Umyuangcaryaraq “Reflecting”: Multidimensional Assessment of Reflective Processes on the Consequences of Alcohol Use among Rural Yup’ik Alaska Native Youth

Abstract

Background and aims: Concerns in some settings regarding the accuracy and ethics of employing direct questions about alcohol use suggest need for alternative assessment approaches with youth. Umyuangcaryaraq is a Yup’ik Alaska Native word meaning “Reflecting.” Objectives: The Reflective Processes Scale was developed as a youth measure tapping awareness and thinking over potential negative consequences of alcohol misuse as a protective factor that includes cultural elements often shared by many other Alaska Native and American Indian cultures. This study assessed multidimensional structure, item functioning, and validity. Methods: Responses from 284 rural Alaska Native youth allowed bifactor analysis to assess structure, estimates of location and discrimination parameters, and convergent and discriminant validity. Results: A bifactor model of the scale items with three content factors provided excellent fit to observed data. Item response theory analysis suggested a binary response format as optimal. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was established. Conclusion: The measure provides an assessment of reflective processes about alcohol that Alaska Native youth engage in when thinking about reasons not to drink. Scientific significance: The concept of reflective processes has potential to extend understandings of cultural variation in mindfulness, alcohol expectancies research, and culturally mediated protective factors in Alaska Native and American Indian youth.