Risk perception in adolescence: A contribution to the Mexican validation of five measures.

Background: The implementation by adolescents of behaviours that can be harmful to health stems from a complex system of assessment, in which the perception of risk is an important, though not exclusive, factor (Petrillo,2008). This work aims to present the Mexican validation of five risk perception scales, which were constructed and validated in the Italian context (Donizzetti,2009). Methods: The scales were administered to 120 students, equally distributed by gender (male 45.8% and 54.2% females) and with an average age of 13.2 years. Reliability, exploratory, confirmative factor and correlational analyses were conducted. Findings: The measures show monodimensional structures, with satisfactory psychometric properties (Alpha: RPS diet=.79, RPS physic exercise =.87, RPS consumption of alcohol =.94; RPS smoke=.90, RPS sexuality=.88). Discussion: The results confirm what already found in the Italian context and show the applicability of these measures in the study for the identification and understanding of the variables that govern the adoption of harmful behaviour.