Development and Validation of the Parental Authority Questionnaire – Revised

Baumrind's conceptualization of parenting style has influenced research and theorizing about child-rearing for more than 30 years, yet few clinical applications of this work have been realized. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a parenting style measure, the Parental Authority Questionnaire – Revised (PAQ-R). This project furthered the development and validation of the instrument by examining the factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity of the PAQ-R in a large, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample. The factor structure and reliability of the PAQ-R was modest, but generally within the acceptable range. Specifically, the Authoritarian and Permissive subscales of the PAQ-R had modest reliability and convergent validity; these PAQ-R subscales correlated with relevant subscales of the Parenting Scale and the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory. By contrast, the Authoritativeness subscale had poorer psychometric properties when used in lower SES, primarily African American populations. While African American mothers in the sample reported being more Permissive than did Caucasian mothers, these differences disappeared after controlling for income and maternal education. By contrast, African American mothers continued to report more Authoritarian attitudes even after controlling for income and maternal education.     

The Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire: Some unfinished business

This article gauges the extent to which items and sum scores of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) are contaminated with social desirability response set (SDR), and the extent to which that contamination results in biased findings. Special validity coefficients are introduced for that purpose. Although the SDR confound was quite substantial across all items (with one exception), it is argued on the basis of the size of the introduced validity coefficients and other, logical considerations that paradoxically the confound had minimally distorting effects in estimating the BPAQ models selected for probing the extent of bias.     

Does the Illness Behavior Questionnaire measure abnormal illness behavior?

Abnormal illness behavior (AIB) has been proposed as a construct measuring the inappropriate or maladaptive modes of responding to one's state of health, and the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (BQ; Pilowsky, 1975) was designed to measure this construct. Previous studies using small samples have failed to agree on the factor structure of this questionnaire. The present paper examines the factor structure of the Illness Behavior Questionnaire and critically evaluates the interpretation of its dimensions as well as the construct of AIB. A factor analysis of responses from 1,061 health care and nonhealth care seeking subjects yielded six interpretable factors which substantially replicated Pilowsky's previous results. Six scales were calculated and correlated with several personality measures. The results indicated that the Illness Behavior Questionnaire is saturated with neuroticism, a dimension known to be related to excessive medical complaints. But excessive medical complaints cannot be equated with hypochondriasis or AIB in the absence of objective medical information. In the absence of evidence for the discriminant validity of the IBQ, its use as a diagnostic device is unwarranted. Treating elevated IBQ scores as indicators of abnormal illness behavior without corroborating medical information may be more misleading than accepting patients' symptom reports at face value.     

Test–retest reliability of the Brunel Lifestyle Physical Activity Questionnaire

ObjectivesTo establish the test–retest reliability of planned physical activity (PPA) and unplanned physical activity (UPA) components of the Brunel Lifestyle Physical Activity Questionnaire (BLPAQ). To provide evidence of the BLPAQ's stability using the proportion of agreement (PoA) method over a 5-week period.DesignTest–retest over a 5-week period using three diverse samples of adults.MethodsThe 277 participants were subdivided into three adult samples: gymnasium users (n = 80), undergraduate students (n = 111), and university staff members (n = 86). They were asked to complete the test–retest measure in their places of exercise, study, or work respectively.ResultsCorrelation coefficients between test–retest administrations were calculated for each participant group and intraclass correlations were calculated for each item. Pearson's product-moment correlations ranged from r = 0.95 to r = 0.96 for the PPA subscale and r = 0.93 to r = 0.98 for the UPA subscale. Intraclass correlations ranged from R = 0.52 to R = 0.99 for PPA and R = 0.87 to R = 0.99 for UPA. Fisher's z tests indicated that the test–retest correlation coefficients for the BLPAQ subscales were, on the whole, significantly stronger than those of older, comparable subscales from lifestyle physical activity questionnaires. The PoA analysis for each item revealed that the test–retest administrations were in high agreement (>95%).ConclusionsOverall, the PPA and UPA factors of the BLPAQ demonstrated high reliability and stability. The present study also illustrates the utility of PoA analysis in establishing the stability of physical activity measures.     

The Overclaiming Questionnaire: A good way to measure faking?

