Table of Contents
Abstract
The Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCY Survey), developed by Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano, and Baglioni in 2002, is a comprehensive self-report instrument designed to measure key risk and protective factors associated with adolescent problem behaviors. It is foundational to the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system, providing local communities with data necessary to identify specific areas of need and tailor effective intervention strategies. The survey covers multiple life domains—including school, peer group, family, and neighborhood—to assess environmental and individual influences that predict outcomes such as substance use, violence, and delinquency.
The CTCY Survey is distinguished by its focus on comprehensive assessment across various ecological levels, aligning with the Social Development Model (SDM). By quantifying the presence of both risk and protective factors, the instrument allows researchers and practitioners to prioritize interventions that address the most salient precursors to adolescent behavioral issues in a specific community context.
Keywords
Communities That Care, CTC Youth Survey, adolescent problem behaviors, risk and protective factors, substance use, delinquency, prevention science, social development model, youth assessment.
Authors
M. W. Arthur, J. D. Hawkins, J. A. Pollard, R. F. Catalano, A. J. Baglioni.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the Communities That Care Youth Survey is to provide robust, local-level data on the prevalence of adolescent problem behaviors and the underlying risk and protective factors within a community. This data is critical for implementing the Communities That Care framework, which mandates a data-driven approach to prevention planning.
The survey is specifically engineered to measure 24 distinct risk and protective factors across four domains (Community, Family, School, Peer/Individual), enabling communities to select evidence-based prevention programs that target their specific, measurable needs. The resulting data helps guide resource allocation and measure the efficacy of long-term prevention efforts aimed at reducing substance use and delinquency among youth.
Construct
The theoretical foundation of the CTCY Survey lies in the Social Development Model (SDM), which posits that youth behavior is determined by the balance between risk factors (influences that increase the likelihood of problem behaviors) and protective factors (influences that buffer against negative outcomes). The survey operationalizes these constructs across key domains:
- Community Domain: Measures factors such as community disorganization, availability of drugs/weapons, and community protective factors like opportunities for prosocial involvement and neighborhood attachment.
- Family Domain: Assesses factors like family conflict, family management problems, parental attitudes toward drug use, and protective factors such as family bonding and parental supervision.
- School Domain: Measures academic failure, low commitment to school, and protective factors such as school bonding, opportunities for prosocial involvement in school, and teacher praise.
- Peer/Individual Domain: Focuses on early initiation of problem behaviors, favorable attitudes toward deviance, peer drug use, and protective factors like social skills, religious involvement, and interaction with prosocial peers.
Validity
The validity of the CTCY Survey is extensively documented in the foundational academic literature, particularly the 2002 publication by Arthur et al. The instrument demonstrates strong predictive validity, showing that the measured risk and protective factors reliably predict future adolescent problem behaviors, including drug use and violent acts. Construct validity is supported by the factor structure, which aligns with the theoretical distinctions between the measured risk and protective factors across the four domains stipulated by the Social Development Model. Content validity is ensured through the comprehensive coverage of factors identified through decades of longitudinal research as correlates of youth violence and substance use.
Reliability
Studies examining the psychometric properties of the CTCY Survey have consistently reported acceptable to good internal consistency for the various scales and subscales derived from the instrument. Reliability estimates (typically measured using Cronbach’s Alpha) for the composite scales measuring risk and protective factors generally meet or exceed standard thresholds for use in applied research and community assessment. The scales measuring specific delinquency and substance use outcomes also exhibit strong reliability, ensuring that the self-reported data is consistent and dependable across different administrations and populations of youth.
Factor Analysis
The development of the CTCY Survey involved rigorous factor analytic procedures to confirm that the items cluster into theoretically meaningful scales representing the latent risk and protective factors. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a structure consistent with the Social Development Model, separating items related to community, family, school, and peer/individual influences. The resulting factor structure provides empirical evidence for the distinct nature of the 24 target factors, allowing for targeted preventative interventions rather than generalized approaches. This validation work supports the instrument’s use in determining which specific factors are most salient within a given Communities That Care jurisdiction.
Instrument
Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Epidemiological assessment tool
Format: Paper-and-pencil or online administration; multiple-choice and Likert-type scales, totaling approximately 197 items (depending on the version).
Language Available: English (and often translated into other languages depending on local community needs).
Population Group: Adolescents and youth.
Age Group: Typically utilized with middle school (grades 6-8) and high school students (grades 9-12).
Population Details: General population youth within a specific community or school district, used for community-wide prevention planning rather than clinical diagnosis.
Test Methodology: Anonymous group administration, typically conducted in school settings, designed to maximize honesty regarding sensitive topics like substance use and antisocial behavior.
Keywords
Youth risk factors, protective factors, school bonding, family management, peer deviance, community environment, prevention programs, adolescent health, drug prevention, delinquency prediction.
Authors
Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.
Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content.
Correspondence Address: Correspondence details generally relate to the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington, where much of the initial research was conducted.
Permissions & Fee and Test Year
The survey was initially published and validated in 2002 (Arthur et al.). Usage and licensing details are managed by organizations affiliated with the Communities That Care system, such as the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) or authorized distributors. The instrument is often made available to communities implementing the CTC system. The original instrument is available via the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) archives: http://store.samhsa.gov/home.
The original PDF for the survey is available for download here: http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/CTC020/CTC020.pdf. Other versions are also available: http://www.sdrg.org/ctcresource/risk_and_protective_factor_scale.pdf and http://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/ctc/Communities_That_Care_Youth_Survey.pdf.
Reference’s
Arthur MW‚ Hawkins JD‚ Pollard JA‚ Catalano RF‚ Baglioni AJ. Measuring risk and protective factors for substance use‚ delinquency‚ and other adolescent problem behaviors: the Communities That Care Youth Survey. Evaluation Review 2002;26(6):575- 601.
Items of the Communities That Care Youth Survey
IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.
- Antisocial behavior
- High risk behavior
- substance use
- delinquency
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Arthur MW‚ Hawkins JD‚ Pollard JA‚ Catalano RF‚ Baglioni AJ. Measuring risk and protective factors for substance use‚ delinquency‚ and other adolescent problem behaviors: the communities That Care Youth Survey. Evaluation Review 2002;26(6):575- 601.[/perfectpullquote]
Cite this article
Mohammed looti (2025). Communities That Care Youth Survey. Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Retrieved from https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/communities-that-care-youth-survey/
Mohammed looti. "Communities That Care Youth Survey." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 15 Oct. 2025, https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/communities-that-care-youth-survey/.
Mohammed looti. "Communities That Care Youth Survey." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 2025. https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/communities-that-care-youth-survey/.
Mohammed looti (2025) 'Communities That Care Youth Survey', Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Available at: https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/communities-that-care-youth-survey/.
[1] Mohammed looti, "Communities That Care Youth Survey," Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, October, 2025.
Mohammed looti. Communities That Care Youth Survey. Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. 2025;vol(issue):pages.