DEVELOPMENT OF A CULTURALLY, THEORETICALLY AND DEVELOPMENTALLY BASED SURVEY INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING RISK BEHAVIORS AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN EARLY ADOLESCENTS LIVING IN URBAN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS

The creation of developmentally and culturally appropriate data-gathering instruments is necessary as health researchers and interventionists expand their investigations to community-based minority adolescent populations. The creation of such instruments is a complex process, requiring the integration of multiple data-gathering and analytic approaches. Recent efforts have delineated several issues to be considered in survey design for minority populations: community collaboration; problem conceptualization; application of the presumed model of behavioral change; and dialect and format of delivery. This paper describes the process of creating a culturally and developmentally appropriate, theoretically grounded instrument for use in monitoring the impact of an AIDS educational intervention on the behavior and health outcomes of urban African-American pre-adolescents and early adolescents. Three phases of research were involved: preliminary (and on-going) ethnographic research including extensive participant observation, as well. as, focus group and individual interviews with 65 youths; construction and testing of the preliminary instrument involving two waves of pilot testing (N-1 = 57; N-2 = 45); and, finalization of the instrument including reliability testing and assessment of tool constructs and selection of the mode of delivery (involving 2 additional waves of pilot testing (N-3 = 91; N-4 = 351). The essential role played by the community in all phases of instrument development is underscored.