We evaluated the validity of the Overclaiming Questionnaire (OCQ) as a measure of job applicants’ faking of personality tests. We assessed whether the OCQ (a) converged with an established measure of applicant faking, Residualized Individual Change Scores (RICSs); (b) predicted admission of faking and faking tendencies (Faking Frequency, Minimizing Weaknesses, Exaggerating Strengths, and Complete Misrepresentation); and, (c) predicted the aforementioned measures as strongly as RICSs did. First, 261 participants were instructed to respond honesty to an extraversion measure. Next, in a mock job application, they filled out the extraversion measure again, as well as the OCQ. The OCQ only weakly predicted RICSs (r = .17), Faking Admission (r = .18), and Faking Frequency (r = .15), and it failed to correlate significantly with Minimizing Weaknesses, Exaggerating Strengths, and Complete Misrepresentation. Moreover, the OCQ performed significantly worse than RICS in predicting Faking Admission, Faking Frequency, Minimizing Weaknesses, Exaggerating Strengths, and Complete Misrepresentation. We urge caution in using the current version of the OCQ to measure faking, but speculate that the innovative approach taken in the OCQ might be more effectively exploited if the OCQ content were tailored to the specific job that applicants are being tested for.     

Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ)

In this study, we assessed the cross-cultural generalizability of the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) and tested the hypotheses that boys show higher levels of proactive aggression with increasing age and that a two-factor (reactive–proactive) structure will be observed in an East Asian population. We administered the RPQ to 5,615 male and female 11- to 15-year-old schoolchildren. CFA demonstrated a good fit of the two-factor reactive–proactive model. Proactive aggression increased significantly with age in boys but not girls, whereas reactive aggression showed no gender difference and only a minimal age increase. Results suggest the presence of meaningful differences between these aggression subtypes and the generalizability of the RPQ in an East Asian population.     

How Do People Conceptualize and Use Forgiveness? The Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire

This study was completed for 2 purposes: to explore how people use and conceptualize interpersonal forgiveness and to introduce the Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire (FAQ), an instrument designed to explore forgiveness. The instrument was administered to 155 students from 2 midwestern colleges. Results suggest that the FAQ shows early promise as an instrument for exploring interpersonal forgiveness, although further validity studies are required. The implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The Activity Preference Questionnaire: is the forced choice format necessary?

Summary: While the Activity Preference Questionnaire (APQ) appears to provide unusually pure and subtle measures of anxiety proneness, its forced choice format involves several drawbacks. Data are presented which suggest that a rating format can be used which avoids the disadvantages of the forced choice format but incorporates its advantages.     

Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire—Reliability and Factor Structure: A Swedish Version

Two studies were conducted to assess the Swedish version of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which was originally created by Baer et al. (2006). The aim of Study 1 was to examine the psychometric properties of the FFMQ using data from 495 individuals. Quantitative and qualitative analyses resulted in a reduction of the scale by 10 items. Psychometric properties, including internal consistency of the revised instrument, were examined. The Swedish FFMQ provides results comparable to those obtained by Baer. Cronbach's alphas were high for all the facets. The Swedish FFMQ appears to be a potentially useful tool in measuring mindfulness among Swedish participants. The aim of Study 2 was to test the suggested hierarchical five-factor solution and construct validity, using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Similar to findings for the English version of the FFMQ, the CFA showed that the Observing facet was not a significant part of an overall self-reported mindfulness structure in a Swedish population with little meditation experience.     

What’s Your Style? Preliminary Validation of the Gaming Styles Questionnaire

Within-group differences amongst gamers must be considered when studying the psychological correlates of gameplay. A conceptual framework, whereby gaming may be treated as a means to other ends—such as coping with boredom or bonding with friends—or as an end in itself, was the basis upon which the Gaming Styles Questionnaire was developed. Factor analysis and criterion-group validity, based on data obtained from a heterogeneous sample of gamers, offered support to a continuum of gamers, ranging from those for whom gaming is a means to other ends to those for whom gaming is an end in itself. Although age did not correlate with gaming style, men’s endorsement of gaming as an end in itself was stronger than women’s.     

What Does the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) Really Measure?

The present study seeks to investigate the extent to which the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) is successful in discriminating between experiential avoidance/psychological flexibility on the one hand and the supposed outcomes in terms of psychological well-being of having this trait on the other. This was done using exploratory factor analysis on an item pool containing the AAQ-II items, and items designed for the present study to measure distress and acceptance/non-acceptance, to see what factors are identified and on which factor(s) the AAQ-II items had the highest factor loadings. Interestingly, the analysis found the items of the AAQ-II to be more strongly related to items designed to measure distress than items designed to measure acceptance/nonacceptance with minimal references to functional outcomes. The results of the study are interpreted and discussed in relation to the widespread use of the AAQ in both clinical and scientific contexts and given the centrality of the measure in empirically validating the ACT model of psychopathology and treatment.     

