Development and Validation of a New Measure of Everyday Adolescent Functioning: The Multidimensional Adolescent Functioning Scale

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.06.021

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 52, Issue 2, February 2013, Pages 195-200

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.06.021 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Everyday functioning is an important outcome for studies of the developmental psychopathology of adolescence. An unbiased, well-validated, and easy-to-use instrument to specifically assess normal adolescent functioning is not yet available. The current study aimed to introduce and validate the Multidimensional Adolescent Functioning Scale (MAFS).

Methods

The MAFS was developed by clinical consensus, resulting in a 23-item self-report questionnaire with three distinct subscales: general functioning, family-related functioning, and peer-related functioning. MAFS data were collected in a general population sample (N = 842; mean age = 15.0 years [standard deviation = .4]) at baseline and again at 1- and 3-year follow-up. Psychometric analyses included confirmatory factor analysis, calculations of internal consistency, scale correlations, and correlations with the abridged General Health Questionnaire.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the hypothesized 3-factor structure fits well to the MAFS data. All scales showed adequate internal consistency (greatest lower bound: .75–.91) and sufficient discriminative ability (scale intercorrelations: ρ = .15–.52). Of the scales, general functioning was most strongly correlated with the General Health Questionnaire, whereas family- and peer-related functioning showed weaker correlations with this general measure. The results were stable across repeated measurements and gender groups.

Conclusions

The MAFS is an easy-to-use instrument with good psychometric characteristics, which could be suitable for a broad range of future research applications, especially when a multidimensional and unbiased indication of normal adolescent functioning is required.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were recruited into this longitudinal study through secondary schools in the western metropolitan region of Melbourne, Australia. Thirty-four schools participated (20 government, 5 Catholic, and 9 independent schools). Three data collection waves were completed. All participants were in grade 10 at baseline (T1). In Australia, young people are required to remain in schooling until the end of grade 10.

At baseline (T1), 842 participants completed the MAFS without any missing

Sample characteristics

The characteristics of the research sample at the three time points are shown in Table 2. At baseline, there were 842 participants, with a mean age of 15.0 years (standard deviation = .4). There were 450 (53.4%) female adolescents. The gender distribution remained stable across T2 (54.5% female adolescents) and T3 (56.5% female adolescents). The mean MAFS scores were slightly higher at T2 and T3 compared with T1, but generally, the pattern of scores was comparable across time points. The mean

Discussion

We present a new questionnaire to assess everyday functioning in adolescents: the MAFS. Psychometric analyses of MAFS data collected in a large general population school sample supported the MAFS' internal consistency and construct validity. In addition, correlations between its scales indicated that three quite distinct domains of functioning can be assessed with the MAFS. Correlations between the MAFS-scales and the GHQ-12 indicated that the MAFS-GF scale was most strongly related to the

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Colonial Foundation and an NHMRC Program grant (350241). The authors gratefully acknowledge the participation of the students and the schools in this research project.

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: K.J.W. and J.T.W.W. contributed equally as joint first authors.

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Original articleDevelopment and Validation of a New Measure of Everyday Adolescent Functioning: The Multidimensional Adolescent Functioning Scale

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Participants

Sample characteristics

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Schizophr Res

J Adolesc

Eval Program Plann

Eval Program Plann

The relation of connection, regulation, and support for autonomy to adolescents' functioning

J Adolesc Res

Concurrent and across time prediction of young adolescents' social functioning: The role of emotionality and regulation

Soc Dev

Psychiatric illness in general practice: A detailed study using a new method of case identification

BMJ

DSM-IV: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition

Revising axis V for DSM-IV: A review of measures of social functioning

Am J Psychiatry

Adolescence