Revising the Competitiveness Index using factor analysis

The Competitiveness Index is a 20-item true-false measure designed to assess the desire to win in interpersonal situations. To develop a more psychometrically sound form of the scale, 213 undergraduates were administered the original form and a modified version containing a 5-point Likert-type scale. An initial principal component analysis using a varimax rotation of the modified version yielded a four-factor solution accounting for 54.5% of the explained variance. Based on a subsequent reliability analysis. six items were dropped from the modified scale. A second analysis produced a two-factor solution accounting for 54.1% of the explained variance. Both factors (Enjoyment of Competition and Contentiousness) formed reliable subscales. The 14-item Revised Competitiveness Index had high internal consistency and was positively correlated with the original Competitiveness Index, the competitiveness subscales of the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire, the Sports Orientation Questionnaire, and the Nach Naff measure of Need for Achievement.     

Reliability and concurrent relations between the teacher version of the child behavior profile and the conners revised teacher rating scale

A total of 104 disturbed boys aged 6–11 were assessed with the teacher version of the Child Behavior Profile and the Conners Revised Teacher Rating Scale (TRS). A subsample of 55 boys were reassessed with both measures at an interval of 1 week. For the teacher Profile, test-retest correlations averaged r=87 for eight behavior problem scales and r=91 for four adaptive functioning scales. Reliabilities were slightly higher for Externalizing scales (average r=.91) than for Internalizing scales (r=.80). Reliabilities averaged .94 for the Revised TRS. Correlations between the two measures indicated a strong correspondence between the three Externalizing scales of the Profile and the factor-based TRS scales. Specifically, Profile scales labeled Inattentive, Nervous-Overactive, and Aggressive correlated highly (p < .001) with TRS scales labeled Inattentive-Passive, Hyperactivity, and Conduct Problem, respectively. The Conners Hyperkinesis Index correlated highly with all three Externalizing scales of the Profile, particularly Aggressive (r=.82). Overall, these results support the reliability and concurrent validity of both measures.This research was supported by an NIMH Research Scientist Development Award (MH00403) to the first author and by NIMH grant number MH37372. The support of the William T. Grant Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are indebted to the students, teachers, and staff of PACE School for their cooperation. Tom Achenbach provided valuable comments on an earlier draft.     

A short version of a spatial activity questionnaire

Newcombe, Bandura, and Taylor developed a questionnaire measuring participation in space-related activities. The activities were classified as masculine, feminine, or neutral in gender stereotyping. A short version of this questionnaire was developed based on an item analysis of the responses by 485 introductory psychology students (236 women and 249 men). The 10 masculine, 10 feminine, and 10 neutral items chosen for the short form were given to 60 subjects (28 women and 32 men), along with a measure of spatial performance (Piaget's water-level task). Reliabilities (by coefficient alpha) were .79, .77, and .75, for the masculine, feminine, and neutral activity subscales, respectively. As with the original scale, women had a greater preference than men for feminine activities, men had a greater preference than women for masculine activities, and women and men had an equal preference for neutral activities. Masculine activity preference was associated with better water-level performance, with the relationship significantly stronger for women (r=.50) than for men (r=.10). Uses for the questionnaire in research on sex-related differences in spatial performance are suggested.     

Meaning in life of young and elderly adults: An examination of the factorial validity and invariance of the Life Regard Index

The main question of the present investigation was whether the Life Regard Index (LRI) is an adequate instrument to study possible differences between young and elderly adults with regard to experienced meaning in life. Participants in this study were a group of 206 young adults (M= 17.8 years, 49.0% female) and a group of 373 elderly adults (M = 65.90 years, 58.8% female). Respondents completed a Dutch paper-and-pencil version of the LRI. The LISREL confirmatory factor analytic model was used to test for the equivalence of measurement and of structure of the instrument. Results show that in both age groups the items of the LRI were found to be distributed to the two a priori dimensions of meaning in life, Framework and Fulfillment. Only the factor loadings of the Framework items were invariant across both groups. Neither the error of measurement, nor the structure of the underlying concept were equivalent for young and elderly adults. Young adults were found to experience less meaning in life than the elderly.     

