Structure of Problem Recognition Questionnaire with Hispanic/Latino Adolescents

Abstract Motivation is a prominent target for substance use interventions because it is theorized to increase engagement in therapy and predict treatment outcomes. Establishing the validity of measures relevant to motivation among Hispanic/Latino adolescents will improve the resources available for screening and measuring change processes in a multicultural population. We examined the structure of the Problem Recognition Questionnaire (PRQ; Cady, Winters, Jordan, Solberg, & Stinchfield, 1996) with Hispanic/Latino adolescents. Participants were adolescents ( n =191) in a randomized controlled trial for substance abuse. Data were collected during a baseline pre-treatment time point and post-treatment time point that was four-months post-baseline. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the three-factor structure proposed by Cady et al. (1996) had a poor fit with pre-treatment data. Follow-up exploratory analyses with principal axis factoring identified an alternate three-factor structure with pre-treatment data ( problem recognition , readiness , and treatment resistance ). A second CFA showed this three-factor model fit data from participants at the post-treatment time point ( n =155). The results provide preliminary evidence for using our proposed factor structure for the PRQ subscales with Hispanic/Latino adolescents. We discuss the dimensions we identified in the context of similar measures and the implications for measuring problem recognition , readiness , and treatment resistance .