Validation of the Brazilian version of the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

To validate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) questionnaire.

The original version of the 2007 YRBS was translated into Portuguese and back-translated into English. The questionnaire versions were analyzed by a committee of experts. The committee used semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalences as criteria of analysis. The final version of the translated 2007 YRBS questionnaire was administered in two occasions, with an interval of two weeks, in a sample of 873 high school students of both sexes, in the city of Londrina, Southern Brazil, to identify the psychometric properties. Test-retest reliability was analyzed by calculating the Kappa index of agreement and prevalence rate of each type of risk behavior when application was repeated. Chi-square test was used to identify statistical differences between the first and second questionnaire applications.

After minor changes identified in the translation process, the committee of experts concluded that the Portuguese version of the 2007 YRBS showed semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalences. Significant differences between the prevalence rates of both applications were found in 23.4% of items. The identification of 91% of items with moderate-to-substantial Kappa index of agreement and mean value of this index of 68.6% indicated the quality of psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the 2007 YRBS.

The translation, cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric qualities of the 2007 YRBS questionnaire were satisfactory, thus enabling its application in epidemiological studies in Brazil.