Preliminary validation of a Spanish version of the Sport Motivation Scale

The Sport Motivation Scale was developed in French and later translated into English and validated by Pelletier, et al. in 1995. It is based on the principles of self-determination theory. In this study the scale was translated into Spanish to assess and validate it for a sample of 275 athletes (78 women and 197 men) whose mean age was 21.3 yr. (SD=3.8) and who represented eight sports (track and field, tennis, swimming, waterpolo, soccer, basketball, handball, and volleyball). The Spanish version showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach alpha of .70 to .80) and temporal stability (test-retest r = .69 to .74) over a 4-wk. period. A confirmatory factor analysis partially supported the seven-factor structure. Correlations among the subscales indicated a simplex pattern supporting the construct validity of the scale. Sex differences were found. Taken together, these findings support use of the Spanish version for assessment of motivation in sport.     

Brief Trust/Mistrust in God Scale: psychometric properties of the Farsi version in Muslims

In Iran, a Middle Eastern Islamic country, far too little attention has been paid to the validation and cultural adaptation of measures of religion/spirituality. This has limited the potential for research in this area. The objective of the paper is to assess the psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the Brief Trust/Mistrust in God Scale (BTMGS). After translation of the original English version of the measure into Farsi using a standard forward–backward method, the BTMGS along with the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity (Hoge IR) Scale was administered to 720 medical students, physicians, and nurses at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and affiliated hospitals. Internal consistency (α), test–retest reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity were determined for the BTMGS. The Farsi version of the BTMGS had high internal consistency (α = 0.90 and 0.92 for trust and mistrust subscales, respectively) and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.89 and 0.95 for trust and mistrust subscales, respectively), and was adequately correlated with other established measures of religiosity (i.e., the DUREL [r = 0.64, p < 0.001] and Hoge IR [r = 0.54, p < 0.001]) indicating support for the concurrent validity of the measure. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Farsi version has two factors (i.e., Trust in God and Mistrust in God) consistent with the original scale. These findings suggest that the Farsi version of BTMGS is a valid and reliable measure in Farsi-speaking populations that may be used to assess relationships with health and well-being.     

A measure of parental stress in mothers with small children: dimensionality, stability and validity

Self-reported parental stress was investigated in three samples of mothers with small children, using a Swedish version of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Dimensionality in experienced stress using items from six PSI Parent Domain subscales and eight new items was examined in factor analyses of data from a nationwide representative sample. Cross-validation proved the chosen factor pattern to be stable. Based on an oblique 5-factor solution new subscales were constructed. A second order factor analysis indicated influence from a higher order factor, seen as a general parental stress construct. High alpha coefficients revealed that homogeneous subscales had been formed. Test-retest correlations indicated good stability over a mean time period of 30 days. Influences from maternal background variables were found, but no relation to child age or gender. Global estimates of parental stress, reported child problems, mothers' scoring on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and two measures of social support all correlated significantly with overall parental stress, and with some subscales. The justification of the subscale approach to parental stress was discussed. It was concluded that the PSI in its present form could be used as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring experienced parental stress in mothers of young children.     

Deconstructing therapy outcome measurement with Rasch analysis of a measure of general clinical distress: the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised

Rasch analysis was used to illustrate the usefulness of item-level analyses for evaluating a common therapy outcome measure of general clinical distress, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994). Using complementary therapy research samples, the instrument's 5-point rating scale was found to exceed clients' ability to make reliable discriminations and could be improved by collapsing it into a 3-point version (combining scale points 1 with 2 and 3 with 4). This revision, in addition to removing 3 misfitting items, increased person separation from 4.90 to 5.07 and item separation from 7.76 to 8.52 (resulting in alphas of .96 and .99, respectively). Some SCL-90-R subscales had low internal consistency reliabilities; SCL-90-R items can be used to define one factor of general clinical distress that is generally stable across both samples, with two small residual factors.     

