Familiarity with proverbs and performance of a black population on Gorham's Proverbs Test

The Gorham Proverbs Test was administered to 278 black participants residing in a large metropolitan area in Southern California. Respondents were also asked to indicate whether they were familiar with each of the 40 proverbs in the test. Scores were significantly affected by respondents' ages, education, and perceived childhood socioeconomic status. Familiarity with a proverb increased the probability of its correct interpretation. Familiarity of proverbs and attempts to interpret them were significantly associated, that is, respondents tended not to attempt interpretation of unfamiliar proverbs. The number of familiar proverbs per test was not significantly associated with respondents' test scores. The mean Abstract score obtained in this study was comparable to mean scores previously reported in the literature, suggesting that ethnic differences do not significantly affect performance on the Proverbs Test.     

Comparison of the Token Test of Language Development and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised

Correlations were calculated between the Token Test of Language Development (Token) and scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R) based on responses from 38 Caucasian children (23 boys and 15 girls) of a semi-rural Northeastern Ohio school district. The relatively low Pearson correlations (.25 to .47) between the standard scores in the Token test and WISC-R IQs are discussed in relation to ability and achievement.     

自我韧性量表与Connor-Davidson韧性量表的应用比较

目的:考察自我韧性量表中文版的心理测量学指标,探讨其与Connor-Davidson韧性量表的关系,比较两者在中国人群中的应用效果。方法:在社区人群中施测自我韧性量表和Connor-Davidson韧性量表的中文版,以及自尊量表、生活满意度指数A问卷、大五人格问卷。结果:自我韧性量表中文版的内部一致性系数为0.77,略低于Connor-Davidson韧性量表。自我韧性量表与Connor-Davidson韧性量表的相关系数为0.61。在以自尊、生活满意度、大五人格为效标时,偏相关分析表明控制了Connor-Davidson韧性量表得分后,自我韧性量表与效标的相关未达到显著水平(除大五人格的外向性维度外);但控制了自我韧性量表得分后,Connor-Davidson量表与效标的相关仍达到显著水平(除开放性维度外)。结论:在我国人群的应用中,Connor-Davidson韧性量表优于自我韧性量表,是值得推广的韧性测量工具。     

Development of a Comparison Level Scale for the College Test-Taking Situation

A comparison level scale (CLS) for the college test-taking situation was developed. Results showed that the CLS (1) correlated positively and significantly with students' choice of comparison level in the classroom-related experimental situation, (2) correlated positively and significantly with a more general achievement motivation scale, (3) related significantly more strongly to performance on a classroom-type verbal learning task than a general achievement scale, (4) predicted experimental classroom-related performance beyond that which would be expected because of aptitude, and (5) related most strongly to self-reported attention during the experimental classroom-related situation.     

Measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale in a homeless population

The measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale (CES-D; L. S. Radloff, 1977) were evaluated in a probability sample of homeless adults residing in a large and demographically diverse community. The findings from this investigation suggest that the CES-D is a reliable measure of depressive symptoms among homeless adults and that the factor structure of the scale replicates the factor structure found in the general population. Change in the CES-D scores was associated with change in residential status, with participants who had made a transition from homelessness to regular domicile, reporting significantly lower levels of depressive symptomatology. This result indicates the scale's sensitivity to current depressive mood, as affected by significant life events encountered by homeless persons.     

Comparison of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children--revised in rural Native American and white children

The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC--R) were administered to 46 Native American and white students who were suspected by their classroom teachers of having learning handicaps. Pearson correlations between these sets of IQs ranged from .42 (TONI and WISC--R Performance) to .89 (WISC--R Verbal and Full Scale).     

Adaptation of the Sydney Attribution Scale in a Spanish college population

The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Sydney Attribution Scale in a sample of 1,508 college students. Factor analysis identified six factors: Success/Ability, Success/Effort, Success/External Causes, Failure/Ability, Failure/Effort, and Failure/External Causes. Success and failure factors accounted for an adequate percentage of the variance. Internal consistency was acceptable, similar in the success scales and in the failure scales, and higher in the internal scales than in the external scales. The results also showed a clear predictable pattern of relationships between dimensions of self-attribution, and between these dimensions and several measures of general self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, satisfaction with the studies, satisfaction with performance, and satisfaction with knowledge, which supports the construct validity of the SAS.     

Comparison of the Matthews Youth Test for Health and the Hunter-Wolf A-B Rating Scale: measures of type A behavior in children

This study evaluated the extent to which two youth measures of Type A behavior--the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) and the Hunter-Wolf A-B Rating Scale--similarly assess the Type A construct. Data from 25 elementary teachers and from 300 of their students revealed that these scales are weakly correlated and that the concordance of their Type A-Type B classifications was only slightly above that expected by chance. Weak agreement was found even when teachers and students rated the same Type A behaviors, which suggests that variability in content was not the principal reason for the lack of agreement between these measures. The major implication of this study is that the MYTH and the Hunter-Wolf scale should not be considered interchangeable measures of Type A behavior. The study reveals that investigators' choice of a Type A measure may strongly affect the nature of their research findings and may inhibit the integration of their data with data from other investigators who employ different measures of the Type A construct. It is recommended that, if multiple measures cannot be used in a study, the investigator employ the MYTH.     

