Development and validation of a measure to assess head start children's appraisals of teacher support

In this study, we present data on the development of Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS), a measure designed to explore children's perceptions of their relations with teachers along dimensions that comprise warmth, conflict, and autonomy. Three cohorts of Head Start children and prior Head Start attendees (N=364) served as the sample. Cohort 1 children (n₁=108) were in first grade, cohort 2 children (n₂=123) were in kindergarten, and cohort 3 children (n₃=133) attended the Head Start program. Factor analyses supported a three-factor solution, with acceptable internal consistency, along hypothesized dimensions. Males, compared to females, reported more conflictual relationships with their teachers. Conflict scores were particularly pronounced for African American males. Children's reports on the Y-CATS were significantly associated with academic achievement and with teachers' ratings of social skills and behavior problems.     

Low diversity and low frequency of participation in leisure activities compromise working memory efficiency in young adults

People perform leisure activities (LA) every day; pursuits that entail applying cognitive, physical and social abilities. As in old age, doing LA during early and middle adulthood is related to a reduced risk of dementias, probably by generating a cognitive reserve. As it is possible that a relation between doing LA and working memory (WM) efficiency exists in young adults, we assessed whether the diversity and frequency of LA are related to WM efficiency in this population. Ninety-three healthy young subjects solved the n-back task at two levels of difficulty (2, 3), and answered an LA questionnaire on the activities in which they had participated in the month prior to the experiment. Subjects were classified separately on their scores for (1) diversity (high/low) and (2) frequency (high/low) in order to test the relation between each variable and WM efficiency. Though no differences were found, a subsequent analysis of the average of diversity and frequency ratios of LA performance taken together-the diversity/frequency index-showed that low diversity plus low frequency was significantly associated with reduced WM efficiency at this age; results that suggest that frequent participation in diverse LA during youth is related to WM efficiency.     

Male adolescents' reasons for participating in physical activity, barriers to participation, and suggestions for increasing participation

This study explored male adolescents' reasons for participating in moderate and vigorous physical activity, perceived barriers to moderate and vigorous physical activity, and suggestions as to what can be done to increase participation in physical activity. A total of 26 male 15- and 16-year-old adolescents participated in focus group sessions, which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim; qualitative software facilitated data analysis. A constant comparison approach was used to inductively develop themes. It was found that participants engaged in physical activity for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Their perceived barriers to physical activity included both internal factors (individual characteristics, lower priority for physical activity, and involvement in technology-related activities) and external factors (the influence of peers and family, lack of time, and inaccessibility and cost of facilities). Participants suggested that physical activity be promoted more in the community and that an environment more supportive of physical activity be developed. Results suggest that a variety of strategies should be used to help male adolescents maintain or increase participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity.     

Development of a reaction inventory to measure guilt.

The Reaction Inventory-Guilt was developed to isolate, in individuals, the specific stimulus situations which result in guilt. The 50-item inventory was administered to 96 subjects. The estimate of the internal consistency coefficient was .94. The inter-item correlations were factor analyzed by the principle axis method, and rotation to oblique simple structure was accomplished by the Promax method. Four oblique factors were obtained: intentional behavior disrupting interpersonal relations; self-destructive behavior; behavior contrary to moral or ethical principles; and unintentional behavior disrupting interpersonal relationships.     

The Indian superstition scale: creating a measure to assess Indian superstitions

Despite humans’ capacity for rational thought, they are not immune to superstitions. Superstitions are strongly tied to cultural practices, especially in India. Although 17% of the world’s population resides in India, Indian culture is understudied, and there have not been sufficient attempts to understand Indian superstitions in a scientific manner from a psychometric standpoint. By creating a proper superstition measurement for the Indian population, we can better understand how Indians think and behave. The goal of the present research is to create a superstition measure specific to Indian culture. The results reveal 18 items reflecting Indian superstitions that can be generalised across contemporary India.     

The interplay between parental behaviors and adolescents' sports-related values in understanding adolescents' dropout of organized sports activities

Using short-term longitudinal data, the primary goal of the present study was to examine the interplay between adolescents’ sports-related intrapersonal (e.g., sports values) and interpersonal factors (e.g., perceived parental involvement) in relation to sports dropout. A secondary goal was to explore the direction of effects in the association between intra- and interpersonal factors. A total of 420 adolescents (39% girls, M_age = 14.06; SD_age = 0.33) responded to a set of survey questions over two consecutive years. Results from structural equation modeling suggested that parental involvement predicted adolescents’ dropout one year later, via sports values. Further, the results suggested that the direction of influence is mainly from parents to adolescents. Overall, the findings indicate that adolescents whose parents attend their practices and games perceive sports activities as fun, important and useful; as a result, adolescents are less likely to dropout. The findings offer an improved understanding of how parents’ behaviors may influence adolescents’ dropout of organized sports.     

