Attitudes Toward Religion Scale: development and initial psychometric evaluation among Chinese college students

The Attitudes Toward Religion Scale (ATRS) was developed to access the level of interest in and position toward the five state-approved religions in China. Data were analysed across two samples of Chinese college students. With Sample 1 (N = 278), exploratory factor analyses were used to select the 10 ATRS items corresponding to two factors: Interest and Position. With Sample 2, confirmatory factor analyses (N = 270) cross-validated the two-factor oblique model as well as a bifactor model. Cronbach alphas of ATRS subscale scores in the two samples ranged from .75 to .85. ATRS-Interest and Position were both positively associated with number of close relationships with religious people. In addition, negative attitudes toward religion was associated with being religiously proselytised by strangers. Moreover, female students reported more favourable attitudes toward religion compared to their male counterparts. The overall results support ATRS as a psychometrically strong and promising measure.     

Effectiveness of Child-Directed Interaction Training for Young Japanese Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of Child-Directed Interaction Training (CDIT), the first phase of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), for Japanese children with autism spectrum disorders. The participants were 21 mother-child dyads with children aged 4–7 years; participants were assigned to an Immediate Treatment (IT) group or to a Waitlist (WL) control group. Across eight training sessions, mothers learned positive attention skills that were adapted from traditional PCIT training. Results showed CDIT not only improved social cognition skills and decreased disruptive behavior in Japanese children, but also reduced stress/distress among their mothers, particularly in relation to their own parenting skills and their child’s problem behaviors.     

The Role for Occupational Therapists in Community Mobility Training for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Symptoms and behaviors of Autism Spectrum Disorders can challenge community mobility, thus hindering independence and participation in occupation. Community mobility, also called travel training, helps people make journeys safely using public transportation, enabling engagement in activities/services otherwise unavailable. Yet, few articles have been written about this topic for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the authors in this article is to: (1) explain the need for travel training with people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders; (2) describe specific travel training assessments; (3) review literature on travel training programs; and (4) define a role for occupational therapy in travel training with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.     

Associations Between Religious Behavior and Attitude to Christianity Among Australian Catholic Adolescents: Scale Validation

Abstract

In a sample of 1,166 Catholic high school students (age = 13–18 years), the author used confirmatory factor analysis to validate a 30-item instrument that assesses 6 dimensions of attitude to Christianity (viz., attitude to prayer, attitude to God, attitude to Jesus, attitude to the Bible, attitude to Christian practice, attitude to social justice). Goodness-of-fit indices for the proposed measurement model revealed that the model fitted the data very well, thus confirming the instrument's structure. A correlation analysis revealed associations between religious behavior and attitude to Christianity.     

用验证性因素分析法对控制源量表的分析研究

验证性因素分析方法克服了传统的探索性因素分析的不足,为心理学发展和研究的精细化、数学化提供了更可行的途径。本研究运用验证性因素分析方法对心理控制源量表进行了分析研究,研究发现L1SREL软件对SPSS不能分析出来的因素可以进一步地给予精确数据。     

The Factor Structure of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale in University Students

The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) is a widely used measure of perfectionism. Previous studies of the nature of the factors of the FMPS have resulted in mixed findings and have failed to identify a stable factor structure. This study investigated the factor structure of the FMPS using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), addressing previous methodological limitations. Participants were 6,449 students from two Australian universities. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a five‐factor model and a reduction in variables from 35 to 29 (FMPS‐29). CFA demonstrated goodness of fit of the revised measure. We also compared our model with a number of existing measurement models of perfection and found the proposed model provided a superior fit for this university student population. Support was found for the two second‐order constructs commonly referred to as adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, although there appears to be little benefit in using this model over the first‐order model. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Male Body Attitudes Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of gay men

The Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS; Tylka, Bergeron, & Schwartz, 2005) is a recently created instrument which assesses males’ attitudes regarding their muscularity, body fat, and height. Although the MBAS was created via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, its factor structure has yet to be replicated with more diverse samples. The aim of the current study was to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the MBAS with a sample of gay men. Results from an online sample of 207 self-identified gay men revealed that the original three-factor structure of the MBAS, as well as a two-factor structure, consisting of muscularity and body fat, displayed strong factorial validity. These findings suggest that either a two- or three-factor structure may be used when assessing body image concerns in gay men.     

