Developmental and Psychometric Properties of a Belief-based Reproductive Health Behavior Questionnaire for Female Adolescents

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire for the measurement of reproductive health among female adolescents in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 289 female students aged 12–15 yr in Tehran, Iran from 2015–2016. The participants were selected using multi-stage random cluster sampling. In addition, the Belief-Based Reproductive Health Questionnaire (BBRHQ) was designed using the properties of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis of 104 items identified a six-factor solution. These factors jointly accounted for 67% of the observed variance of outcome variable. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit to the data. In addition, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient showed an excellent internal consistency (alpha=0.92). CONCLUSION: Belief-Based Reproductive Health Questionnaire (BBRHQ) is a valid and reliable instrument for measurement of reproductive health behaviors of adolescents.