Developing and validating a media health literacy scale with a critical approach for high school students in Tehran

Objective(s): Every society has a level of media literacy, but what is important is a critical approach to media content, which is of particular importance among adolescents and young people. Therefore, in this study, a model for media health literacy with a critical approach for high school students in Tehran has been developed and validated. Methods: The research method in this article is of quantitative type. The statistical population of this study includes the first and second year high school students of Tehran. The statistical sample was based on the sample required for exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis of 415 persons (in two stage) and the cluster sampling method was proportional to the selected cluster size. The research instrument was a self-designed questionnaire, which was validated from the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS and PLS software for data analysis. Results: The findings for the exploratory factor analysis showed that the factor loadings of all indicators were higher than 0.3. The goodness indicators of the pattern fit also showed that the structural pattern extracted has a good fit with the data. Also, the dimensions and components of the model had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha and combined reliability). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the need for integrated and systematic attention to all aspects of media health literacy with a critical approach in high schools is necessary.