The Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire, Part I: Scale construction

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Gynecology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Menarche is a significant developmental milestone for adolescent girls.
• Understanding adolescent attitudes towards menarche is crucial for appropriate support and education.
• Existing instruments may not adequately capture the nuances of pre- and postmenarcheal experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and validate a reliable and age-appropriate instrument to measure adolescent responses to menarche.
• To differentiate between premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls' attitudes towards menstruation.
• To provide a psychometrically sound tool for researchers and clinicians.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire, a 5-point Likert scale with six sub-scales.
• Content validation, testing with 860 premenarcheal and 1,013 postmenarcheal girls.
• Discriminant analysis, principal component factor analysis for construct validity, and reliability analysis.

Main Results:

• The final questionnaire has 58 items per version (pre- and postmenarcheal), with unique items reflecting differing attitudes.
• Qualitative differences in attitudes were identified between premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls.
• High reliability was achieved: .91 for the premenarcheal version and .90 for the postmenarcheal version.

Conclusions:

• The Adolescent Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing adolescent attitudes towards menarche.
• The findings underscore the distinct psychological experiences of girls before and after menarche.
• This tool can facilitate better understanding and support for adolescents navigating menarche.