Adolescent Violence in High School Students in Juarez City, Mexico. Scale Development, Measurement and Validation

Abstract

The 2030 agenda seeks to reduce violence against children and adolescents; therefore, it is a priority to identify, analyze, and adequately measure the violence they suffer. This research aims to design and validate a scale to measure violence in adolescence. Based on a literature review, the dimensions of the construct were identified. The study is quantitative with a non experimental, empirical, cross-sectional, and explanatory design. The instrument was applied to 123 adolescents from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The content validity of experts, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis identified the factor structure of the adolescent violence construct, which consists of three dimensions and 13 items. The scale was tested with partial least squares structural equations to demonstrate the accuracy of the construct, which confirmed its reliability and validity. The key finding of the study is that adolescent violence is a second-order construct whose scale is made up of reflective items comprising the dimensions: gender violence, structural violence and systemic violence. The results confirm a positive and significant relationship between the relationships of the dimensions and their construct, as well as between the dimensions among themselves. It is concluded that the scale developed satisfies the criteria required of a reflective measurement model and that adThe 2030 agenda seeks to reduce violence against children and adolescents; therefore, it is a priority to identify, analyze, and adequately measure the violence they suffer. This research aims to design and validate a scale to measure violence in adolescence. Based on a literature review, the dimensions of the construct were identified. The study is quantitative with a non experimental, empirical, cross-sectional, and explanatory design. The instrument was applied to 123 adolescents from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The content validity of experts, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis identified the factor structure of the adolescent violence construct, which consists of three dimensions and 13 items. The scale was tested with partial least squares structural equations to demonstrate the accuracy of the construct, which confirmed its reliability and validity. The key finding of the study is that adolescent violence is a second-order construct whose scale is made up of reflective items comprising the dimensions: gender violence, structural violence and systemic violence. The results confirm a positive and significant relationship between the relationships of the dimensions and their construct, as well as between the dimensions among themselves. It is concluded that the scale developed satisfies the criteria required of a reflective measurement model and that adolescent violence in high school students in Ciudad Juarez includes and is related to gender, structural, and systemic violence. olescent violence in high school students in Ciudad Juarez includes and is related to gender, structural, and systemic violence.