Psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the Decisional Balance Scale (CDBS)

The purpose of this study was to conduct psychometric testing on the Chinese version of the decisional balance scale (CDBS) with Taiwanese seventh, eighth,and ninth graders who were recruited from the Taipei metropolitan area. A random cluster sampling method was used with 554 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years. Factor analysis procedures showed two components, Pros and Cons, accounting for 74.32% of the total variances and contrasted group comparisons affirmed the construct validity of the Pros, the Cons, and the CDBS. Item-to-subtotal correlation coefficients for the two subscales, the Pros and Cons, were greater than .50 and their reliability was supported by Cronbach's alpha coefficients, .87 and .91, respectively. The validity and reliability of the CDBS suggested that the CDBS was applicable to and congruent with the culture of the Taiwanese adolescent's smoking behavior. Further validation of the CDBS scale with different populations and larger sample size is suggested.