Validity of a Children's Health Locus of Control Measure: A “Heart Smart” Study

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Abstract
Questionnaires used in health promotion programs are too rarely subjected to tests of reliability and validity prior to their use. Without such tests, any information gathered must be suspect. The complexity of such tests is illustrated by the investigation of the validity of a revised version of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales. Confirmatory maximum-likelihood factor analysis was used to analyze data from 519 elementary school students. The concurrent validity of the revised MHLC was also evaluated by conducting an interbattery factor analysis that included data from selected “marker” items from the measure developed by Parcel and his colleagues. The results supported the validity of the revised MLHC Scales when used with children.