The Psychometric Properties of the Italian Translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity: A Study among Catholic Adolescents

The Italian translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was developed and tested among a sample of 575 young people between 16 and 17?years of age attending secular secondary schools in Rome, Italy. The data supported the unidimensionality, internal consistency reliability and construct validity of this instrument and commend it for further use in contributing to comparative empirical research within the psychology of religion.     

Attitude Toward Christianity and Psychological Type: A Survey Among Religious Studies Students

A sample of 367 students studying religion at A-level completed the Keirsey Temperament Sorter together with the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity. The data demonstrated that sensing types hold a more positive attitude toward Christianity than intuitive types and that judging types hold a more positive attitude toward Christianity than perceiving types. No significant differences in attitude toward Christianity were found either between extroverts and introverts, or between thinking types and feeling types.     

Five-item Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity: construct and nomological validity and internal consistency among Colombian college students

The Spanish version of the five-item Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity is a refinement of the short version of the Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity. The scale is a good measurement for intrinsic religiosity. It has been applied previously among Colombian adolescent students. The internal consistency and construct and nomological validity were tested among a sample of 1349 Colombian college students from Santa Marta, Colombia. Participants were aged between 18- and 30-years-old; 51% were men; and 68% were social science students. Exploratory analysis factor, Cronbach alpha and omega McDonald were computed. The scale showed high internal consistency (both alpha and omega = .96) and excellent construct and nomological validity (one factor which explained for 88% of variance; women scored higher than men; and Protestants scored higher than Catholics and students with other religion filiations). The five-item Francis scale can be used further researches in Hispano-America among college students.     

Self-Other Differentiation Scale: Dimensionality,IRT Parameterization,and Measurement Invariance

The Self-Other Differentiation Scale (Olver, Aries, &; Batgos, 1989 Olver, R. R., Aries, E., &; Batgos, J. (1989). Self-other differentiation and the mother-child relationship: The effects of sex and birth order. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 150, 311–321. doi:10.1080/00221325.1989.9914600[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) is a self-report instrument assessing the experience of a separate sense of self from others. The authors aimed to examine its dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. It was completed by 348 participants (48% men) from 17 to 30 years old in Study 1, 348 participants (40% men) from 18 to 28 years old in Study 2, and 1,068 participants (49% men) from 17 to 28 years old in Study 3. The results supported the hypothesis of just one factor underlying the scale; they also showed an appropriate internal consistency and a partial measurement invariance across gender. Results also showed evidence for a 10-item version of the scale. Globally, the Self-Other Differentiation Scale can be considered a good scale to assess individual's sense of differentiation of one's own sense of self from others.     

Measurement Structure of the Turkish Translation of the Child Behavior Checklist Using Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approaches to Validation of Syndromal Constructs

The new correlated 8-factor measurement structure of the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18; T. M. Achenbach & L. A. Rescorla, 2001) derived from an American sample was used as a benchmark to evaluate its generalizability to Turkish general population (N = 5,195) and clinical (N = 963) samples. Item-level confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the adequacy of the correlated 8-factor model across 3 sample conditions (general population, clinical, and combined sample whose Total Problems scores were above the Turkish national median). The results supported the generalizability of the overall measurement structure of the CBCL to the Turkish population.     

Development and Initial Validation of a Scale Measuring the Beliefs of Educators Regarding Response to Intervention

This article presents information on the development and initial validation of the 16-item Response to Intervention (RTI) Beliefs Scale. The scale is designed to measure the extent to which educators working in schools hold beliefs consistent with the tenets of RTI. The authors administered the instrument to 2,430 educators in 62 elementary schools in the fall of 2007 and 2,443 educators in 68 elementary schools in the spring of 2008. Exploratory, single-level confirmatory, and multilevel confirmatory factor analysis procedures were used to examine construct validity. Results supported a correlated 3-factor model (Academic Abilities and Performance of Students with Disabilities, Data-Based Decision Making, and Functions of Core and Supplemental Instruction) at both the school and educator levels of analysis. Furthermore, the factor scores derived from the model demonstrated significant, positive relations to RTI implementation. Reliability estimates for two of the three factor scores exceeded.70. Implications for research on educator beliefs and implementation of RTI as well as implications for school psychologists supporting RTI implementation are discussed.     

