Reliability and validity of a twelve-minute walking test for coronary heart disease patients

This study examined the reliability and validity of a 12-min. walking test for coronary heart disease patients. CHD patients (28 men, 18 women) were recruited out of 86 CHD patients of the Martini Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands. 46 CHD patients (age M=66.0 yr., SD=6.8) participated in the reliability study and 24 (age M=62.0 yr., SD=9.2) in the validity study. A test-retest analysis showed a satisfactory Bland-Altman plot and an intraclass coefficient of .98. The Pearson correlation between the score on the test and the VO2 peak was .77. This test gives a reliable and valid assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness of CHD patients.     

Academic cheating as a function of defense mechanisms and object relations

This study examined relationships between academic cheating behaviors by using self-reports of past cheating behavior, providing a situational experiment with the opportunity to cheat, and evaluating defense mechanisms and object relations as measured by the Defense Mechanisms Inventory. Subjects included 75 female and 8 male university students ranging in age from 18 to 51 years (M=25.5, SD=6.9). Analysis showed variations in students' self-reported cheating history relative to their measured object relations status and type of defense mechanisms. Actual cheating in the experimental setting was not significantly related to any of these variables. Findings are discussed based on a critique of heterogeneity of the cheating construct.     

Validity of Experiential and Reflective Self-knowledge Scales: relationships with basic need satisfaction among Iranian factory workers

This study examined the validity of Experiential and Reflective Self-knowledge Scales in a sample of Iranian factory workers. Both scales were administered to 321 male and 12 female workers (M age= 35.6 yr., SD= 8.9) along with the Basic Need Satisfaction at Work Scales, the Work Climate Questionnaire, and measures of Perceived Stress and Self-esteem. Scores on the two self-knowledge measures correlated with all other variables consistent with the claim of Self-determination Theory that self-insight is associated with a more complete satisfaction of basic needs. In a number of multiple regression analyses, Reflective and Experiential Self-knowledge combined to explain variance in other measures. These data further supported the validity of the two new Self-knowledge Scales.     

Reliability and preliminary evidence of validity of a Farsi version of the depression anxiety stress scales

The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the Farsi version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales were examined, with a sample of 306 undergraduate students (123 men, 183 women) ranging from 18 to 51 years of age (M age = 25.4, SD = 6.1). Participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. The findings confirmed the preliminary reliabilities and preliminary construct validity of the Farsi translation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales.     

Predicting attitudes toward operation Iraqi freedom

98 male and female college students ranging in age from 17 to 22 years (M= 19.2, SD= 1.1) were administered a questionnaire that contained Altemeyer's 20-item Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale (RWA), questions about the legitimacy of the 2000 presidential election, Mayton's Physical Nonviolence Subscale, and a scale designed to measure attitudes toward Operation Iraqi Freedom. RWA scores, perceptions of the legitimacy of the 2000 presidential election, and scores on the Physical Nonviolence subscale were independent predictors of attitudes toward Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, those who had higher RWA scores were more likely to perceive the 2000 presidential election as legitimate. There was no significant correlation between RWA scores and attitudes toward physical nonviolence.     

Reliability of the WAIS-III subtests, indexes, and IQs in individuals with substance abuse disorders

Reliability of the WAIS-III for 100 male patients with substance abuse disorders was determined. Means for age and education were 46.06 were (SD = 8.81 years) and 12.70 years (SD = 1.51 years). There were 63 Caucasians and 37 African Americans. Split-half coefficients for the 11 subtests (Digit Symbol-Coding, Symbol Search, and Object Assembly were omitted) ranged from .92 for Vocabulary and Digit Span to .77 for Picture Arrangement. The median subtest reliability coefficient was .86. Composite reliabilities were excellent for the Indexes (.94 to .95) and IQs (.94 to .97), with all coefficients > or = .94. Using the Fisher z test to compare correlation coefficients from independent samples, none of the reliability estimates differed significantly from those reported for the WAIS-III standardization sample. Similar findings emerged when reliabilities were determined separately for Caucasian and African American participants.     

Scale development to measure attitudes toward unauthorized migration into a foreign country

This study reports on the development and cross-national utility of a Likert type scale measuring attitudes toward unauthorized migration into a foreign country in two samples from "migrant-sending" nations. In the first phase a pool of 86 attitude statements were administered to a sample of 505 undergraduate students in Bulgaria (22.5% male; M age = 23, SD = 4.8). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in six factors, and a reduction to 34 items. The results yielded an overall alpha of (0.92) and alpha for subscales ranging from 0.70 to 0.89. In the second phase the 34-item scale was administered in a survey of 180 undergraduates from Sofia University in Bulgaria (16.7% male, M age = 23, SD = 4.8), plus 150 undergraduates from Hanoi State University in Vietnam (14.7% male, M age = 19, SD = 1.8). Results yielded a 19-item scale with no gender differences, and satisfactory alpha coefficients for a Vietnamese and Bulgarian sample of 0.87 and 0.89 respectively. This scale, equally applicable in both samples, includes items that reflect salient topics of concept of attitudes towards unauthorized migration. An exploratory principal component analysis of the Bulgarian and Vietnamese version of the 19-item scale yielded three factors accounting for 54% and 47% of the variance respectively. A procrustes analysis indicates high conceptual equivalence in the two samples for factor 1 and 2, and moderate for factor 3. This study lends support to the idea that despite different cultural meanings there is a common meaning space in culturally diverse societies.     