Peer and Teacher-Selected Peer Buddies for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Social,Emotional, and Mentalizing Abilities

This study examined mentalizing abilities, social behavior, and social impact of adolescents who expressed the willingness to become peer buddies for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and adolescents selected by their teachers and peers. Twenty-seven teachers and 395 adolescents from public high schools completed mentalizing abilities, social status, behavioral, and peer buddy nomination measures. Findings suggest that social status and preference play a significant role in the selection of peer buddies by both teachers and classmates. Furthermore, more advanced Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities and the engagement in prosocial behaviors differentiated peers selected as buddies from other classmates. When compared with nonparticipating students, adolescents who expressed willingness to participate were more often girls, and were more prosocial. Agreement between teacher and peer nominations of best peer was moderate.     

The Influence of Television on Adolescent Girls' Sexual Attitudes and Behaviour in a South African Setting

This study explored how television influences the sexual attitudes and behaviour of adolescent girls in a South African urban setting. A total of 4 adolescent girls participated (average age = 16 years old, range = 15–17 years old). Data was collected using in-depth interviews. Thematic content analysis (Neuman, 2006) was used for the data summarization. The results of the study suggest that television viewing influences the adolescent girls' sexual attitudes and behaviour towards permissiveness. Participants also indicated being influenced by parents and peers in their sexual attitudes.     

The Internal Structure of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist Irritability Subscale: Implications for Studies of Irritability in Treatment-Seeking Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Given the prominence of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Irritability Subscale (ABC-I), in treatment outcome studies, we conducted a critical examination of its internal consistency and relationship to other measures of irritability in 758 psychiatrically hospitalized youth with autism spectrum disorder. In exploratory and confirmation samples, we conducted factor and bifactor analyses to describe the internal structure of the ABC-I. Our results suggest that the ABC-I roughly represents a unidimensional construct of irritability, as indicated by a general factor in bifactor analysis. In addition to irritability, subordinate factors are presented that represent tantrums, verbal outbursts, self-harm, and negative affect. Notably, self-harm items explain a large proportion of variance independent of irritability. Therefore, their contribution in analyses of treatment effects should be considered. Further study or revision of the ABC-I may improve convergent validity with transdiagnostic formulations of irritability as well as prevent confound from self-harm in treatment studies for irritability in ASD     

Modeling the Structure of the Attitudes and Belief Scale 2 using CFA and Bifactor Approaches: Toward the Development of an Abbreviated Version

The Attitudes and Belief Scale-2 (ABS-2: DiGiuseppe, Leaf, Exner, & Robin, 1988. The development of a measure of rational/irrational thinking. Paper presented at the World Congress of Behavior Therapy, Edinburg, Scotland.) is a 72-item self-report measure of evaluative rational and irrational beliefs widely used in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy research contexts. However, little psychometric evidence exists regarding the measure's underlying factor structure. Furthermore, given the length of the ABS-2 there is a need for an abbreviated version that can be administered when there are time demands on the researcher, such as in clinical settings. This study sought to examine a series of theoretical models hypothesized to represent the latent structure of the ABS-2 within an alternative models framework using traditional confirmatory factor analysis as well as utilizing a bifactor modeling approach. Furthermore, this study also sought to develop a psychometrically sound abbreviated version of the ABS-2. Three hundred and thirteen (N = 313) active emergency service personnel completed the ABS-2. Results indicated that for each model, the application of bifactor modeling procedures improved model fit statistics, and a novel eight-factor intercorrelated solution was identified as the best fitting model of the ABS-2. However, the observed fit indices failed to satisfy commonly accepted standards. A 24-item abbreviated version was thus constructed and an intercorrelated eight-factor solution yielded satisfactory model fit statistics. Current results support the use of a bifactor modeling approach to determining the factor structure of the ABS-2. Furthermore, results provide empirical support for the psychometric properties of the newly developed abbreviated version.     