16PF问卷网络与纸笔施测方式的比较

为检验网络测试与纸笔测试方式是否具有同等的信效度,16PF问卷被用于对两个样本分别进行网络(n=213)和纸笔(n=2801)施测;并从网络测试样本中随机抽取47人,随后进行纸笔重测。在α系数、测题同质性和次级因素结构三项检验中,各个人格因素的表现各有优劣,未得出统一的结论,但可以确定网络测试的信效度较纸笔测试没有明显下降。配对t检验的结果显示,两种施测方式下同一批被试的结果在部分因素上有显著性差异,不能将纸笔测试获得的常模直接用于网络测试。     

Relationships between psychoticism and a number of personality measures: a comparison between the original and revised versions of the Psychoticism scale

A correlational study was carried out using a sample of 123 secondary school students in order to assess the differences between the original and the revised version of the Psychoticism scale, regarding their relationships to a number of personality variables. Extraversion, Neuroticism, Social Desirability, Sensation Seeking, Schizotypal Personality, Borderline Personality, Susceptibility to Punishment and Impulsiveness scales were administered along with the items from the two Psychoticism scales. Both scales showed similar patterns of relationships, indicating that the revised Psychoticism scale, which has been found to improve the psychometric properties of the original Psychoticism scale, does not differ greatly from its predecessor in its relationship to other personality variables.     

Psychometric characteristics of the Parenting Scale in a head start population.

Examined the reliability, construct, and concurrent validity of the Parenting Scale (PS), a brief instrument designed to measure dysfunctional parenting practices for parents of young children. In Study 1, 183 primarily African American mothers and their Head Start children completed the PS. The PS, which consists of 3 subscales--Laxness, Overreactivity, and Verbosity--was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Neither the original 3-factor structure, nor a 2-factor structure consisting of the original Laxness and Overreactivity factors, fit the data. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis yielded a 2-factor solution that was generally consistent with the Overreactivity and Laxness subscales identified by Arnold, O'Leary, Wolff, and Acker (1993). The 2-factor CFA solution was replicated with a sample of 216 similar mothers, and the 5-item Overreactivity and Laxness subscales retained internal consistencies above .70. Analysis of the convergent validity of the modified PS and its 2 subscales revealed moderate associations with measures of permissiveness, authoritarianism, involvement, and limit setting. Scores on the PS were not correlated significantly with measures of social desirability, maternal education level, or parent report of internalizing behavior problems. Concurrent validity evidence was obtained by correlating the PS with measures of parenting satisfaction and support, parenting stress, maternal depression, and measures of externalizing child behavior problems.     

Clarity of Personal Values and Committed Action: Development of a Shorter Engaged Living Scale

The Engaged Living Scale (ELS) is a measure of the process of engaged living, defined by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as the evaluation and performance of valued life activities. This 16-item measure was recently created and has been validated in middle-aged and chronic pain samples. The aim of the present study was to validate the ELS-16 in a young-adult sample and additionally to develop a shorter ELS. This study was conducted using different samples of Portuguese young-adult college students. The dimensionality of the ELS-16 (which was translated to Portuguese from the original Dutch) was tested through a CFA. The adequacy of the shorter ELS (ELS-9) was also tested through a CFA. The scales’ internal reliability and other psychometric qualities were additionally analysed. Results from the CFA suggested that the model benefits from the establishment of correlations between pairs of error terms of items with similar contents. These results led to the decision to shorten the measure by excluding the item of each pair with the lowest communalities. The ELS-9 was then created and its CFA results revealed good to excellent adjustment values and goodness-of-fit indices. Results also showed that the ELS-16 and the ELS-9 present adequate to good psychometric properties. The present study thus shows that these instruments seem to be reliable measures of engaged living and to perform adequately in young-adult college students, with the ELS-9 being a new contribution to health research and allowing faster administrations.     

Separating optimism and pessimism: a robust psychometric analysis of the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R)

The internal structure of the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R, German version; M. F. Scheier, C. S. Carver, & M. W. Bridges, 1994) was analyzed in a sample of 46,133 participants who ranged in age from 18 years to 103 years. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that dispositional optimism, as measured by the LOT-R, is bidimensional, consisting of an Optimism and a Pessimism factor. Consistent with previous results, there were small to moderate negative correlations between Optimism and Pessimism, but the strength of the association continuously decreased with age. The relative independence of the 2 dimensions occurred in both genders and across different age groups of patients with different medical disorders.     

The Japanese version of the revised Life Orientation Test: reliability and construct validity

The Japanese translation of the revised Life Orientation Test was completed by 223 Japanese college students. Factor analysis yielded two factors, namely, Optimism and Pessimism. These factor scales showed adequate reliability and construct validity.