Validity and consistency analysis of a social transformation scale for the impact evaluation of the ViraVida program

Abstract

ccording to estimates by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about one million children worldwide are directly affected by sexual violence and nearly a third of all cases occur in Brazil. The Program ViraVida acts to reduce the problem in the country, rescuing teenagers and youngsters in this situation, providing psychological, educational, and vocational assistance, including support for monitoring the placement and labor market. In this context, the main goal of the study is to analyze the validity and consistency of the Social Transformation Scale of the ViraVida Program. The study represents the second stage of the impact evaluation of the Program to measure possible impacts to strengthen employability, autonomy, self-esteem, community and family ties of young people from 16 to 24 years in situation of sexual exploitation. The methodology is based on the Factor Analysis procedures, including a verification of internal consistency of the full scale and their specific domains. Both proved to be consistent with Cronbach’s Alpha greater than 0.7. The results provide security for the performance of the later stage due to the ViraVida evaluation: evaluative research on adolescents and youngsters in the 11 states and 14 cities where ViraVida is ongoing.