Religiosity and conservatism revisited: relating a new religiosity measure to the two main conservative political ideologies

The relation between the two religiosity dimensions which Wulff (1997) described (Exclusion vs Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs Symbolic) and two conservative political ideologies (Cultural and Economic Conservatism) was investigated in a sample of 714 students, a heterogeneous sample of 262 adults, and a sample of 301 religiously affiliated adults gathered in Flanders (Belgium). Both Exclusion vs Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs Symbolic were expected to relate only to Cultural Conservatism. Analysis supported these hypotheses, providing further evidence for the close association between religiosity and Cultural Conservatism and the validity of the Post-Critical Belief scale as a measure of Wulff's dimensions of religiosity.     

Score reliability for tests constructed for African-American populations

Test score reliabilities and sample sizes (N) used to establish the reliabilities are described for a variety of tests constructed for African-American populations. The sample size was 341. The average internal consistency reliability was .74 (SD = .16) with a median value of .77. The median N was 131. The mean internal consistency reliability and median N for tests intended for assessment of individuals were only .72 and 96, respectively.     

Measuring test anxiety in children: Scale development and internal construct validation

Given the increased testing of school-aged children in the United States there is a need for a current and valid scale to measure the effects of test anxiety in children. The domain of children's test anxiety was theorized to be comprised of three dimensions: thoughts, autonomic reactions, and off-task behaviors. Four stages are described in the evolution of the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS): planning, construction, quantitative evaluation, and validation. A 50-item scale was administered to a development sample (N=230) of children in grades 3–6 to obtain item analysis and reliability estimates which resulted in a refined 30-item scale. The reduced scale was administered to a validation sample (N=261) to obtain construct validity evidence. A three-factor structure fit the data reasonably well. Recommendations for future research with the scale are described.     

LARGE-SCALE PREDICTOR VALIDATION IN PROJECT A: DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES AND DATA BASE PREPARATION

The data base for the Army Selection and Classification Project (Project A) contains two major samples referred to as the concurrent validation sample and the longitudinal validation sample. The former was drawn from a cohort that joined the Army in 1983/84, and the latter from a cohort that entered in 1986/87. This paper describes the data base resulting from the concurrent sample. The sampling procedure, the distribution of sample sizes over jobs, the total array of variables, and the data collection procedures are described. Also discussed are the extensive data editing procedures that were used to deal with missing data.     

For Crying Out Loud—The Differences Persist into the '90s

The relation of gender to crying was investigated over a 15-year interval. The 1996 sample was composed of 523 undergraduates (293 females and 230 males). Forty percent of the sample described themselves as Asian, 32% Anglo, 19% Hispanic, and 7% African American. There were extreme similarities between the 1981 and 1996 samples in terms of reported frequency and intensity of crying and the gender patterning of crying behavior across stimulus situations. In the later sample, gender role orientation (as measured by the BSRI) was found to be associated with crying. Neither ethnicity nor socioeconomic status was significantly related to any of the variables examined. It may be that crying has not been significantly affected by changing gender role expectations in the last 15 years.     

On Shortening the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire

Whitley (in press) described a short form of the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ). The EASQ was created to remedy the unsatisfactory psychometric properties of the Attributional Style Questionnaire; therefore, the benefits of a short form must be balanced with the possible costs, lower reliability and, hence, lower validity. Data from eight different samples using the EASQ (N = 963) suggest that the best items on the EASQ differ from sample to sample and from dimension to dimension. Further, reliabilities are reduced according to the predictions of the Spearman-Brown formula. Implications of these findings for attributional style research are discussed.     

An evaluation of the Italian version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence

This study examined the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence in a sample of 593 smokers who were enrolled in a randomized Phase IV clinical trial to compare bupropion to placebo. This version was administered at baseline, and from each participant an expired air carbon monoxide (CO) measure was taken. Spearman correlations between the Total score and CO concentration were .27 in the combined sample and .27 and .25 among men and women. With respect to the internal consistency reliability, the coefficient alpha was low (alpha= .55) in the combined sample and among men (.59) and women (.50). While the Total score predicted abstinence at 7 wk., it was not significantly related to continuous abstinence at 12 mo. postrandomization. The properties of the Italian version of the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence appear to be consistent with other versions described in the literature.     

