NCJ Number
196011
Journal
Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: 2001 Pages: 19-39
Date Published
2001
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article describes the initial development and validation of an adolescent-specific, multi-dimensional scale to measure motivation to change related to substance use.
Abstract
A review of the literature identified a set of variables (Neeliyara and Nagalakshmi, 1996) that are related to motivation to change: problem recognition, self-efficacy for sobriety, social support, alternative activities, locus of control, perception of life skills, and purpose in life. For the pilot form of the instrument, subscales were adapted or created to measure each of the factors that were identified as having potential explanatory power. The pilot form of the inventory was administered to a sample of adolescents in order to obtain preliminary psychometric data. Participants were 497 adolescents from 16 participating programs in 6 States. Of these programs, 62 percent were juvenile justice programs, either detention facilities or diversion programs for offenders. Preliminary psychometric findings revealed adequate internal consistency and a factor structure that corresponded to the inventory's subscales. Higher order factor analysis demonstrated the presence of a higher order factor (motivation to change) on which six of seven factors loaded. Cluster analysis showed the presence of three groups: "experimenters," who may not abuse substances, but may have experimented with them to some extent; "precontemplators," who are uncertain about both having a substance abuse problem and desiring to reduce substance use, with a tendency in the direction of not desiring change; and "contemplators," who are uncertain about having a substance abuse problem, but have a clear desire to reduce substance use. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 43 references