A Psychometric Evaluation of the PBSS-20 Among Sexual and Non-sexual Minority College Students
type: CreativeWork
description: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Protective-Behavioral Strategies Scale-20 in a large national sample of college students containing sexual minority and non-sexual minority students. Specifically, confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the model fit with this sample, invariance testing was used to compare the model among sexual and non-sexual minority students, and construct validity was evaluated. Participants included college students (N = 1,730; Mage = 19.41) from 12 universities across the United States, who were predominantly White non-Hispanic (63.6%), identified as female (70%), and as completely heterosexual (67.6%). Participants completed demographic information and measures of hazardous alcohol use, weekly drinking, alcohol-related negative consequences, and use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBSA). Results revealed an adequate model fit of the PBSS-20 for the current sample, supporting the hypothesized factor structure. Invariance testing revealed that the PBSS-20 demonstrated invariance for sexual and non-sexual minority college students. The PBSS-20 total and subscale scores were negatively associated with every alcohol outcome measure for all samples, as expected. Results support the use of the PBSS-20 with sexual minority college students. This study expands the generalizability and utility of the PBSS-20 with both non-sexual minority and sexual minority college students across the United States.
abstract: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Protective-Behavioral Strategies Scale-20 in a large national sample of college students containing sexual minority and non-sexual minority students. Specifically, confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the model fit with this sample, invariance testing was used to compare the model among sexual and non-sexual minority students, and construct validity was evaluated. Participants included college students (N = 1,730; Mage = 19.41) from 12 universities across the United States, who were predominantly White non-Hispanic (63.6%), identified as female (70%), and as completely heterosexual (67.6%). Participants completed demographic information and measures of hazardous alcohol use, weekly drinking, alcohol-related negative consequences, and use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBSA). Results revealed an adequate model fit of the PBSS-20 for the current sample, supporting the hypothesized factor structure. Invariance testing revealed that the PBSS-20 demonstrated invariance for sexual and non-sexual minority college students. The PBSS-20 total and subscale scores were negatively associated with every alcohol outcome measure for all samples, as expected. Results support the use of the PBSS-20 with sexual minority college students. This study expands the generalizability and utility of the PBSS-20 with both non-sexual minority and sexual minority college students across the United States.
author: Melville, Alex
keywords: College students, hazardous alcohol use, sexual minority, protective behavioral strategies, psychometrics, alcohol outcomes, Counseling Psychology
date published: 2025-12-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:45:47Z
provider: University of Southern Mississippi
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Southern Mississippi