Development and psychometric evaluation of a health awareness scale for adolescents

Adolescence is a critical developmental stage during which the foundations for lifelong health behaviors are laid. However, the literature reports a limited number of measurement tools that assess adolescents' health awareness in both cognitive and behavioral dimensions.

This study was conducted to develop a scale for assessing health awareness in adolescents and to examine its psychometric properties.

This study is a methodological research with a cross-sectional design. A total of 784 Turkish adolescents aged 14-18 participated in the study. The construct validity of the scale was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 271) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 334) on two independent samples. The criterion validity of the scale was assessed through correlation analyses with the e-Health Literacy Scale, the Digital Health Literacy Scale, and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents.

EFA yielded a two-factor structure consisting of 17 items. CFA results indicated that the model fit was acceptable (χ²/df = 2.026, RMSEA = 0.056, CFI = 0.965). The scale's internal consistency coefficients were found to be high (α = 0.842; ω = 0.840), and validity analyses supported the scale.

The psychometric evidence obtained from the measurements suggests that the Health Awareness Scale can serve as a valid and reliable instrument for assessing adolescent health awareness across cognitive and behavioral dimensions.

The HAS can be used in pediatric nursing to evaluate adolescents' health awareness and promote preventive health practices.