Development of a questionnaire to measure concern for dental appearance.

100 adults, selected for cosmetic dental treatment in a general dental practice, completed a 42-item questionnaire designed, on the basis of previous research and the author's clinical experience, to measure concern for dental appearance. This had high internal consistency and was reduced to a questionnaire of 23 items with internal consistency shown by a standardised Cronbach alpha of .84. An exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation identified six factors, the main one appearing to be a measure of concern for dental appearance. The high internal consistency suggests that the total score for the revised questionnaire is a measure of a construct, concern for dental appearance. Although the simplest measure of that may be contained in the items for the first factor, a much larger sample would be necessary to confirm the complex factor structure and so the questionnaire's total score is probably the more reliable measure at present. A study is summarised showing that the total score provides a measure that, in statistical regression analysis, may predict the intentions of adults to take care of the appearance of their teeth.     

The development of a measure to assess vocational maturity in adults with delayed career development

The development and validation of a measure of vocational maturity for educationally and economically “disadvantaged” adults who experience delayed career development is described. The Adult Vocational Maturity Assessment Interview (AVMAI) measures the attitudinal, cognitive, and behavior aspects involved in coping with exploratory and early entrance stage vocational development tasks. The measure employs a structured interview format accompanied by a detailed content scoring manual. It includes 120 items which yield scores for eight scales: Orientation to Education; Orientation to Work; Concern with Choice; Self-Appraisal: Interests and Abilities; Self-Appraisal: Personality Characteristics; Self-Appraisal: Values; Exploring Occupations; and Using Resources. Evidence for the measure's reliability, content, and construct validity is presented by examining the internal consistency of the scales, the reliability of its scoring procedures, its interscale correlations, and its performance in a pretest-post-test experimental situation. Research and counseling uses of the measure are discussed in the context of the need for vocational psychologists to develop and use measures that are appropriate for the specific career development problems of different groups in society.     

Loneliness and life satisfaction of boys with developmental coordination disorder: the impact of leisure participation and perceived freedom in leisure

A theoretical model linking motor ability with perceived freedom in leisure, participation in team sports, loneliness, and global life satisfaction was tested using linear confirmatory path analysis. Participants were 173 boys aged 10-13 years who filled in self-report questionnaires about perceived freedom in leisure, loneliness, and global life satisfaction. Parents of boys completed 7-day diaries and 12-month retrospective recall questionnaires about their son's leisure-time activity participation. Results of path analyses confirmed that the fit of the hypothetical model was consistent with predictions. The inferred direct pathways of influence between both total loneliness and global life satisfaction on motor ability were in the expected directions (i.e., inverse and positive relationships, respectively). Perceived Freedom in Leisure (PFL) and participation in team sports were two intermediate variables indirectly influencing these relationships. Although PFL was identified as a motivational process influencing participation levels in team sports it was noted that other psychological and environmental factors must also be considered when evaluating child-activity-environment fit for boys with developmental coordination disorder.     

Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Developing a measure to assess within-person variability

Earlier work has defined post-traumatic growth (PTG) as positive personality change, but measurement of this construct has relied almost exclusively on cross-sectional and retrospective assessments. The aim of this study was to use an experience-sampling procedure to measure the extent to which PTG manifested in individuals’ everyday lives after a recent highly stressful or traumatic adverse event (compared to a control group). In doing so, we developed a state measure of PTG. The factor structure of state PTG was comparable to trait PTG, there was significant variability in individuals’ PTG from moment-to-moment, but individuals’ trait PTG was unrelated to their state PTG. Moreover, individuals who had experienced a recent adversity did not differ from control participants on state PTG.     

