Communities That Care Youth Survey – Risk and Protective Factor Scales (CTC-YS)
Measures adolescent risk and protective factors across school, individual, and peer domains to predict substance use and delinquency.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Communities That Care Youth Survey – Risk and Protective Factor Scales (CTC-YS) was developed by Arthur, M. W., Hawkins, J. D., Pollard, J. A., Catalano, R. F., & Baglioni, A. J. (2002). It is designed to measure Risk and protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents (grades 6-12).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 18 items organized into 6 factors/subscales: School Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement, School Rewards for Prosocial Involvement, School Safety, Academic Performance, Depressive Symptoms, Favorable Attitudes toward Deviance.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| School Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement | 1,2,4,5,10 | 5 |
| School Rewards for Prosocial Involvement | 3,7,8 | 3 |
| School Safety | 6 | 1 |
| Academic Performance | 9 | 1 |
| Depressive Symptoms | 11,12,13,14 | 4 |
| Favorable Attitudes toward Deviance | 15,16,17,18 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = NO!, 2 = no, 3 = yes, 4 = YES!.
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 1 to 4. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Agreement / Low Presence of Construct: 1 – 2
- High Agreement / High Presence of Construct: 3 – 4
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranges from 0.70 to 0.90 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.