2024 Volume 72 Issue 2 Pages 73-86
The purposes of the present study were to develop self-report measures for assessing the help-seeking cognitions and help-seeking skills of children and adolescents, and to evaluate the reliability and validity of those 2 measures. The participants, children (4th to 6th grade of elementary school, N=201) and adolescents (7th to 9th grade of middle school, N=309; 10th to 12th grade of high school, N=321) 9-18 years old, completed questionnaires. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis showed that the scales had sufficient structural validity and measurement invariance, and suggested that the scales had sufficient internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Measurement error and minimal detectable change were estimated. Hypothesis testing for construct validity showed that more than 75% of the hypotheses were supported. However, the responsiveness of the scales was not supported with an anchor-based estimation of minimal important difference. Although verifying responsiveness remains an issue for future research, these 2 scales may be useful in help-seeking studies.
