The Sociomoral Reflection Measure: Applicability to Swedish children and adolescents

The Sociomoral Reflection Measure (SRM; Gibbs & Widaman, 1982) was developed as a group administerable instrument for measuring developmental stages of moral reasoning. The aim of this study was to examine its reliability and construct validity, employing a sample of 542 Swedish elementary and high school students (aged 8-17), from schools within metropolitan Stockholm. Interrater reliability varied between 0.83 and 0.92, and the internal consistency coefficient was 0.76. Factor analyses of the norms (on which the overall score is based) revealed one factor for the oldest age group (16-17 years), but two factors among the younger subjects (8-15 years), clearly separating the norms related to each of the two moral dilemmas. The Sociomoral Reflection Maturity Score was moderately, but significantly, related to both age and grade. The results suggests that, although used in a non-American context and with self-trained raters, the SRM seems highly applicable in Sweden, at least for research purposes.     

Objective Scoring of the TAT: Further Validation

Attention was called to a highly objective, reliable and parsimonious. method for scoring the TAT and further empirical evidence of its validity was presented. The scores obtained through this method were found to be significantly related to two other TAT scoring methods and to ratings by independent interviewers of the level of maturity of 64 male and 61 female young adults. The results were related to research bearing on the relation between projective material and overt behavior.     

Development and Validation of the Weekly Stress Inventory-Short Form

The Weekly Stress Inventory (WSI) has been used both in research and in clinical settings to measure minor stress. Although this tool offers a reliable and valid measure to assess minor stress, it lacks brevity that would make it more feasible for rapid assessments of stress needed in many research and clinical settings. The current study assessed the psychometrics of the newly developed Weekly Stress Inventory Short Form (WSI-SF), a 25-item scale to measure minor stress. Adults attending general medicine clinics (n = 171) at a public teaching hospital completed the WSI-SF and the WSI. The WSI-SF was found to have good internal consistency for both the events score (.92) and impact score (.91) and good convergent validity with the WSI. The results of the present study suggest that the WSI-SF is a reliable and valid instrument for use in assessing minor stress.     

Translation and Validation of the Chinese Form of the Strong Interest Inventory

A Chinese form of the 1994 Strong Interest Inventory (SII) was developed through a three‐step translation process. The translated version was judged to show linguistic or inferential equivalence to the SII in English. Field‐testing data based on two Chinese samples ( N ₁ = 124, N ₂ = 40) and one American sample ( N ₃ = 52) provided additional support on metric equivalence between the SII and the SII‐Chinese. Correlational analysis, paired t ‐test, and profile analysis consistently demonstrated that the SII and SII‐Chinese yielded highly comparable results at all three levels of measurement—General Occupational Themes (GOT), Basic Interest Scales (BIS), and Occupational Scales (OS). Statistically significant difference between the SII and SII‐Chinese was found only on one basic scale and two occupational scales in selected male and female subsamples. Factor analysis, using maximum likelihood extraction and oblique rotation, identified six broad occupational interest dimensions on the SII‐Chinese: Enterprising (E), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Public (P), Realistic (R), and Social (S). Implications for further adapting the SII‐Chinese to better fit the Chinese culture and to be used as an assessment tool in China are discussed.     

Development and Validation of a Short Form of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire

Brief assessments of parenting practices can provide important information about the development of disruptive behavior disorders in children. We examined the factor structure of a widely used assessment of parenting practices, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and produced a 9-item short scale around its three supported factors: Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Discipline and Poor Supervision. The short scale was then validated in independent community samples using confirmatory factor analysis and measures of disruptive behavioral disorders in children. The scale showed good fit to a three-factor model and good convergent validity by differentiating parents of children with disruptive behavioral disorders and parents of children without such disorders. Results indicated that this new measure is an informative tool for researchers and clinicians whom require brief assessments of parenting practices relating to disruptive behavioral disorders in children.     

Validation of a TAI Short Form with an Adolescent Sample

Subjects who pretested high or low in hypnotic suggestibility took a creativity test either under hypnosis or in a waking state. All subjects made a global estimate of their general degree of creativity. Greater figural-spatial creativity was exhibited in the hypnosis condition than in the waking condition by both high and low suggestibles. Creativity self-reports were not corroborated by actual creative performance.     

Psychometric Validation of a Simplified Form of the PICTS for Low-Reading Level Populations

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is one of the most widely used measures of criminal thinking. Although the PICTS has adequate psychometric qualities with many general population inmates, the measurement confound of reading ability may decrease its construct validity in low-literacy inmates. To help resolve this confound, we present psychometric evaluation of a simplified version of the PICTS (PICTS-SV) in which item language was simplified but item content was preserved. We first conducted Lexile analyses to confirm the reading level of the PICTS-SV is significantly lower than the original PICTS (i.e., sixth grade versus ninth grade). We then tested a bifactor model to confirm the PICTS-SV contains the same two factors as the original PICTS: proactive and reactive criminal thinking. These PICTS-SV results are commensurate with the factor structure of the original PICTS. Results suggest the PICTS-SV is a valid alternative for assessing criminal thinking in inmates with low reading ability.     

Screening for Psychopathy: Validation of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form with Reference Scores

The current study reports validation results for the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) and its subscales, and for a newly developed PPI-Short Form (PPI-SF) in forensic and non-forensic populations. We also provide criterion reference scores for the PPI and the PPI-SF. In Study 1, we used PPI data from 1,065 participants and supplementary PCL-R data from a subsample of 91 forensic offenders. Mokken scale analysis was used to construct the PPI-SF. In Study 2, PPI-SF and PCL-R data were collected from 60 participants. The study yielded promising but preliminary support for the construct validity of the PPI and the PPI-SF. The PPI-SF is of interest for risk assessment because of its (a) strong relationship with the PCL-R total score and (b) subscales known for their predictive value for violence and criminal recidivism.     