On shortening the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire

Whitley (in press) described a short form of the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ). The EASQ was created to remedy the unsatisfactory psychometric properties of the Attributional Style Questionnaire; therefore, the benefits of a short form must be balanced with the possible costs, lower reliability and, hence, lower validity. Data from eight different samples using the EASQ (N = 963) suggest that the best items on the EASQ differ from sample to sample and from dimension to dimension. Further, reliabilities are reduced according to the predictions of the Spearman-Brown formula. Implications of these findings for attributional style research are discussed.     

Empirical correlates of common MMPI-2 two-point codes in male psychiatric inpatients

Empirical correlates of common Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) 2-point codes were identified for a sample of 1,213 inpatient men. A comprehensive standardized review of the hospital record was undertaken, and clinically relevant demographic, diagnostic, and behavioral information was extracted from intake summaries obtained prior to administration of the MMPI-2. Nonmutually exclusive psychiatric diagnoses found in the sample included substance abuse or dependence, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar affective disorder post-traumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders as well as personality disorders. Subsamples consisting of the five most frequently obtained well-defined 2-point code types were selected, and empirical correlates of each code type were then identified and described. Remarkable consistency was found between the empirical correlates of the code types obtained in this study and the correlates of the same code types described by other investigators 40 years ago.     

Measurement and structural invariance of parent ratings of ADHD and ODD symptoms across gender for American and Malaysian children

The purpose of this study was to examine the measurement (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) and structural (factor variance, factor covariance, and factor means) invariance of parent ratings of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - inattention (ADHD-IN), ADHD - hyperactivity/impulsivity (ADHD-HI), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) across boys and girls. In an American pediatric sample (N = 1,015) and a Malaysian elementary school-age sample (N = 928), there was strong support for configural, metric, scalar, residual, factor variance, and covariance invariance across gender within each sample. Both American and Malaysian boys had significantly higher scores on the ADHD-IN and ADHD-HI factor means than did girls, whereas only in the American sample did boys score significantly higher on the ODD factor than did girls. The implications of the results for the study of gender, ethnic, and cultural differences associated with ADHD and ODD are discussed.     

Individualism and Resistance to Affirmative Action: A Comparison of Japanese and American Samples1

It has been proposed that part of the resistance to affirmative action in the U.S. derives from the American discomfort with categorical social arrangements. An instance of gender discrimination was described to samples of Japanese and American students. The students then evaluated a set of remedies, one of which was a classic affirmative action solution and filled out Singelis’ Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994). The Japanese sample was more collectivist than the American sample and endorsed the affirmative action solution more strongly than the American sample.     

Examining the dimensionality of effortful control in preschool children and its relation to academic and socioemotional indicators

Effortful control (EC) is an important developmental construct, associated with socioemotional growth, academic performance, and psychopathology. EC is defined as the ability to execute goal-directed behavior to inhibit or delay a prepotent response in favor of a subdominant response. Extant research indicates that EC may be multidimensional. Confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 234 preschoolers was used to determine if tasks designed to measure EC were best described by hot (affectively salient) and cool (affectively neutral) dimensions or by a single factor. Analyses revealed that EC is best described by a single factor, even when variance associated with children's language skills was removed. This EC factor was strongly related to measures of academic performance and significantly less related to measures of socioemotional development.     

Pathological gambling and personality disorders: a pilot-study with the MCMI-II

In this paper, the most frequent personality disorders related to pathological gambling are described. A sample of 50 pathological gamblers, who were assessed with the MCMI-II before treatment, and of 50 normative subjects from general population with the same demographic features (age, sex and socioeconomic level) was selected. According to the results, the 40% of clinical sample (versus the 14% of normative sample) showed at least one personality disorder. The most prevalent one was the Narcissistic (32%), followed by the Antisocial and Passive-Aggressive (16% each one of them). Furthermore, the gamblers with personality disorders presented an average of 2.2 disorders and tended to be more impulsive. Likewise pathological gamblers abused of alcohol, showed a mild anxiety and were not so adapted to everyday life as much as the control group. Finally, implications of this study for clinical practice and future research in this field are commented upon.     

Protocol analysis of the correspondence of verbal behavior and equivalence class formation.

