A Chinese Adaptation of the Distress Tolerance Scale among Adolescents: Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties

This study examined the psychometric properties of a Chinese adaptation of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS; Simons & Gaher. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 83–102, 2005) among 5,423 (2,857 boys) Chinese adolescents. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses supported a hierarchical model encompassing four first-order factors: Tolerance, Absorption, Appraisal and Regulation, and one second-order factor, General Distress Intolerance, which was comprised of the first three first-order factors. Acceptable levels of internal consistency and 6-month test-retest reliability were demonstrated in the second-order and all first-order factors. The Chinese DTS also displayed good convergent and discriminant validity with negative emotion, emotion reactivity and maladaptive impulsive coping behaviors. Chinese adolescent girls possessed lower distress tolerance ability than their boy counterparts. Additionally, the strength of associations between distress tolerance and negative affectivity was larger in girls than in boys. This study suggests that the Chinese DTS appears to be a psychometrically sound measure of distress (in)tolerance among adolescents.     

中学生社会智力的测量研究

社会智力是一种理解人际情境中人的感受、思想和行为及在此基础上做出适当行为的能力．它包括一系列的知识、经验和解释社会信息、解决人际问题的技能。早在1920年．桑代克就提出了社会智力的概念．但综观几十年来的社会智力研究,仍有许多需要进一步探讨的问题。从理论构想方面来说,有的社会智力结构模型过于庞大、复杂,很难验证;有的则划分得过细,因子间互相重叠。     

青少年自我价值感量表研究结果的元分析

采用元分析法对1998年到2011年间使用青少年自我价值感量表为工具的研究结果进行整合分析。结果发现,近十年来青少年自我价值感水平在各维度或层次上高于全国常模,且没有显著的性别差异;与年级常模相比,多数因子高于常模,中学生部分特殊自我价值感因子与常模差异不显著;青少年自我价值感的年代效应显著;研究目的、报告质量、地区、出版年代等因素仅对某些特殊自我价值感有影响,而对总体自我价值感没有系统的影响。     

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.     

The Therapeutic Reactance Scale: A Measure of Psychological Reactance

This article describes the development of the Therapeutic Reactance Scale, which was developed to measure psychological reactance as defined by Brehm (1966). The scale was factor-analyzed into verbal and behavioral reactance subscales. Reliability and validity data are also presented.     

A Measure of Selling Skill: Scale Development and Validation

Selling skills are learned proficiency at performing tasks necessary for a sales job. They are among the most important predictors of sales performance. However, the research into selling skills has been hampered by the lack of an overall scale. To address this shortcoming the present paper identifies a model of sales skills consisting of three components of interpersonal skills, salesmanship skills, and technical skills. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the authors report the development of a Selling Skill scale as a reliable and valid instrument. The authors suggest priorities for future research and potential uses of this instrument.     

Heroin Use among Adolescents: A Multi-Theoretical Examination

Criminological examination of substance use is common in the extant literature; however, little research has examined heroin use among adolescents. Recent trends in drug use indicate a rise of heroin among adolescents indicating a need to provide theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. This study examines the efficacy of social learning theory and social bond theory to explain heroin use. The study uses a nationally representative sample of adolescents from the Monitoring the Future Survey (N = 2,465). The results support the central arguments from social structure social learning theory. First, the results show that social structure components have links with heroin use. Second, the results show that social learning theory mediates the effect of social structure measures on heroin use. The results are discussed.     

Organizational Justice Dimensions: Validation of an Arabic Measure

There is a continued debate regarding the dimensions of organizational justice. The present project investigated the dimensionality of organizational justice and the validity of an Arabic measure of organizational justice for a Kuwaiti samples. The first study sample consisted of 1,184 Kuwaitis (619 males and 565 females) from two groups: 728 employees and 456 teachers working in the public sector. The second study sample consisted of 373 participants (190 employees and 183 teachers). The instrument items were based on a careful review of the organizational justice literature to ensure relevance to the sample culture. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using WLSMV estimator is used. WLSMV method is more appropriate for our data because variables are measured on an ordinal scale. WLSMV is considered a less bias estimator compared with the standard maximum likelihood in case of ordinal data. CFA analyses identified the four distinctive factors of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational organizational justice. The four‐factor model fit the data significantly better than one‐, two‐ or three‐factor models. Moreover, the study revealed that these four dimensions of organizational justice were significantly correlated with the four relevant outcomes of instrumentality, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, and collective esteem. Using the Arabic version of Colquitt's ( 2001 ) instrument (Fischer et al., 2011 ), the second study presented an evidence of concurrent validity of the new Arabic scale. The present study confirmed the four‐factor dimensionality of organizational justice. Results of the current study may raise the issue of development of scales versus translation of well‐ developed ones. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

