Psychometric evaluation of the personal lifestyle questionnaire for adolescents

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of validity for the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire (PLQ), a measure of positive health practices, in a sample of 222 adolescents ages 15-21. Using a priori criteria, it was found that a two-factor solution, resulting from a principal components analysis with an orthogonal rotation, best represented the factor structure of the PLQ for adolescents. Of the two factors, only Factor I demonstrated an acceptable coefficient alpha reliability; this factor was labeled General Health Practices. Evidence of construct validity for the total PLQ was provided by two statistically significant correlations found between the scale and the theoretically relevant variables of perceived health status and symptom patterns. Contrary to expectation, dependency was not related to positive health practices. A post hoc analysis indicated that Factor I correlated significantly with perceived health status and symptom patterns. The results support the use of Factor I, consisting of 13 items, as a measure of general health practices with adolescents.