TY - JOUR
T1 - Development and initial validation of the brief adolescent life event scale (BALES)
AU - Shahar, Golan
AU - Henrich, Christopher C.
AU - Reiner, Iris C.
AU - Little, Todd D.
PY - 2003/3
Y1 - 2003/3
N2 - We report initial validity analyses of the Brief Adolescent Life Event Scale (BALES). This instrument addresses negative and positive events pertinent to the well being of adolescent boys and girls, and is designed for use in studies utilizing an extended research protocol. Selection of items was guided by emerging perspectives on positive psychology, action theory, and personality vulnerability, as well as by new developments in statistical modeling theory. The 36 items of the scale tap negative and positive events, each of which addresses interpersonal and achievement life domains. Using a large sample of early-adolescents (N = 895), we confirmed the hypothesized structure that includes four domain-level latent factors (i.e., negative interpersonal events, negative achievement events, positive interpersonal events, positive achievement events), and two overarching factors (negative events and positive events). Indices of positive and negative events predicted adolescent depressive symptoms in expected ways, and positive events buffered the effect of negative events on depressive symptoms. These findings encourage an informed use of the BALES and highlight considerations involved in the development of brief measures of stress and coping processes.
AB - We report initial validity analyses of the Brief Adolescent Life Event Scale (BALES). This instrument addresses negative and positive events pertinent to the well being of adolescent boys and girls, and is designed for use in studies utilizing an extended research protocol. Selection of items was guided by emerging perspectives on positive psychology, action theory, and personality vulnerability, as well as by new developments in statistical modeling theory. The 36 items of the scale tap negative and positive events, each of which addresses interpersonal and achievement life domains. Using a large sample of early-adolescents (N = 895), we confirmed the hypothesized structure that includes four domain-level latent factors (i.e., negative interpersonal events, negative achievement events, positive interpersonal events, positive achievement events), and two overarching factors (negative events and positive events). Indices of positive and negative events predicted adolescent depressive symptoms in expected ways, and positive events buffered the effect of negative events on depressive symptoms. These findings encourage an informed use of the BALES and highlight considerations involved in the development of brief measures of stress and coping processes.
KW - Action theory
KW - Brief adolescent life event scale (BALES)
KW - Positive psychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037372345&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1061580021000057077
DO - 10.1080/1061580021000057077
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0037372345
SN - 1061-5806
VL - 16
SP - 119
EP - 128
JO - Anxiety, Stress and Coping
JF - Anxiety, Stress and Coping
IS - 1
ER -