A Scale to Measure Perceptions of Organizational Maturity

While there are several standard scales in use for measuring various dimensions of human resource management, research is very limited in terms of scale development for variables that form part of the People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) for organizational maturity. This study covers a perception measurement scale for people governance variables and organizational maturity developed, validated with industry experts and statistically tested. The scale was developed with 113 items grouped into 11 variables covering governance, staffing, performance management, rewards, quality, training, organizational maturity and business outcomes around staff, firm and customer aspects. The reliability analysis was performed for each of the variables based on inputs from 521 respondents across the services industry. The respondents were experienced professionals in functional management and human resources. Detailed analyses of results provide high scores for the variables, indicating good consistency of items. Convergent and discriminant validity analyses were performed for evaluating validation of item dimensions within each of the variables. The overall results indicate that the newly developed scale is a reliable and validated one to measure variables around people, process and organizational maturity, for researchers particularly in the services industry. This fills in a missing gap in terms of a validated scale for measuring people management variables. Further research can be done to extend this scale to other industries and to look at a model fitment across the related variables.     

A Training Model that Stresses the Dynamic Dimensions of Counseling

This training model aids students in practicing the “core conditions” and selecting approaches appropriate for varied stages of the counseling process.     

Short Form of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents among community and institutionalized Portuguese youths

Background/Objective: Social anxiety is a common issue arising in adolescence that can cause significant impairment and have detrimental consequences for development in the absence of treatment. In this study we examined the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a 12-item short form of the Portuguese-Language Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A-SF). Method: A community adolescent sample (N = 835) and a young offender sample (N = 244) completed the SAS-A, the Basic Empathy Scale and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, cross gender and cross sample invariance, convergent and discriminant validity of the SAS-A-SF were analyzed. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 3-factor second-order model obtained the best fit.The results provided evidence that the SAS-A-SF is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance across genders and across samples, good reliability and positive correlations with empathy. Conclusions: The Portuguese version of SAS-A-SF is a useful, time-efficient tool for both researchers and practitioners who need to assess social anxiety, a relevant construct in adolescent psychopathology.     

The Dimensions of Stress Scale: Psychometric Properties1

Although cognitive appraisal, situational properties, and attributions are important parts of the stress process, few multidimensional measures are available to examine these constructs simultaneously. This paper investigates the properties of the Dimensions of Stress Scale (DSS). The DSS is a brief self-report questionnaire designed to assess appraisals of personal relevance (salience) and control; stressor properties (novelty, duration, and predictability); and self-attributions (causality). The items were derived theoretically, using the cognitive-phenomenological model of stress and the stress literature. Empirical support for the six dimensions (scales) was generated first on a sample of elderly individuals (n= 269) and then replicated on an independent sample of younger individuals (n= 162). In both investigations, the factor structure of five of the scales was shown to approximate a simple structure. Evidence of internal consistency and content validity was also provided. The scales’ construct validity was supported by their relationships with stressor type (e. g., physical health problems, relationships, work, finances, individuals with indeterminate Western Blots, and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease), coping, and depressed mood. The DSS should be useful in examining stressful experiences.     

A New Measure of Life Satisfaction: The Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) has been the dominant measure of life satisfaction since its creation more than 30 years ago. We sought to develop an improved measure that includes indirect indicators of life satisfaction (e.g., wishing to change one's life) to increase the bandwidth of the measure and account for acquiescence bias. In 3 studies, we developed a 6-item measure of life satisfaction, the Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale, and obtained reliability and validity evidence. Importantly, the Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale retained the high internal consistency, test–retest stability, and unidimensionality of the Satisfaction With Life Scale. In addition, the Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale correlated with other well-being measures, Big Five personality traits, values, and demographic information in expected ways. Although the Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale correlated highly with the Satisfaction With Life Scale, we believe it improves the Satisfaction With Life Scale by appropriately increasing construct breadth and reducing the potential for bias.     