Measuring epistemic curiosity and its diversive and specific components

A questionnaire constructed to assess epistemic curiosity (EC) and perceptual curiosity (PC) curiosity was administered to 739 undergraduates (546 women, 193 men) ranging in age from 18 to 65. The study participants also responded to the trait anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity scales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI; Spielberger et al., 1979) and selected subscales of the Sensation Seeking (SSS; Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964) and Novelty Experiencing (NES; Pearson, 1970) scales. Factor analyses of the curiosity items with oblique rotation identified EC and PC factors with clear simple structure. Subsequent analyses of the EC items provided the basis for developing an EC scale, with Diversive and Specific Curiosity subscales. Moderately high correlations of the EC scale and subscales with other measures of curiosity provided strong evidence of convergent validity. Divergent validity was demonstrated by minimal correlations with trait anxiety and the sensation-seeking measures, and essentially zero correlations with the STPI trait anger and depression scales. Male participants had significantly higher scores on the EC scale and the NES External Cognition subscale (effect sizes of r =.16 and.21, respectively), indicating that they were more interested than female participants in solving problems and discovering how things work. Male participants also scored significantly higher than female participants on the SSS Thrill-and-Adventure and NES External Sensation subscales (r =.14 and.22, respectively), suggesting that they were more likely to engage in sensation-seeking activities.     

Construct validation of the Self-Control Schedule

The present paper describes an investigation of the construct validity of the English version of M. Rosenbaum's (1980, Behavior Therapy, 11, 109–121) Self-Control Schedule (SCS). A total of 121 Brigham Young University students took the SCS and several other measures. t tests were conducted between the Brigham Young University student SCS means and the SCS means of samples from two midwestern universities. Pearson correlations between the SCS, the SCS subscales, Rotter's I-E scale, the Manifest Anxiety scale, and the Religious Orientation scale were computed. Reliability analyses were conducted on the SCS subscales. The results (a) provide additional normative data about the SCS, (b) further establish the comparability of the Hebrew and English versions of the SCS, (c) expand the nomological network and support the construct validity of the SCS, and (d) indicate that the SCS may have potential as a multidimensional instrument.     

Exploring the psychometric properties and construct validity of the MCMI-III anxiety and avoidant personality scales

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI; Millon, 1983) is a commonly used self-report instrument designed to aid in the assessment of Axis I and Axis II disorders. Concerns have been expressed regarding the procedures used in the normative research for the current version of the MCMI (MCMI-III; Millon, 1994) leading to a call for additional validity research on the MCMI-III (Retzlaff, 1996). In this study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the MCMI-III's Anxiety and Avoidant personality scales in a sample of patients diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) anxiety disorders. Our results suggest that the MCMI-III Avoidant scale is reliable (r =.89) and it was found to demonstrate appropriate convergent and divergent validity with other self-report measures. The MCMI-III Anxiety scale also showed adequate reliability (r =.78); however, our findings raise some concerns about the discriminant validity of this scale. A scale composed of the MCMI-III core anxiety items was found to have better discriminant validity. These findings are consistent with those reported by other researchers regarding the relationship between self-report measures of anxiety, avoidance, and depression. We conclude that the MCMI-III measures of anxiety and avoidance are consistent with other measures of these constructs and may provide valuable clinical information in this regard.     

Relationship between intelligence and vocabulary

This study explored the correlations of scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III in screening language problems and scores on the three Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test subscales. Participants were 243 students ages 6 to 17 years in Grades K-11 who were identified as learning disabled, learning disabled with speech impairment, mentally retarded, and speech impaired. Analysis indicated strong correlations between the two measures, particularly between the CREVT General Vocabulary and WISC-III Verbal IQ (r = .80), WISC-III Verbal Comprehension Index (r =.83), and the Vocabulary subtest (r =.76). These results held across the grades. Supporting earlier studies of relationships of Verbal IQ and Receptive Vocabulary, correlations were lower between participants in Grades K through 2 than those in higher grades on the WISC-III Verbal IQ and the Receptive Vocabulary subtest. An analysis of the accuracy of the WISC-III for classifying students with language problems indicated improvement in classification over chance. These findings suggest that the WISC-III may be an effective screen for language problems.     