Imagery use of athletes in individual and team sports that require open and closed skill

This study compared use of imagery in elite male and female athletes in open and closed and individual or team sports. A total of 151 elite Turkish athletes ages 15 to 29 years old (males' M age=20.7 yr., SD=3.3; females' M age=20.0 yr., SD=3.5) from open-team sports (n=66), open-individual sports (n=26), and closed-individual sports (n=59) completed the sport imagery questionnaire. A significant multivariate effect of sport type was found. Univariate analyses indicated that male and female athletes in team open-skill sports and individual closed-skill sports used more motivational general-mastery imagery than did athletes in individual open-skill sports.     

The Kuwait University Anxiety Scale: results for 9,031 Saudi students

The Kuwait University Anxiety Scale was administered to 9,031 male (n = 4,143) and female (n = 4,888) Saudis. They were students in secondary schools (n = 4.793) and university undergraduates (n = 4,238) recruited from scattered geographical regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ages ranged from 15 to 26 years, mean age 19.5 yr. (SD = 2.8). The scale displayed good alphas (from .85 to .88), retest reliability (from .94 to .95), as well as good criterion-related validity (from .63 to .73) against the Trait subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Three highly loaded factors were extracted: Cognitive/Affective, Subjective, and Somatic anxiety. Sex differences overshadow age differences as sex-related differences were significant between the age groups from 16 to 25 years, i.e., females attained higher mean scores than their male peers. Saudi students attained means similar to those of Kuwaiti students, but both groups have significantly higher mean scores than American and Spanish college students. By and large, the scale can be recommended for use in research among students in the Saudi context.     

Test-retest reliability and standard error of measurement for the test of variables of attention (T.O.V.A.) with healthy school-age children

Test-retest reliability of the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) was investigated in two studies using two different time intervals: 90 min and 1 week (2 days). To investigate the 90-min reliability, 31 school-age children (M = 10 years, SD = 2.66) were administered the T.O.V.A. then read ministered the test 90 min afterward. Significant reliability coefficients were obtained across omission (.70), commission (.78), response time (.84), and response time variability (.87). For the second study, a different sample of 33 school-age children (M = 10.01 years, SD = 2.59) were administered the test then read ministered the test 1 week later. Significant reliability coefficients were obtained for omission (.86), commission (.74), response time (.79), and response time variability (.87). Standard error of measurement statistics were calculated using the obtained coefficients. Commission scores were significantly higher on second trials for each retest interval.     

The passion scale: Aspects of reliability and validity of a new 8-item scale assessing passion.

In this article, the psychometric properties of a new scale aimed at quantifying passion are explored, i.e. passion related to becoming good or achieving in some area/theme/skill.The Passion Scale was designed to be quantitative, simple to administer, applicable for large-group testing, and reliable in monitoring passion.A total of 126 participants between 18 and 47 years of age (mean age = 21.65, SD = 3.45) completed an assessment of Passion Scale, enabling us to investigate its feasibility, internal consistency, construct validity and test-retest reliability.FeasibilityThe overall pattern of results suggest that the scale for passion presented here is applicable for the age studied (18–47).Internal consistencyAll individual item scores correlated positively with the total score, with correlations ranging from 0.51 to 0.69. The Cronbach's alpha value for the standardized items was 0.86.Construct validityPearson correlations coefficient between total score passion scale and Grit-S scale were 0.39 for adults, mean age 21.23 (SD = 3.45) (N = 107).Test-retest reliability: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICCs) between test and retest scores for the total score was 0.92.These promising results warrant further development of the passion scale, including normalization based on a large, representative sample.     

Self-reported comfort in athletic training to same- and opposite-sex athletes

To assess the comfort of athletic trainers in providing care to athletes of the same- and opposite-sex, the Gender Comfort in Athletic Training Questionnaire was developed. Cronbach alpha was .72. The 8-item questionnaire was mailed to 235 participants, who were senior athletic training students and clinical instructors affiliated with 14 university athletic training programs. 192 questionnaires were returned (82%). Only one t test showed a significant mean difference in reported comfort between women (n= 103, M=2.8, SD= 0.8; disagree) and men (n= 89, M=3.1, SD=0.8; neutral) on the statement: I feel more comfortable providing athletic training services to male athletes than female athletes. The women and men in this sample were similar in their self-ratings of comfort in providing athletic training services to male and female athletes.     