从社会智力到情感智力--对社会智力与情感智力理论的探讨

在智力的研究中,社会智力(social intelligence)和情感智力(emotional intelligence)是先后被心理学家提出的概念。本文试图对这两个概念出现及其相关研究进展过程进行回顾、总结和简单的评价,并提出以下一些未来可以进行探讨的问题：(1)就概念而言,社会智力和情感智力相互的关系究竟如何?(2)在智力的这一领域的研究中,概念的内涵究竟大一些好还是小一些好?(3)概念的提出,是重理论严谨性还是重应用性?(4)如何解决好的概念和研究思路与困难的理论构建和实际测量之间的矛盾?     

Validation of semantic and pragmatic modules of the Criterial and Objective Language Battery (BLOC) in Chilean children

The aim of this work was to analyse the psychometric properties of the semantics and pragmatics modules of the Objective and Criterial Language Battery (BLOC). For the semantics module (n= 259), Cronbach's alpha was 0.84; for the pragmatics module (n= 142), Cronbach's alpha was 0.91. A Categoric Principal Components Analysis (CAPCAT), produced unidimentional solutions, explaining 41.65% of the variance in the semantics module, and 41.77% in the pragmatics module. We did not find differences in performance by sex. By socio-economic status, lower status children performed worse than those of middle and higher status, but only in the semantics module. Differences by age were small, with both modules producing between 3 and 4 homogeneous groups with substantial overlap. Lack of discrimination is probably related to reduced variability due to low performance in the Chilean samples. Compared to Spain, medians in the semantics module were lower than expected (though medians in the pragmatics module were slightly higher).     

中国青少年积极发展量表（简版）的编制：基于一个大样本数据

中国青少年积极发展量表是一个多维度的测评青少年发展过程中积极特性（即品格、能力、自信和联结）的量表,共98个项目。为提高量表的应用推广性,本研究基于一个大样本数据（n=16317, M_年龄=13.13岁, SD=2.52岁）创建了一个该量表的简化版本。通过一系列的验证性因素分析、项目筛选、信效度检验以及交叉验证,简化后量表共48个项目。结果显示,简版量表与原始完整版量表有足够的概念重合度和剖面相似性,且具有可以接受的信效度和测量结构的等值性。     

Sociomoral reasoning,perceptions of parenting and self‐reported delinquency in adolescents

This study considers the relationships between perceived parenting, sociomoral reasoning, and self‐reported delinquency in a sample of high school adolescents. Correlational analysis revealed that moral reasoning was associated with a consistent disciplinary style. Self‐reported delinquency was positively related to a number of the parenting variables but negatively correlated with moral reasoning. Separate analysis for males and females showed similar patterns for self‐reported delinquency, with the exception that moral reasoning was negatively correlated with attachment and supervision among females. The most significant predictors of delinquency scores were parenting variables, with moral reasoning also playing a role for males. A factor analysis of the perceived parenting measure revealed two factors. The first factor reflected a warm, inductive and involved style of parenting with the second reflecting a parenting style characterized by physical punishment. Self‐reported delinquency was negatively significantly associated with Factor 1, and positively related to Factor 2. There were also differences in the self‐reported delinquency scores of the top and bottom quartiles of Factor 1 scores. These support the conclusion that a parental style that is perceived to be warm, involved and inductive is associated with lower levels of delinquency in adolescence. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Job Engagement Scale: Development and Validation of a Short Form in English and French

Journal of Business and Psychology - The original 18-item Job Engagement Scale (JES18) operationalizes a multidimensional hierarchical conceptualization by Kahn (1990) of the investment and...     

The Ohio Scales Youth Form: Expansion and Validation of a Self-Report Outcome Measure for Young Children

We examined the validity and reliability of a self-report outcome measure for children between the ages of 8 and 11. The Ohio Scales Problem Severity scale is a brief, practical outcome measure available in three parallel forms: Parent, Youth, and Agency Worker. The Youth Self-Report form is currently validated for children ages 12 and older. The Ohio Scales Problem Severity scale was administered to a clinical and comparison sample of children, ages 8–11, then readministered 1 week later to a subsample of children in order to examine test-retest reliability. The Ohio Scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and reliability. The Ohio Scales was significantly correlated with the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) across both samples, providing evidence for concurrent validity. Children of the clinical sample reporting higher scores (i.e., more symptomatic) than the children of the comparison sample on the Ohio Scales, thereby demonstrating construct validity.     

Validation of a Theory-Driven Profile Interpretation of the Dutch Short Form of the MMPI Using the TAT Social Cognitions and Object Relations Scale (SCORS)

Sixty psychiatric inpatients were assigned to one of three groups on the basis of F and K MMPI validity scales. Staff ratings of patient behavior and recorded incidents of "acting-out" behavior were obtained for patients with: (a) "plea for help" validity profiles, (b) hyper-defensive profiles, and (c) average profiles. Patients with "plea for help"profiles were perceived as "acting out" more frequently and engendering more feelings of frustration than patients in the other groups. These patients account for 77% of the incidents of inappropriate, destructive behavior and 83% of the seclusions in the patients sampled. Although the "plea for help"profile is considered invalid in some scoring systems, results suggest that this validity profile may be useful in treatment planning.