Must Be the Music: Validation of a Theory-Based Survey

Background: Early sexual initiation among American adolescents represents a major public health problem. African-American adolescents (AAas) report earlier ages of sexual initiation, which places them at an increased risk of ill health outcomes. Approximately 3 million adolescents are infected with STIs yearly, with the highest incidence occurring in African Americans from impoverished, inner city environments. A relationship among media exposure and media's influence on adolescents' sexual perceptions, attitudes, and intentions has been suggested. However, answers as to whether sexually-oriented music lyrics influence adolescent sexual initiation are unclear. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument based on the Theory of Reasoned Action to enable researchers to predict the influence of sexually-oriented music lyrics on the sexual attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of AAas. Methods: A nine-step process was followed to develop a survey to enable researchers to predict the influence of sexually-oriented music lyrics on the sexual attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of African-American adolescents. The steps were: 1) identify the attitudinal object, 2) collect a pool of opinion items, 3) submit pool of items to expert panel for review, 4) pilot test draft of the survey, 5) administer item pool to a group of respondents, 6) score each item for each respondent, 7) sum respondents' item scores, 8) correlate item scores with total scale scores for all respondents, and 9) apply statistical criteria for elimination of test items. Approval for the study‘s protocol was secured from The University of Alabama‘s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Results: One hundred eighty-five (n =185) AAas in grades 6-8 residing in rural and urban communities in Alabama participated in the study. An initial pool of items (n =95) was developed based on the TRA, a review of the literature, and input received through focus group interviews with the target audience. Items were eliminated through expert panel review (n =49), item response discrimination, factor analysis (1), and Cronbach's alpha (3). Four subscales were identified with reliability statistics ranging from .722-.940. The final instrument consisted of 44 items with a Cronbach's alpha of .846. Discussion/Implications: Statistical analyses indicate the survey is a valid and reliable measure. Researchers can utilize this survey to determine the influence sexually-oriented music lyrics may have on the sexual attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of early African-American adolescents. Health educators may adapt this survey to collect data concerning the influence of sexual music on other adolescent populations.