This paper aims to describe the development process, the factor structure,
the reliability and validity of a multidimensional scale to measure
HIV/AIDS-related knowledge for adolescents (HIV/AIDS Knowledge
Scale, HIV-KS). After a pilot study of the items, a questionnaire of 28
items was administered to a sample from 14 different schools in 5 counties
in Spain. Firstly, Principal-component analysis was used: first, to test
a theory-driven structure and second, to develop an empirically derived
factor structure for HIV-KS, which was tested with a confirmatory factor
analysis. Secondly, reliability and convergent and discriminant validity
were examined and finally, the factorial invariance was analyzed
according to gender and age with a sample of 1,216 Spanish adolescents.
The final version of the HIV-KS consists of 10 items distributed across
three major factors. The factors included are: (1) HIV oral transmission,
(2) HIV effects, and (3) other HIV transmission methods. The HIV-KS is
invariant across gender and age and shows good validity and internal
reliability. HIV-KS is a capable and parsimonious self-report scale for
assessing main aspects of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge for adolescents.