Validity evidence of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form among depressed smokers

Background/Objective

A measure of Behavioral Activation (BA) is highly recommended when evaluating BA treatment effects for smokers with depression. Recently, a short version of the Behavioral Activation for Depression scale (BADS-SF) has been developed as a means of assessing changes in activation and avoidance patterns. To date there is no validated version of this questionnaire in Spanish. This study sought to adapt the BADS-SF to a Spanish population of depressed smokers. Method A sample of 169 smokers (72.2% female) with elevated depressive symptomatology completed the BADS-SF. Results A bi-factorial structure was obtained: Activation and Avoidance. Results indicated an acceptable internal consistency for both the Activation (ω = .85) and the Avoidance subscales (ω =.70). Overall, convergent validity was obtained with Activation and Avoidance subscales being related to other depression-related measures such as depressive symptomatology (Activation r = ?.29; Avoidance r = .35), environmental reward (Activation r = .40; Avoidance r = ?.41) and, nicotine dependence (Avoidance r = .23). This latter variable was the only one not showing a statistically significant association with the Activation factor (r = ?.12). Conclusions The Spanish BADS-SF can be considered as a reliable and valid instrument when assessing behavioral activation among clinically depressed smokers.     

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHORT FORM OF THE FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES SCALE

Development and testing of a 36-item version of the Feminist Perspectives Scale are reported. Study 1 ( N = 209) found high internal consistency for Femscore (α= .85). Alpha was greater than .70 for several subscales, although some showed reliability sufficient only for testing large groups. Test-retest correlations for all but one subscale were between .77 and .87. Validity was demonstrated by correlations between short and long forms (Femscore r = .87), among subscales, and with demographic/attitudinal variables. In Study 2 ( N = 95), relationships to the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) and Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) were examined. The AWS was correlated negatively with the Conservative subscale and positively with the Liberal Feminist and Fembehave subscales. BSRI femininity was also positively correlated with the latter two subscales.     

Wine judging,context and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Wine show competitions require judges to evaluate a large number of wines, typically within a time constraint. Under such circumstances, some form of quantification of wine quality is essential to achieve the aim of the task, namely allocation of a numerical score, or an award (e.g. a gold medal) that symbolises a numerical range of scores, to each wine. In this paper, we consider the relation between method of scoring, the scores awarded Sauvignon Blanc wines in a simulated wine show competition, and several aspects of wine-judging behaviour. Twenty experienced wine industry professionals judged 15 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines via a 20-point scoring system, the system currently used in New Zealand wine shows, and via a 100-point scoring system in a context that simulated a wine competition. We were interested in two quantitative issues. The first related to the wines, where we investigated whether the 100-point judging system led to greater differentiation of the wines than the 20-point system. The second issue concerned wine-judging behaviour. We were interested in whether scoring method would influence between- and/or within-judge variability, with greater consistency resulting from use of the 20-point system. Results showed that there was no greater differentiation of the Sauvignon Blanc wines when they were judged by the 100-point scale than when judged out of 20 points. Variation in scores given to each wine on each scale was also generally consistent. With respect to whether method of scoring influenced variability of wine judges, we employed a model described by Schlich (1994) to consider measures of wine-evaluation behaviour. The major result was that consistency, both within judges and between judges, was independent of type of scoring method. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: development and validation of a short version

This article reports on the development of a revised version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI; E. B. Foa, M. J. Kozak, P. Salkovskis, M. E. Coles, & N. Amir, 1998), a psychometrically sound, theoretically driven, self-report measure. The revised OCI (OCI-R) improves on the parent version in 3 ways: It eliminates the redundant frequency scale, simplifies the scoring of the subscales, and reduces overlap across subscales. The reliability and validity of the OCI-R were examined in 215 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 243 patients with other anxiety disorders, and 677 nonanxious individuals. The OCI-R, which contains 18 items and 6 subscales, has retained excellent psychometric properties. The OCI-R and its subscales differentiated well between individuals with and without OCD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses demonstrated the usefulness of the OCI-R as a diagnostic tool for screening patients with OCD, utilizing empirically derived cutscores.     

