Development and validation of the Thai adolescent Life Skills Assessment: a preliminary report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64838/jmht.2026.284032Keywords:
adolescent, assessment, life skills, normative standard, psychometric propertiesAbstract
Objective: To develop a life skills assessment tool for Thai adolescents, validate its psychometric properties, and establish normative standards.
Methods: This study was conducted in 3 phases. Phase 1 involved development of the assessment prototype through an extensive literature review along with stakeholders and expert meetings, followed by item selection by using Delphi method and content validity testing. Phase 2 evaluated the objectivity and the reliability of the final draft using Cronbach's alpha coefficient among 80 adolescents aged 10 - 19 years. Phase 3 employed cluster analysis among 2,192 students aged 10 - 19 years across 13 health regions of Thailand to determine levels and corresponding ranges, based on mean with standard deviation, stratified by sex and age group.
Results: The developed Thai Adolescent Life Skills Assessment consists of 49 items, covering four main components: creation, positive self, positive relation, digital quotient. The tool demonstrated an index of item-objective congruence (IOC) of 0.80 or higher and an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86. Normative standards were established for both the total and subscale scores, categorized by sex (male and female) and age groups (10 - 14 and 15 - 19 years). Score interpretation is classified into three levels: above average, average, and needs improvement.
Conclusion: The Thai adolescent Life Skills Assessment demonstrates acceptable content validity and good overall reliability. It may serve as a preliminary tool for assessing, supporting, and monitoring life skills among Thai adolescents in school settings and for population-based assessments.
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