The development of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion

ABSTRACT

Awe is a complex emotion composed of an appraisal of vastness and a need for accommodation. The purpose of this study was to develop a robust state measure of awe, the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S), based on the extant experimental literature. In study 1, participants (N = 501) wrote about an intense moment of awe that they had experienced and then completed a survey about their experience. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 6-factor structure, including: altered time perception (F1); self-diminishment (F2); connectedness (F3); perceived vastness (F4); physical sensations (F5); need for accommodation (F6). Internal consistency was strong for each factor (α ≥ .80). Study 2 confirmed the 6-factor structure (N = 636) using fit indices (CFI = .905; RMSEA = .054). Each factor of the AWE-S is significantly correlated with the awe items of the modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDES) and Dispositional Positive Emotion Scale (D-PES). Triggers, valence, and themes associated with awe experiences are reported.     

The assessment of autistic traits with the Autism Spectrum Quotient: Contribution of the French version to its construct validity

IntroductionThe Autism Spectrum Questionnaire (AQ, Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) is a self-report assessment tool aiming at screening autistic traits in normal intelligence adults. While numerous versions in other languages than English now exist, few factorial evidence do sustain the valid use of this instrument as it was conceived, based upon five distinct dimensions (Social skills, Communication, Attention to detail, Attention switching, Imagination); no such study exists with a French version of the AQ. The aim of our study is therefore to present the French version of the scale and to explore its factorial validity with confirmatory factorial analyses and, possibly, its invariance across men and women.MethodSeveral confirmatory factorial analyses, with the robust WLSMV estimator for categorical response format, were run on the questionnaire data from 788 French-speaking students (17–25 years old) at university faculties or schools for higher education in Belgium. The original five-factor measurement model of the AQ was assessed as well as alternative models. An exploratory factorial analysis was also applied to get more insight as to possible sources of misfit.ResultsNo measurement model – neither the original five-factor one nor any of the six other models tested – did produce statistics or fit indices close to significant values: there was no fit to the data. The internal consistency of the subscales was weak; the exploratory factorial analysis further confirmed that as much as ten factors were needed to explain 45% of the data variance.ConclusionOur results, with a French version of the scale, add to many other ones which suggest that the AQ is a too heterogeneous questionnaire with somewhat ill-defined dimensions and non specific/ambiguous items. The questionnaire should probably be shortened and its content realigned to core features of the autism spectrum.     

The Skin Picking Impact Scale: Factor structure,validity and development of a short version

In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Skin Picking Impact Scale (SPIS; Keuthen, Deckersbach, Wilhelm et al., 2001), a 10 item self‐report questionnaire designed to assess the psychosocial impact of skin picking disorder (SPD). Participants were 650 individuals who met criteria for SPD in an online survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated a unitary factor structure with high internal consistency (α = 0.94). Consequently, we constructed an abbreviated 4‐item version that retained good internal consistency (α = 0.87) and a robust factor structure. Both the short and the full versions demonstrated discriminant and convergent/concurrent validity. In conclusion, the findings indicate that both versions are psychometrically sound measures of SPD related psychosocial impact; however, some potential limitations of the full scale are discussed.     

The Recaptured Scale Technique: A Method for Testing the Structural Robustness of Personality Scales

Tellegen and Waller advocated a complex and time-consuming scale construction method that they called “exploratory test construction.” Scales that are constructed by this method—such as the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)—are presumed to be more “psychologically coherent” and “robust” than scales constructed by other means. Using a novel procedure that we call the “recaptured scale technique,” we tested this conjecture by conducting a megafactor analysis on data from the 411 adult participants of the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart who completed the MPQ, the MMPI, and the CPI. We extracted and obliquely rotated 21 factors from a matrix of gender-corrected tetrachoric correlations for the 1,102 nonredundant items of the three omnibus inventories. Robustness of the 11 MPQ scales was assessed by the degree to which these factors recaptured the MPQ item groupings. Our results showed that nine factors were clearly recognizable as MPQ scales and two additional factors represented a bifurcation of an MPQ scale. A higher-order factor analysis of all 21 factor scales yielded five factors that clearly resembled the Big Five. Our results provide strong support for (a) the method of exploratory test construction, (b) the structural robustness of most MPQ scales, and (c) the utility of the recaptured scale technique.