The Attitudes About Reality Scale: A New Measure of Personal Epistemology

The Attitudes About Reality Scale (AAR) was constructed by Unger, Draper, and Pendergrass (1986) to measure implicit causal assumptions about the relationship between persons and their physical and social reality. The scale was presumed to assess a single dimension of personal epistemology, ranging from a social constructionist view of reality of a logical positivist view. The factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity of the AAR Scale were examined in this research. Results indicated that the AAR Scale measures at least two dimensions of personal epistemology, labeled societal determinism and individual determinism. A third dimension, labeled variable determinism, was also suggested by the results. Intercorrelations between AAR scale scores and measures of conceptually similar and conceptually distinct constructs supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale. Directions for future research on the predictive utility of the personal epistemology construct and on its socialization antecedents are discussed.     

A Validation Study of the Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ)

In this study, the validity of the recently developed 28-item Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ) was examined. Survey data from a representative sample of 6,723 Norwegian senior high school students between 18 and 20 years of age were used for this purpose. Validity and reliability were investigated by means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlations with other relevant variables, and internal consistency measures. The results supported the construct and convergent validity of the five factors of a modified 23-item version of the scale, which also yielded acceptable psychometric properties. The paper concludes that the modified READ is a valid measure assessing relevant resilience factors with relatively few items, thereby serving as a valuable tool in resilience and risk-factor research.     

日记式追踪研究高校教师职业枯竭的产生原因及内部关系

该研究针对职业枯竭研究领域存在争议的两大理论问题——产生机制与内部过程,使用日记研究方法对重点高校教师进行了追踪调查。得到以下结果:1)在枯竭的成因部分:压力感、付出-回报的不平衡对耗竭存在显著正向的预测作用,且不平衡还是压力感与耗竭之间的部分中介变量。此外,二者还可完全通过耗竭作用于讥诮维度。自足资源对耗竭和讥诮均无显著影响,它只对职业效能有显著的正向预测作用,且是职业效能的唯一前因变量。2)在枯竭三维度的内部关系部分:耗竭与讥诮存在显著的正向联系,且解释风格在其中起到调节作用,即越将负性事件归因于外部环境或他人,耗竭对讥诮的正向预期作用就越强。而职业效能维度显示出与耗竭及讥诮相分离的态势,与后二者均无显著的相关关系。     

The Relationship Between Racial and Ethnic Identity in Black Adolescents: The Cross Racial Identity Scale and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure

Ethnic identity and racial identity are related terms that are often used interchangeably, although the theoretical models differ. In this study, we examined the relationship between ethnic identity attitudes operationalized by Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) scores and racial identity attitudes operationalized by Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; Vandiver et al., 2000) scores in a sample of 143 adolescents. Bivariate analyses indicated that scores on the MEIM's Ethnic Identity subscale had modest positive correlations with Afrocentricity scores of the CRIS and negative correlations with Assimilation and Self-Hatred scores. Other Group Orientation scores from the MEIM were positively related to Multicultural scores on the CRIS and negatively related to Anti-White scores. A canonical correlation yielded 2 interpretable functions labeled Black Racial/Ethnic Identification and Grounded Multiculturalism. Black Racial/Ethnic Identification was characterized by high proethnic and pro-racial scores and low scores on non-ethnic/racial subscales, and Grounded Multiculturalism was characterized by high pro-ethnic scores as well as high pro-other scores.     

Measuring the Dimensions of Women's Sexuality: The Women's Sexual Self-Concept Scale

The sexual self-concept is an important component of the self-concept that researchers have rarely examined. The Women's Sexual Self-Concept Scale (WSSCS) is a 39-item measure designed to assess women's sexual self-concept. Women rate the extent to which various behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and adjectives describe their sexuality. In a study with 262 women, the measure was found to be both reliable and valid. Three factors were identified through exploratory Principal Components Analysis. Women rated themselves highest on the Reserved Approach subscale, followed by the Agentic Sexuality subscale, and the Negative Associations subscale. Compared to a stereotype of women's sexuality (obtained with a mixed-gender group of 444 participants), the women in the present study rated themselves higher on the Reserved Approach subscale and lower on the Negative Associations subscale. Group differences in women's sexual self-concepts were identified by past xinvolvement in romantic or sexual relationships, and current sexual involvement.     

A New Measure of Weight Locus of Control: The Dieting Beliefs Scale

This article describes the construction and preliminary validation of a new scale of weight locus of control, the Dieting Beliefs Scale. The 16-item scale demonstrated moderate internal consistency and high test-retest reliability in a sample of undergraduate women. Principal-components analysis suggested three factors. The three factors were interpretable and had distinct relations with a variety of weight-related and psychological variables. The results suggest that weight locus of control is a multidimensional construct, and they provide a possible explanation for the inconsistent findings concerning the relation between weight locus of control and dieting success, implications for the study of dieting relapse and for the construction of treatment programs are discussed.