ABSTRACT

Morningness/Eveningness (M/E) is an attribute related to adolescent mental and physical health. The Morningness/Eveningness Scale for Children (MESC) is a widely used instrument for measuring M/E in adolescents. In this study, an Spanish translation of the MESC was adapted to the Río de la Plata population. A psychometric study was carried out in a sample of 368 Uruguayan adolescents (63.6% females), between 15 and 18 years old, who attended to either a morning (7:30 AM to 11:30 AM) or an afternoon school shift (11:30 AM to 3:30 PM). The scale showed good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.74), high temporal stability (r = 0.86, p < 0.001), good concurrent validity with mid-sleep point (r = −0.42, p < 0.001), and a two-factor solution. No difference in scores was observed between sexes or age groups. However, scores were different between school shifts, which proved to be a useful tool to study social influences on the circadian preferences. This study shows that MESC is a reliable and valid instrument for M/E assessment in adolescents, but social pressures should be considered when employing this score.

摘要

Morningness/Eveningness (M/E) 是与青少年身心健康相关的属性。儿童早晚量表 (MESC) 是一种广泛使用的测量青少年 M/E 的工具。在这项研究中，MESC 的西班牙语翻译被改编为 Río de la Plata 人口。对 368 名 15 至 18 岁的乌拉圭青少年（63.6% 为女性）样本进行了心理测量研究，他们参加了上午（上午 7 点 30 分至上午 11 点 30 分）或下午班（11上午 30 点至下午 3 点 30 分）。该量表显示出良好的信度（Cronbach's alpha = 0.74），高时间稳定性（r = 0.86，p < 0.001），与睡眠中点有良好的同时效度（r = -0.42，p< 0.001)，以及一个双因素解决方案。在性别或年龄组之间没有观察到分数差异。然而，学校轮班之间的分数不同，这被证明是研究社会对昼夜节律偏好的影响的有用工具。本研究表明，MESC 是一种可靠且有效的青少年 M/E 评估工具，但在使用该分数时应考虑社会压力。