Measurement of ethical behavior in leisure among high- and low-risk adolescents

Based on Aristotelian ethics, an "Adolescent Ethical Behavior in Leisure Scale" (AEBLS) was developed. Sixty-two items were created and reviewed by a panel of experts for content-related evidence of validity. Two validity studies were then conducted. In Study 1, data from 419 high- and low-risk adolescents were used to examine correlations between the AEBLS scores and measures of substance use, school bonding, and dispositional leisure boredom. All hypotheses about relations between these variables and the AEBLS were supported. In Study 2, an experiment was conducted to assess construct-related evidence of validity. Seventy-one adolescents completed the AEBLS and evaluated images of sensory and cortical recreation activities to which they were exposed. Consistent with the hypotheses, significant positive correlations were found between the AEBLS and evaluation of cortical activities, and significant negative correlations were found between the AEBLS and evaluation of sensory activities. Results support the use of AEBLS scores to discriminate between ethical leisure behaviors of high- and low-risk adolescents.