In two equivalence experiments, a "think aloud" procedure modeled after Ericsson and Simon's (1980) protocol analysis was implemented to examine subjects' covert verbal responses during matching to sample. The purpose was to identify variables that might explain individual differences in equivalence class formation. The results from Experiment 1 suggested that subjects who formed equivalence classes described the relations among stimuli, whereas those not showing equivalence described sample and comparison stimuli as unitary compounds. Because Experiment 1 only demonstrated a correlation between describing stimulus compounds and the absence of equivalence classes, a second study was conducted. In Experiment 2, equivalence class formation was brought under experimental control through pretraining manipulations that facilitated responding either to stimulus compounds or to relations among stimuli. The results demonstrated that a history of describing stimulus compounds, when compared with describing the relations among the stimuli, interfered with the emergence of stimulus equivalence. These findings clarify individual differences in stimulus equivalence. They also demonstrate the utility of analyzing verbal reports to identify possible variables that can be manipulated experimentally.     

The relationships between self-leadership and enhanced psychological, health, and work outcomes.

Two cross-sectional studies were conducted to examine the correlations between the concept of self-leadership (as described within the framework of the internal family systems model) and enhanced psychological, health, and work outcomes. In Study 1, self-leadership was significantly related to higher psychological functioning (e.g., effective coping style, greater optimism and hardiness, and less ineffectiveness and interpersonal distrust) and better health status (e.g., greater perceived wellness, less perceived stress, and fewer symptoms of illness) in a sample of university students (N = 270). In Study 2, in which a sample of corporate employees (N = 160) was examined, self-leadership was significantly related to greater perceptions of work satisfaction, enhanced communication, quality management, effective work relationships, and in terms of health outcomes, greater perceived wellness and less work stress. Implications of the relationships between self-leadership and psychological, health, and work outcomes are discussed.     

African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers: A multigenerational approach to parenting

This study is an adaptation and extension of Apfel and Seitz’s (Family Relations, 40(4), 421–429, 1991) models of adolescent parenting and adolescent-grandmother relationships to a sample of 148 African American, first-time adolescent mothers and their 6-month-old infants. The Parental Supplemental model, in which adolescent mothers and grandmothers shared caregiving, described 63% of Apfel and Seitz’s (1991) sample and 66% of the current sample. Shared caregiving was not associated with conflict in the adolescent mother–grandmother relationship. Adolescent mothers who had caregiving responsibilities and a supportive adolescent-grandmother relationship also reported competence in their parenting role. Findings provide support for Apfel and Seitz’s Parental Apprentice model, in which young mothers gain competence through direct caregiving experience in the context of a supportive relationship.     

A method of estimating accuracy of test scoring

When errors of test scoring obey a Poisson frequency law (theoretical considerations suggest that they do), the method described may be used for finding the upper fiducial limits of scoring errors per paper. A criterion is suggested for establishing tolerance limits on scoring errors, and a method is given (1) for finding the probability of being wrong in the statement that the tolerance limit is being met for a given size sample or (2) for finding the size of sample that will make this probability not greater than some fixed value.     

Principal components analysis of the Psychological Screening Inventory in a sample of substance abusers.

A principal components analysis of responses to the Psychological Screening Inventory from a sample of substance abusers was conducted. Subjects were 153 inpatients admitted to a midwestern program for chemical dependency treatment. Means for age and education were 28.0 yr. (SD = 8.1) and 11.4 (SD = 1.8), respectively. Analysis indicated that a two-factor solution best described these data. Factor 1 reflected over-all maladjustment, while Factor 2 was a measure of extroversion. Clinical utility of the inventory was discussed.     

The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale: Analysis of Reliability and Validity1

Development of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) is described. In Study 1, a set of 17 items was selected on the basis of responses by 125 postpartum women. Analyses of the reliability and validity were then conducted. In Study 2, these analyses were replicated using data from an independent sample of 130 postpartum women. Study 3 involved an analysis of the ability of scores on the IIFAS to predict duration of breast-feeding among a sample of 725 women who had initiated that method of feeding their babies while in the hospital. Limitations of this research and possible future uses of the IIFAS in studies addressing the determinants and consequences of infant-feeding attitudes are discussed.