The Ohio AIDS Prevention Survey: a study of psychometric properties

The reliability of a measuring instrument is a major criterion for assessing its quality and adequacy. This article describes reliability pilot testing done with the Ohio AIDS Prevention Survey (Fellner & Thomas, 1989-90) in a sample of sexually active women of childbearing age. Previous alpha reliabilities of the knowledge scale of the survey have ranged from .71-.81, while the reliabilities of the attitudes and beliefs scale have ranged from .33-.45. In this sample, reliability measures for the knowledge and attitudes and beliefs scales were .65 and .45, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the Ohio AIDS Prevention Survey is clearly in its developmental stages and that further development of the survey is necessary prior to continued use in public health settings.