Comparative Application of ESPAD in Northern Cyprus: Reliability Analysis of Psychosocial Factors

This study aimed to administer the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) questionnaire to adolescents aged 15–16 in the northern part of Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the ESPAD implementation process, the reliability of the subscales "Family Support," "Peer Support," "Social Pressure," "School Absenteeism," and "Time Spent on Social Media" was tested. The study was based on a descriptive model consistent with a quantitative approach. Reliability analyses were separately conducted for the ESPAD scale across the five dimensions mentioned above. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for the reliability analysis. The internal consistency level of each dimension identified in the ESPAD was calculated. The results showed that Family Support (.93) and Peer Support (.96) items were highly reliable. The Time Spent on Social Media questions also demonstrated a satisfactory reliability of .85. Social Pressure (.68) demonstrated moderate reliability, while the School Absenteeism questions (.55) demonstrated lower internal consistency. These results suggest that some of the ESPAD questions need to be revised or restructured. Improvements should be made to the low-reliability school absence questions. Qualitative research should be used to prepare preliminary studies for the development of new items. Consequently, it is crucial to test similar measurements based on ESPAD data in different cultural contexts. Research of this nature can bolster the robustness of ESPAD and its reliability analyses, enabling advanced modelling in future studies.