Emotional intelligence and aggression among South African adolescents: Preliminary evidence

We investigated gender differences in emotional intelligence and aggression among South African adolescents. Four hundred and forty-four adolescents (female =51.4 %; mean age =15.5 years, SD= 1.42 years; rural residence = 35.5%, urban residence = 65.5%) completed an emotional intelligence scale and an aggression expression survey. Exploratory independent sample t-test analysis revealed female adolescents to score higher on perception of and management of emotions than male adolescents. Female adolescents also scored higher on verbal aggression than their male peers, whereas male adolescents scored higher on physical aggression than the female adolescents.     

Lecturer dress code and student perceptions of lecturer professional attributes

This study explored how students’ perceptions of their lecturers’ dress code influenced their inferences about the professional competences of the lecturers. Survey respondents were 102 students from a South African university of technology (female = 60%; age range = 18 to 25 years, SD: Image 1 = 0.75; Image 2 = 0.60; Image 3 = 0.83 and Image 4 = 0.67). They responded to a structured survey with picture illustration figures of alternative dress code and across dimensions of professional competences: rapport, fairness, knowledge and credibility, and organisation and preparation. The findings suggest that lecturers’ dress code does influence students perceptions of lecturers’ qualities in the academic work environment. Results showed that students percieve both male and female professionally dressed lecturers more positively than casually dressed lecturers. Furthermore, instructor attire did not affect female and male students differently.     

Important criteria for spouse selection in a sample of Iranian youth

The aim was to study important criteria for spouse selection by a sample of Iranian youth, 110 Iranian university students (60 women and 50 men; M age = 21.7 yr., SD = 1.5). Participants were single. Face-to-face interviews indicated that the order of the first 10 important criteria for the women were chastity, virtuous, religion, education, family characteristics, financial resources, job, commitment, social skills, and social prestige; for the men these were physical appearance, chastity, education, family characteristics, virtuous, religion, personality traits, social skills, housekeeping, and commitment and financial resources.     

Homework,stress, and mood disturbance in senior high school students

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between hours of homework, stress, and mood disturbance in senior high school students, 141 boys and 228 girls, recruited from high schools across Victoria, Australia. Participants' ages ranged from 16 to 18 years (M = 16.6, SD = .6). A 1-wk. homework diary, a Self-reported Stress scale, and the Profile of Mood States were administered to students. Analysis showed that the number of hours spent completing homework ranged from 10 to 65 hours per week (M = 37.0, SD = 12.2). Independent samples t-test analyses showed significant sex differences, with female students scoring higher on hours of homework, stress, and mood disturbance compared to male students. Pearson product-moment correlations were significant and positive for hours of homework with stress and for hours of homework with mood disturbance.     

Reliability and factor structure of the Finnish version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and factor structure of the Finnish version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire, a measure which examines cognitive and motivational functions of imagery. The final sample comprised 231 participants drawn from 34 sports and ranging in age from 14 to 49 years (M = 20.9, SD = 5.8). Internal consistency and confirmatory factor analyses were undertaken to evaluate the reliability and factorial validity of the scale. Fit indices and modification data generated from examining the 30-item five-factor model were equivocal, suggesting minor amendment and recategorization of several items rather than major adjustment to the proposed latent factor structure. Cronbach coefficients alpha indicated the scale is reliable. Overall, these results provide positive additional support for the claim that the Sport Imagery Questionnaire has a reproducible factor structure and is a reliable test for measuring imagery use in Finnish athletes.     

Probing Canadian Prejudices: A Preliminary Objective Survey

Personality correlates of S s indicating suicidal intent have been found to be different from those of normals in a direction indicative of possible psychopathology. To test the cross-cultural relevance of this hypothesis, three samples of male and female students were administered Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism inventory: 209 Iranian and 128 Turkish university students and 101 Iranian high school students. S s were classified into “suicidal” and “normal” groups in each sample by means of a self-rating scale of suicideintent. Comparison of scores showed that irrespective of nationality and age, suicidals scored higher on neuroticism and psychoticism but lower on extraversion than their normal counterparts. Results suggest that personality correlates of suicidal tendency are rather similar despite differences in age and cultural background.     

The functional and developmental organization of cognitive developmental sequences

This study examines the organization and development of 5 domains of reasoning (categorical, quantitative, spatial, causal, and propositional) and the construct validity of a test designed to measure development from early adolescence to early adulthood. The theory underlying the test is first summarized and the conceptual design of the test is then illustrated. Each domain was addressed by tasks tapping abilities known to be acquired in this age period. The test was administered to 629 adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the 5 domains of reasoning and revealed a common factor underlying all domains. The Rasch model was used to scale the items and specify the reliability of the test across the whole sample and within different groups of participants (female, male, students of gymnasium, and students of lyceum). This model showed that the test is highly reliable and invariant across groups. Cluster analysis and the saltus model were applied to uncover successive developmental stage‐like levels of difficulty and showed the presence of five such levels. The procedural and representational characteristics of these levels were also specified and their implications for developmental and cognitive theory were discussed.