Reliability and validity of scores on the Slosson Visual Perceptual Skill Screener

Psychometric characteristics of the Slosson Visual Perceptual Skill Screener were studied using three independent samples of 595 boys and 578 girls ages 5 to 10 years. Adequate characteristics for item selection were indicated by item difficulty (Mdn=.49) and item discrimination (Mdn=.59). Interitem consistency of .93 (n1 = 1,045) was recorded for the total scale, while 30-day test-retest reliability was .80 (n2=55). Convergent validity was estimated using the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt test (Koppitz developmental scoring system; r = .43, n3=47), the Developmental Test of Visuo-motor Integration, Visual Perception subtest (r =.62, n3 =73), and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-Revised-Nonmotor Total Score (r = .63, n2 =59).     

Psychometric Analysis and Tentative Shortening of Survey of Personal Beliefs

The Survey of Personal Beliefs (SPB) is a frequently used measure of irrational beliefs, but can display less than ideal psychometric properties. In the first study of the present project, the five subscales of the SPB correlated as expected with higher levels of perfectionism, shame, and guilt. A confirmatory factor analysis, nevertheless, revealed that these subscales did not adequately describe responding on the SPB, and internal reliability for some subscales was poor. An abbreviated 12-item version of the SPB was more reliable than the subscales and generally as valid as the full 50-item instrument. With a second data set, the shortened version of the SPB was more consistent than the full 50-item scale in correlating positively with at least some measures of maladjustment that included depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and alexithymia. Future researchers may want to utilize the shorter 12-item version of the SPB as a more convenient and psychometrically acceptable measure of irrational beliefs.     

Convergence and divergence among self-report psychopathy measures: a personality-based approach

The study examined, in a sample of 346 undergraduates, the convergence and divergence of three self-report measures of psychopathy; the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lillienfeld & Andrews, 1996), the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Hare, Harpur, & Hemphill, 1989), and the Five Factor Psychopathy Index (Miller, Lynam, Widiger, & Leukefeld, 2001). Measures demonstrated strong convergence at the total score level, but weak convergence at the factor level. Correlations with domains and facets of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1992) provided personality parsings of each measure. Across measures, psychopathy was composed of low Agreeableness, low Conscientiousness and a blend of high and low facets of Neuroticism and Extraversion. Divergence among subscales was due to differences in personality characteristics assessed. Additionally, the potential moderating effects of sex were also examined, but very few were identified. Implications of these results and future directions are discussed.     

Relations among heavy training stress,mood state,and performance for male junior rowers

This study investigated the influence of rapidly increased training volume on performance and recovery-stress state perceived by 10 male junior rowers. The training during the 6-day period amounted to 21.5 +/- 2.2 hr., which was equivalent to an average increase in training load by approximately 100% compared to their average training volume during the previous 4 wk. The time to row 2,000 m on a rowing ergometer and resting cortisol level were significantly increased after the 6-day training period. Scores on subscales of the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes significantly increased for somatic component of stress (Fatigue) and decreased factor indicating recovery (Social Relaxation) after the heavy training period. A correlation of .63 was found between increased training volume and scores on the Conflicts/Pressure subscale at the end of the heavy training period. Correlations were also found between changes in training volume with changes on subscales of Sleep Quality (r=-.64) and Burnout/Personal Accomplishment (r=-.66). Changes in resting cortisol levels as a result of heavy training stress were related to the changes in the following stress subscales: Social Stress (r=.76), Fatigue (r=.64), Disturbed Breaks (r=.65), and Fitness/Injury (r=.67). Changes in performance, perceived recovery-stress state and resting plasma cortisol level reflect increased stress due to high training. These results suggest that the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes could be used to evaluate the effects of rapidly increased training volume for male junior rowers.