Reliability and Validity of the Youth Empowerment Scale--Mental Health in Youth Departing Residential Care and Reintegrating into School and Community Settings

West Virginia University Press. P.O. Box 6295, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506. Tel: 866-988-7737; Tel: 304-293-8400; Fax: 304-293-6585; Web site: http://www.wvupress.com/index.php

Y

24

National Center for Special Education Research (ED)

R324A120260

Empowerment; Test Validity; Test Reliability; Youth; Mental Health; Residential Care; Mental Disorders; Measurement Techniques; Predictor Variables; Therapy; Rehabilitation Programs; Randomized Controlled Trials; Secondary School Students; At Risk Persons; Disabilities; Academic Ability; Student Behavior; Surveys; Likert Scales; Scores; Individual Characteristics; Interpersonal Competence; Learner Engagement; Student Motivation; Study Skills

0748-8491

Empowerment has been established as an important factor in resilience in adolescence. It has also been deemed critical for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders to achieve successful outcomes across academic, social, and behavioral domains, especially during a major transition. There is currently one measure used to evaluate empowerment in youth with mental health difficulties, yet it is unclear if this is a reliable measure for youth in therapeutic residential care. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of this measure of empowerment in a sample of youth departing therapeutic residential care (N = 138) and to examine whether or not specific factors contribute to varied levels of empowerment. Findings indicate that the empowerment measure is reliable and valid for use with youth departing therapeutic residential care. Overall, youth report high levels of empowerment at discharge from care. None of the predictors in the three multivariate general linear models were statistically significant. Limitations and implications are discussed.

As Provided

85

Yes

2017

EJ1157935