Crafting the TALE: Construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering

Theory suggests that autobiographical remembering serves several functions. This research builds on previous empirical efforts (Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005) with the aim of constructing a brief, valid measure of three functions of autobiographical memory. Participants (N=306) completed 28 theoretically derived items concerning the frequency with which they use autobiographical memory to serve a variety of functions. To examine convergent and discriminant validity, participants rated their tendency to think about and talk about the past, and measures of future time orientation, self-concept clarity, and trait personality. Confirmatory factor analysis of the function items resulted in a respecified model with 15 items in three factors. The newly developed Thinking about Life Experiences scale (TALE) shows good internal consistency as well as convergent validity for three subscales: Self-Continuity, Social-Bonding, and Directing-Behaviour. Analyses demonstrate factorial equivalence across age and gender groups. Potential use and limitations of the TALE are discussed.     

The relationship of participation in school activities to abilities and interests in a high school student sample

Participation in school activities is hypothesized to be related to the multiple abilities and interests of high school students. The Ball Aptitude Battery (yielding 14 ability scores), Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory, and a biographical information blank (to obtain information about participation in 53 extracurricular activities) were administered to over 900 high school seniors of both sexes. Correlational and multiple regression analyses showed different patterns of activity participation to be related to different abilities and interests. The degree of relationship was generally low, generally higher for the males than for the females, and higher for interests than for abilities. Activity correlates of abilities differed for the sexes, but activity correlates of interests tended to be similar. This suggests that the same ability can result from differential participation in activities, but the same interest develops from similar activities.     

Crafting the TALE: construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering

Theory suggests that autobiographical remembering serves several functions. This research builds on previous empirical efforts (Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005) with the aim of constructing a brief, valid measure of three functions of autobiographical memory. Participants (N=306) completed 28 theoretically derived items concerning the frequency with which they use autobiographical memory to serve a variety of functions. To examine convergent and discriminant validity, participants rated their tendency to think about and talk about the past, and measures of future time orientation, self-concept clarity, and trait personality. Confirmatory factor analysis of the function items resulted in a respecified model with 15 items in three factors. The newly developed Thinking about Life Experiences scale (TALE) shows good internal consistency as well as convergent validity for three subscales: Self-Continuity, Social-Bonding, and Directing-Behaviour. Analyses demonstrate factorial equivalence across age and gender groups. Potential use and limitations of the TALE are discussed.     

Development of a device to measure human sound localization

Measurements of human sound discrimination and localization are important for basic empirical and clinical applications. After a short survey of other methods such as evoked potentials, the development of a new device to measure human sound localization is described and its use illustrated with some examples. Built from a polyacrylic hemisphere or--in a later version--from an orbicular aluminum frame, the apparatus uses multiple speakers to emit auditory stimuli. The patient sits in the middle of the perimeter and has to press a button when a sound is perceived. In addition, the participant has to identify the correct speaker as the source of the sound. With this method it is possible to map the auditory field.     

Development of a standardized measure to predict employee productivity

The London House Employment Productivity Index (EPI-3) is a broad-based personality-oriented measure designed to predict successful employees. This paper focuses on the development and validation of the EPI-3 Dependability, Drug Avoidance, Interpersonal Cooperation, Safety, Validity, and overall Productivity scales. Three validation studies are reviewed. The first is a predictive study using 1,236 subjects from the retail industry. The second predictive study involved 167 subjects from a large discount retail chain. The final concurrent study involved 247 college students employed in various companies. All studies documented the validity of the EPI-3 as a pre-employment selection instrument. This paper also reviews adverse impact research, utility of the instrument for selection and ethical concerns when implementing this type of selection instrument.     

Psychometric characteristics of a multidimensional measure to assess impairment: The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale

The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) is a multidimensional measure of degree of impairment in functioning. Interrater reliability data are presented for lay raters, graduate students, and frontline staff. Reliability was high for the total score and behaviorally-oriented scales. Construct, concurrent, and discriminant validity were assessed with the sample of children and adolescents evaluated at the Fort Bragg Demonstration Evaluation Project. Youth and their caregivers were evaluated via interview and selfcompleted instruments at four time points. Significant correlations were found between the CAFAS and other related constructs. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by logistic regression analyses examining the relationship between CAFAS ratings and problematic behaviors endorsed on measures completed by parents, teachers, or the youth. Youth with higher CAFAS total scores were much more likely to have poor social relationships, difficulties in school, and problems with the law. Discriminant validity was assessed with a repeated measures analysis of variance with intensity of care at intake and time as factors. Youth who were inpatients or in residential treatment centers at intake had higher CAFAS scores than those who were outpatients. These findings provide strong evidence for the reliability and validity of the CAFAS.