An influence among influences: the perceived influence contribution scale development and use

Many youth programs seek to understand their influence over time on participant outcomes. This paper offers a methodology for measuring a participant’s perception of a program’s contribution amid their perception of other youth influences such as those from family, school, peer groups, hobbies, and other organized activities. The instrument built on the large body of work on youth influences in order to capture the dominant factors in development of the item bank. In addition to item development, the paper documents face validity followed by content assessment of items using a research panel, a principal component analysis using a second panel, and a full pilot with older teens in other summer intensive programs. The scale’s implementation for baseline and annual follow-up measures of an intensive summer research experience revealed stable and high relative contribution to older teen participants’ academic and career decision making over time. The final scale includes 19 items in 6 factors of family & religion; interests organized by others; adult responsibilities; school; arts; and interests organized by self. The scale proved to be responsive to changes in influences while remaining stable over time