Rutgers Teenage Risk and Prevention Questionnaire

Abstract

The Rutgers Teenage Risk and Prevention Questionnaire (RTRPQ) is a comprehensive assessment tool originally designed to evaluate various aspects of adolescent behavior, including high-risk activities and protective factors. The specific subset of items presented here focuses on assessing the presence and quality of adult support systems in the youth’s life, both within the family and the wider community. It aims to determine the extent to which adolescent respondents identify and utilize adults as positive role models, sources of guidance, and emotional support figures, which are crucial elements in mitigating risk factor exposure. These items are intended for descriptive analysis rather than forming a single, unified psychometric scale.

Keywords

Adolescent development, Protective factors, Mentorship, Adult support, Family relationships, Community connectedness, Risk prevention, High-risk behavior, Self-report assessment.

Authors

Nakkula MJ, et al.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the RTRPQ, particularly this section, is to quantify the availability and perceived quality of adult guidance and support networks accessible to teenagers. The instrument seeks to identify key protective factors—namely, positive adult role models and reliable sources of advice—that buffer adolescent vulnerability to negative outcomes and high-risk behaviors. By mapping these sources of support (e.g., parents, relatives, community members), researchers can gauge the strength of the youth’s social capital and their capacity for seeking help and validation.

The structure of the questions addresses four distinct areas of adult interaction: admiration and role modeling, seeking informational advice, seeking emotional support during crisis, and sharing positive achievements. This comprehensive approach ensures a multi-faceted view of the adolescent-adult relationship dynamic.

Construct

The psychological construct measured by these items is primarily **Adult Connectedness and Guidance**. This relates to the youth’s perception of having positive adult figures whom they admire, trust for advice, and feel comfortable sharing successes and struggles with. The measurement examines several dimensions of this construct, including admiration (role modeling), informational support (advice seeking), emotional support (trouble sharing), and celebratory sharing (success reporting). These dimensions are vital indicators of healthy psychosocial development and resilience.

The assessment also touches upon related constructs such as **Personal Attitudes and Beliefs** regarding adult influence and the quality of **Family Relationships**, particularly concerning the availability of parental figures and older siblings as support resources. This emphasis aligns with prevention science research which highlights the protective role of positive adult bonding in reducing adolescent risk-taking.

Validity

Specific validity data (e.g., concurrent, predictive, or construct validity coefficients) related solely to this subset of items measuring adult support within the RTRPQ are not detailed in the available source documentation. The overall validity of the larger, comprehensive RTRPQ structure is generally established for assessing high-risk adolescent behavior, but these specific items are designed for descriptive analysis of support resources rather than forming a psychometrically validated scale. Their content validity is high, as they directly query the presence of desired protective factors.

Reliability

Reliability statistics, such as Cronbach’s alpha or test-retest reliability, are not reported for this particular collection of items. Given the self-report nature of the data, the reliability relies on the consistency of the youth’s perception of their support network at the time of administration. Because the items are explicitly intended to be considered **separately** and not as a single scale, internal consistency measures (like alpha) are not applicable to the composite score of these items.

Factor Analysis

No factor analysis is applicable or reported for this specific set of questions. The source explicitly notes that these items should be considered **separately** as they do not constitute a single, unified scale. They function as individual indicators of adult support presence across different relational contexts (admiration, information, trouble, achievement) and are typically used to generate frequency counts rather than factor scores.

Instrument

Test Type: Assessment of Risk factor exposure and protective factors, specifically focusing on social support structures.

Format: Self-report; Pencil and paper questionnaire.

Language Available: English (implied by source content).

Population Group: Youth and adolescent populations.

Age Group: Middle school age youth (typically 12–14 years old), but also suitable for older youth.

Population Details: Has been previously utilized in research involving **African-American males** aged 12–16.

Test Methodology: The instrument uses a combination of dichotomous (Yes/No) questions followed by multiple-choice checklist items to categorize the source of support or admiration. Item 5 uses a 5-point categorical response scale (e.g., None of them to All of them).

Keywords

Psychological assessment, Mentorship, Adult role models, Support seeking, High-risk behavior, Institute of Behavioral Science, Rutgers University.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Available.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact Institution for current information (Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology).

Correspondence Address: Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original tool was developed in **1990** by Nakkula MJ, et al. as an unpublished questionnaire and interview. Items 2–5 were subsequently added or adapted by the Institute of Behavioral Science in 1990.

Permissions and usage fees are not specified in the source material. Researchers should contact the originating institution, **Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology**, for current usage guidelines and licensing information, as the original work was unpublished.

Reference’s

Nakkula MJ, et al. (1990). Teenage risk prevention questionnaire and interview: an integrative assessment of adolescent high-risk behavior. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. (Unpublished)

This instrument is documented in “Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.” The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

An additional PDF reference is available here: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED486261.pdf

Items of the Rutgers Teenage Risk and Prevention Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1a. Are there any adults who you admire and would want to be like?

• … Yes … No

1b. If yes‚ please check any of the following categories that include adults you admire.

• … Mother or stepmother
• … Father or stepfather
• … Older sister
• … Older brother
• … Other female relative
• … Other male relative
• … Other female adult in community
• … Other male adult in community
• … Sports or entertainment star
• … Other _______________________

2a. If you needed some information or advice about something‚ is there someone you could talk with?

• … Yes … No

2b. If yes‚ please check any of the categories that include persons you could go to for advice.

• … Mother or stepmother
• … Father or stepfather
• … Older sister
• … Older brother
• … Other female relative
• … Other male relative
• … Other female adult in community
• … Other male adult in community
• … Sports or entertainment star
• … Other _______________________

3a. If you were ha‎ving trouble at home‚ is there someone you could talk to?

• … Yes … No

3b. If yes‚ please check any of the categories that include persons you could talk to.

• … Mother or stepmother
• … Father or stepfather
• … Older sister
• … Older brother
• … Other female relative
• … Other male relative
• … Other female adult in community
• … Other male adult in community
• … Sports or entertainment star
• … Other _______________________

4a. If you got an award or did something well‚ is there someone you would tell?

• … Yes … No

4b. If yes‚ please check any of the categories that include persons you would tell.

• … Mother or stepmother
• … Father or stepfather
• … Older sister
• … Older brother
• … Other female relative
• … Other male relative
• … Other female adult in community
• … Other male adult in community
• … Sports or entertainment star
• … Other _______________________

5. Of all the teachers you have known‚ how many have you liked?

• a. None of them
• b. A few
• c. Half of them
• d. Most of them
• e. All of them

(Items 2-5 were added by the Institute of Behavioral Science‚ 1990.)