Measuring Change in Depression-Related Interpretation Bias: Development and Validation of a Parallel Ambiguous Scenarios Test

Depressed mood is associated with making negatively biased interpretations of ambiguous everyday events. Experimental modification towards a more optimistic interpretation has become a focus of recent research. However, to date, no measures exist that have been tested with respect to their psychometric properties that justify repeated administration to capture change. We aimed to develop and evaluate a pragmatic assessment instrument, consisting of a 30-item questionnaire (long version) and two 15-item parallel short versions (A and B). Items were generated as ambiguous sentences, reflecting three relevant content areas based on Beck's cognitive triad. The sentences were rated for pleasantness, and this emotional appraisal task indicates the emotional valence of the interpretation. Due to the intention to develop a parallel test version, item-twins were generated. All three versions of the instrument were found to be structurally stable, internally consistent and valid. In line with Beck's cognitive triad in depression, confirmatory factor analyses determined a three-factor solution (i.e. self, experiences and future). Significant correlations were found between all scales and depressive mood. The two short versions represent the same underlying constructs, share identical psychometric properties and possess high parallel-test reliability. This study is the first to evaluate and confirm the factorial validity as well as the parallel-test reliability of an interpretation bias measure. It is suitable to measure bias modification and has therefore great potential for research and clinical practice.     

Measuring illness representations in breast cancer survivors (BCS) prescribed tamoxifen: Modification and validation of the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-BCS)

Objective: The Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R), widely used to assess illness perceptions, may fail to measure unique characteristics of different illnesses. This study modified and validated the IPQ-R for breast cancer survivors to provide detailed understanding of the specific illness perceptions held by these patients.

Design: Initial modifications were made following qualitative interviews and were revised in a think-aloud study. The modified scale was tested in 753 breast cancer survivors prescribed tamoxifen. Modifications included adding a tamoxifen consequences scale and adapting the timeline scales to measure beliefs around risk of recurrence and cure. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the modified questionnaire and an exploratory factor analysis on the causal beliefs scale. Test–retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity were also examined.

Results: The proposed eight-factor structure showed acceptable model fit, with high loadings and good reliability for all subscales. Correlations between subscales were consistent with theory and previous research.

Conclusions: The IPQ-BCS is valid and reliable, and provides unique understanding of specific perceptions held by this population, including beliefs surrounding risk of recurrence and consequences of ongoing hormonal treatment. Identifying these perceptions will aid development of interventions targeting depression, fear of recurrence and medication non-adherence.     

The Romanian Translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity: Internal Consistency Reliability,Re-test Reliability and Construct Validity Among Undergraduate Students Within a Greek Orthodox Culture

In order to contribute to a growing international research programme concerned with the correlates, antecedents and consequences of individual differences in attitude toward religion, the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was translated into Romanian and applied within a cultural context shaped by the Greek Orthodox tradition. Data provided by a sample of 158 students (mainly in their late teens and early twenties) supported the internal consistency reliability, re-test reliability and construct validity of this instrument and commended it for further use in studies conducted in Romania. Portions of this research were conducted while the second author was at the “A.D. Xenopol” Public Library, Arad, Romania. Partial financial support was provided to the second author by the Arad County Council through the Arad County Cultural Centre. We thank Mihaela Blaga, and Carmen Ispas for their assistance in data collection and translation.     

Consciousness of Social Face: The Development and Validation of a Scale Measuring Desire to Gain Face Versus Fear of Losing Face

ABSTRACT

This article describes the development and validation of a scale that measures two distinct needs for individuals to manage their social “face”. Scale development process resulted in an 11-item Consciousness of Social Face (CSF) scale made up of the following two correlated dimensions: desire to gain face and fear of losing face. The two-factor correlated structure of CSF scale was stable across multiple samples of both students and non-students subjects. The construct validity of CSF scale, including convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity was also demonstrated by examining relationships with other personality or demographical variables.     

Ethicists’ and Nonethicists’ Responsiveness to Student E‐mails: Relationships Among Expressed Normative Attitude,Self‐Described Behavior,and Empirically Observed Behavior

Do professional ethicists behave any morally better than other professors do? Do they show any greater consistency between their normative attitudes and their behavior? In response to a survey question, a large majority of professors (83 percent of ethicists, 83 percent of nonethicist philosophers, and 85 percent of nonphilosophers) expressed the view that “not consistently responding to student e‐mails” is morally bad. A similarly large majority of professors claimed to respond to at least 95 percent of student e‐mails. These professors, and others, were sent three e‐mails designed to look like queries from students. Ethicists’ e‐mail response rates were not significantly different from the other two groups’. Expressed normative view correlated with self‐estimated rate of e‐mail responsiveness, especially among the ethicists. Empirically measured e‐mail responsiveness, however, was at best weakly correlated with self‐estimated e‐mail responsiveness; and professors’ expressed normative attitude was not significantly correlated with empirically measured e‐mail responsiveness for any of the three groups.