Learning Objective #1: Describe the reasons that adolescents give for comparing themselves with others when thinking about pregnancy and pregnancy prevention

Learning Objective #2: Describe the psychometric properties of the Social Comparison Uses Scale

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Social Comparison Uses Scale (SCUS) designed to assess adolescents' motives for comparing themselves with others when they think about pregnancy and pregnancy prevention. Methods: Dimensions and items were developed based on a content analysis of results from eight focus groups of 9th graders from a public school. The 50 adolescents were 56% female, 54% Hispanic white, and 33% sexually active. Developed dimensions and items were retained if five content validity experts rated them a three or four on a four-point scale. The preliminary instrument was administered to a development sample of 417 9th and 10th grade adolescents (Age range 14-18 years, M age=15.26, 53% female, 66% Hispanic white, 45% sexually active). Findings: Focus group results demonstrated six motives for comparing with others: Future consequences, distancing, modeling, self-enhancement, self-evaluation, and similarity-identification. An example of a distancing item is: “I compare myself to others to show me what not to do.” (Response choices of 1=Never to 6=Very often). Item analysis of the preliminary instrument (6 dimensions, 35 items) demonstrated a good range and distribution of scores with no floor or ceiling effects. The correlation matrix had a Bartlett's Test significance of p=.00, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin statistic=.94, and Measures of Sampling Adequacy > .90. Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation resulted in a six-factor solution (53% of variance). Cronbach's alpha for the factors ranged .74 to .85. Retained items demonstrated interitem correlations between .30-.70 and item-total correlations between .45-.68. Because the factor analysis resulted in mixed loadings not entirely consistent with focus group analysis, the measurement model was examined using structural equation modeling. Conclusion: Social comparisons are a common activity among adolescents. The results suggest that the SCUS is a reliable and valid instrument.

Funded by NIH/NINR, NR05054-01A2