Psychometric Investigation of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire—Short-Form

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire—Short Form (SCSRFQ-SF). Participants were 226 undergraduate students (168 female) at a large public university enrolled in randomly selected undergraduate courses. A principal components analysis of the SCSRFQ-SF supported the hypothesized one-factor structure. In addition, the internal consistency was high and the convergent validity of the SCSRFQ-SF was supported with significantly positive relations with the Duke Religion Index. These findings provide initial support for the reliability and construct validity of the SCSRFQ-SF.     

How Does It Feel? The Development of the Experience of Creativity Questionnaire

Creativity research has tended to neglect the phenomenology of the creative process. This article addresses this by describing the development of the Experience of Creativity Questionnaire (ECQ), designed to measure experiential (Part A) and existential (Part B) dimensions of artistic creativity. The questionnaire items were generated on the basis of an earlier qualitative investigation. Participants were 100 artists, from diverse fields of the creative arts. Two Maximum Likelihood factor analyses with Promax rotation were performed on the items comprising the initial ECQ, resulting in 6 factors in Part A and 3 factors in Part B. Factor analyses were then performed on a reduced number of items, providing the basis for 5 scales in Part A (labeled Distinct Experience, Anxiety, Absorption, Power/Pleasure, Clarity/Preparation) and 3 scales in Part B (Transformation, Centrality, Beyond the Personal). The scales demonstrated acceptable reliability, ranging from .82 to.60 (Guttman coefficient). Use of the ECQ in future research will facilitate further investigation of the phenomenology of the creative process and afford greater integration of research paradigms in creativity research.     

Questionnaire de sensibilité au rejet : qualités psychométriques de la traduction française de l’Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (ARSQ)

IntroductionExacerbated rejection sensitivity is a psychological process strongly present in certain personality disorders. Berenson et al. (2013) developed the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (A-RSQ), which evaluates the anxious expectation of perceived rejection by people close to them.ObjectiveThe purpose of our study was to investigate the psychometric qualities of a French version of the A-RSQ.MethodThis study was conducted with 140 French participants. The participants completed online our French translation of the A-RSQ and the Borderline Symptoms List (BSL-23), the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Questionnaire (ECR-R) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-reported (LSAS-SR).ResultsThe internal validity of the A-RSQ is acceptable. The A-RSQ is positively and significantly correlated with the three reference scales: BSL-23, LSAS-SR and ECR-R. Factor analysis suggests a three-factor structure.ConclusionThis French version of the A-RSQ presents psychometric qualities comparable to its original version. This tool may be useful to researchers and clinicians interested in relationship problems, particularly in the context of borderline personality disorder where rejection sensitivity is a central process.     

Transdiagnostic assessment of anxiety symptoms using the Anxiety Disorder Diagnostic Questionnaire – weekly version

Background: Norton and Robinson [2010. Development and evaluation of the anxiety disorder diagnostic questionnaire. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 39(2), 137–149. doi:10.1080/16506070903140430] developed the Anxiety Disorder Diagnostic Questionnaire (ADDQ) as a transdiagnostic assessment of fear and anxiety to address problems in using diagnosis-specific measures as well as limitations with the extant transdiagnostic measures of anxiety. The present study validated a weekly version of the ADDQ, the Anxiety Disorder Diagnostic Questionnaire – Weekly (ADDQ-W) allowing session-by-session transdiagnostic assessment of anxiety.

Method: Data were a secondary analysis of 49 treatment-seeking outpatient adults from a previous clinical trial. The ADDQ-W was administered weekly over the course of 12-group therapy sessions.

Results: The ADDQ-W was a valid weekly measure and neither scores, F(2, 37)?=?2.70, p?=?.08, nor trajectories of change, F(2, 37)?=?0.31, p?=?.73, differed by primary diagnosis, though power was limited. Rate of ADDQ-W change was predictive of change in both primary diagnosis severity, t?=?2.40, p?=?.02, β?=?0.32, and overall severity, t?=?3.01, p?<?.01, β?=?0.36, at post-treatment.

Conclusions: This study has established initial support for the use of the brief, easily scored, ADDQ-W for repeated assessment over treatment using a diagnostically heterogeneous clinical sample of treatment-seeking individuals.     

