Citation

Doran N, Aldridge A, Roesch S, Myers M. Eur. J. Psychol. Assess. 2011; 27(3): 145-152.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

27/1015-5759/a000060

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The construct of behavioral undercontrol is often assessed as a potential risk factor in studies of health-risk behaviors, but few studies have examined psychometric properties of measures of behavioral undercontrol. The present study tested the factor structure of the Behavioral Undercontrol Questionnaire (BUQ), a 20-item self-report measure, across gender and racial/ethnic groups, using a college sample (N = 648). We hypothesized that the factor structure would vary by both gender and race/ethnicity. A single-factor solution was identified and confirmed within each group. However, analyses yielded differences across gender and racial/ethnic groups. Findings support the overall validity of the BUQ, but also suggest that caution should be exercised in making comparisons across gender and racial/ethnic groups. These data also highlight the importance of assessing the psychometric properties of measures of behavioral undercontrol and other externalizing constructs.