Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
BMJ Open. 2013 Aug 19;3(8):e003571. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003571.
Harmful drinking among young people is common in Australia and many other countries. Social norms and their influence on adolescents' alcohol consumption behaviours have received much research attention in recent years. However, there is limited understanding of how social norms related to alcohol are developed and transmitted across social networks and a specific tool that measures these constructs has yet to be developed. This paper outlines the rationale and protocol for the design and validation of a multidimensional survey instrument which measures the development and transmission pathways of alcohol-related norms among adolescents. A longer term aim is to apply the instrument in a respondent-driven sampling study with a large adolescent cohort.
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and relevant literature will guide the design of the online survey instrument. Feedback from a practitioner-based stakeholder committee, academic expert panel reviews, focus groups and interviews with adolescents aged 13-17 years in Perth, Western Australia (WA) will serve to ascertain content and face validity. A test-retest will be conducted using a purposive sample of students (n=400) at secondary schools in Perth. The instrument's psychometric properties will be analysed, including exploratory factor analyses, discriminant validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
The results of this research will provide public health researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive standardised instrument to explore the characteristics of individual-level and community-level social influences and norms associated with use of alcohol by adolescents and the routes through which these norms are transmitted. The data collected by the instrument is anticipated to inform the design of youth specific interventions with the potential to reduce alcohol-related harms. The Study findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. The study has received approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee.
在澳大利亚和许多其他国家，年轻人的有害饮酒行为很常见。近年来，社会规范及其对青少年饮酒行为的影响受到了广泛关注。然而，我们对社会规范如何在社交网络中发展和传播知之甚少，也尚未开发出专门用于衡量这些结构的工具。本文概述了设计和验证一种多维调查工具的基本原理和方案，该工具用于衡量青少年与酒精相关的规范的发展和传播途径。长期目标是在一个包含大量青少年的回应者驱动抽样研究中应用该工具。
社会认知理论（SCT）和相关文献将指导在线调查工具的设计。来自基于从业者的利益相关者委员会、学术专家小组审查、焦点小组和对西澳大利亚州珀斯 13-17 岁青少年的访谈的反馈，将用于确定内容和表面有效性。将对珀斯的中学进行有针对性的学生抽样（n=400）进行测试-重测。将对工具的心理测量特性进行分析，包括探索性因素分析、判别有效性、内部一致性和测试-重测可靠性。
这项研究的结果将为公共卫生研究人员和从业者提供一种全面的标准化工具，用于探索与青少年饮酒相关的个体和社区层面社会影响和规范的特征，以及这些规范传播的途径。预计该工具收集的数据将为设计针对青少年的干预措施提供信息，以减少与酒精相关的危害。研究结果将通过同行评审的出版物和会议演讲广泛传播。该研究已获得科廷大学人类研究伦理委员会的批准。
