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. 2012 Sep;38(5):468-75.
doi: 10.3109/00952990.2012.702169.

Umyuangcaryaraq "Reflecting": multidimensional assessment of reflective processes on the consequences of alcohol use among rural Yup'ik Alaska Native youth

James Allen  1 , Carlotta Ching Ting Fok, David Henry, Monica Skewes; People Awakening Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Umyuangcaryaraq "Reflecting": multidimensional assessment of reflective processes on the consequences of alcohol use among rural Yup'ik Alaska Native youth

James Allen et al. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

Background and aims: Concerns in some settings regarding the accuracy and ethics of employing direct questions about alcohol use suggest need for alternative assessment approaches with youth. Umyuangcaryaraq is a Yup'ik Alaska Native word meaning "Reflecting."

Objectives: The Reflective Processes Scale was developed as a youth measure tapping awareness and thinking over potential negative consequences of alcohol misuse as a protective factor that includes cultural elements often shared by many other Alaska Native and American Indian cultures. This study assessed multidimensional structure, item functioning, and validity.

Methods: Responses from 284 rural Alaska Native youth allowed bifactor analysis to assess structure, estimates of location and discrimination parameters, and convergent and discriminant validity.

Results: A bifactor model of the scale items with three content factors provided excellent fit to observed data. Item response theory analysis suggested a binary response format as optimal. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was established.

Conclusion: The measure provides an assessment of reflective processes about alcohol that Alaska Native youth engage in when thinking about reasons not to drink.

Scientific significance: The concept of reflective processes has potential to extend understandings of cultural variation in mindfulness, alcohol expectancies research, and culturally mediated protective factors in Alaska Native and American Indian youth.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Confirmatory factor analyses comparison between the unidimensional and three-content bifactor models. * p < .05, ** p < .01.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Item information functions from the five-category calibration for the general construct (G).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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