little research has been done on the social contexts of adolescent sexual behaviors in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of a longitudinal cohort study (N = 1275) of teenage girls and boys in two Ghanaian towns, interviewers administered a 26-item questionnaire module intended to assess four dimensions of youth–adult relationships: monitoring, conflict, emotional support, and financial support. Confirmatory factor and traditional psychometric analyses showed the four scales to be reliable. Known-groups comparisons provided evidence of their validity. All four scales had strong bivariate associations with self-reported sexual behavior (odds ratios = 1.66, 0.74, 0.47, and 0.60 for conflict, support, monitoring, and financial support, respectively). The instrument is practical for use in sub-Saharan African settings and produces measures that are reliable, valid, and predictive of sexual behavior in youth.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)647-668
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Family Issues
Volume36
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Apr 2015

Keywords

  • adolescents
  • culture
  • family processes
  • parent/child relations
  • sexuality

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