Development of a Brief Version of the Social Anxiety – Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

The Social Anxiety – Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (SA-AAQ; MacKenzie and Kocovski 2010) is a 19-item self-report measure designed to assess acceptance and action specific to social anxiety symptoms. The present research was designed to evaluate an abbreviated version of the SA-AAQ. This abbreviated scale was confirmed using an undergraduate sample (N = 148) in Study 1 and a clinical sample of individuals with social anxiety disorder in Study 2 (N = 137). Results indicated that an eight-item, two-factor model (acceptance and action) provided a good fit for the Brief SA-AAQ in both samples. Finally, we also found preliminary evidence in support of the convergent, discriminant/divergent, and incremental validity of the shortened scale. The Brief SA-AAQ shows promise as a useful and brief tool for the measurement of acceptance of social anxiety symptoms in socially anxious populations.     

Measuring Effortful Control Using the Children's Behavior Questionnaire–Very Short Form: Modeling Matters

Effortful control (EC) is an important concept in the research on self-regulation in children. We tested 2 alternative factor models of EC as measured by the Children's Behavior Questionnaire–Very Short Form (CBQ–VSF; Putnam &; Rothbart, 2006 Putnam, S. P., &; Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Development of short and very short forms of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 103–113. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa8701_9[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in a large sample of preschoolers (N = 1,007): 1 lower order and 1 hierarchical second-order structure. Additionally, convergent and predictive validity of EC as measured by the CBQ–VSF were investigated. The results supported a hierarchical model. Moderate convergent validity of the second-order latent EC factor was found in that it correlated with compliance and observed EC tasks. Both CBQ–VSF EC measures were also negatively correlated with child physical aggression. The results have implications for the measurement, modeling, and interpretation of EC applying the CBQ.     

The My Emotions Questionnaire: A self-report of mothers’ emotional responses to infant crying

The purpose of this article was to examine the psychometrics of the My Emotions Questionnaire, a self-report designed to assess mothers’ emotional reactions when their infants cry. Participants were 240 first-time mothers. When infants were 6 months and 1 year old, mothers completed the new questionnaire and measures assessing beliefs and behavioral responses to infant crying, and interview-based measures of mothers’ emotional reactions and causal attributions about crying were administered. Maternal sensitivity and negative behaviors were observed when infants were 6 months and 1 and 2 years old. Mothers reported on their discipline practices when children were 2 years old. Five emotion factors emerged based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 6-month data: Amusement, Anxiety, Frustration, Sympathy, and Protective. The five-factor structure was supported via a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 1-year data. All scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and significant stability from 6 months to 1 year. Amusement, Frustration, and Protectiveness demonstrated the best convergent validity with cry cognitions and predictive validity to parenting measures, followed by Anxiety, although effects tended to be small to moderate. Evidence for the validity of Sympathy was less compelling. The potential utility of the questionnaire for basic and applied research is discussed.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Factor Structure of the Teasing Questionnaire – Revised (TQ-R)

Recent literature has focused on the relation between childhood teasing and adulthood psychopathology, with the majority of this work dependent on a single measure, the Teasing Questionnaire-Revised (TQ-R; Storch et al. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 18:681–694, 2004). However, the factor structure and reliability of the TQ-R requires further examination. The present investigation reevaluated the factor structure of the TQ-R in two large samples. In Study 1, three previous factor models were investigated through confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) in a large clinical sample. Due to their poor fit, exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were used to investigate alternative factor models. In Study 2, the factor structure of the previous models and new models from Study 1 EFAs were investigated through CFAs and estimates of internal consistency in a large college sample. Together, these findings provided the most support for a new 21-item five factor model, identified in the Study 1 EFAs and supported by the Study 2 CFAs, with the content of the teasing subscales consistent with the constructs of anxiety, appearance, academics, weight, and height.     

A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Aggression Questionnaire–Short Form Among Egyptian and Omani Adolescents

The psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the Aggression Questionnaire–Short Form (AQ–SF) were examined in 2 samples of Egyptian and Omani adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the 4-factor model had adequate fit to the data of both samples, whereas the unidimensional and hierarchical models did not. Multigroup CFAs revealed culture invariance for the AQ–SF 4-factor model when the 2 samples were compared for each gender. The analysis also revealed gender invariance for the AQ–SF 4-factor model within the Omani sample. However, the analysis showed partial gender invariance for the AQ–SF 4-factor model within the Egyptian sample. A latent mean analysis showed consistent gender differences on Physical Aggression in the male direction when males and females were compared across and within both samples. The AQ–SF correlated positively and significantly with peer nominations but did not correlate with a measure of social desirability.