高中生自我和谐与心理健康的相关研究

目的:了解高中生自我和谐总体状况、心理健康状况及其关系。方法:采用《自我和谐量表》(SCCS)和《中学生心理健康问卷》对湖南、贵州四所中学的高中生进行测量。结果:高中生自我和谐情况不太理想;高中生在不和谐因子得分与大学生常模并无显著差异,在灵活性上差异非常显著(p<0.001),在刻板性上差异显著(p<0.05);高中生自我与经验的不和谐、刻板性、自我和谐总分均与心理健康各因子呈显著正相关;自我的灵活性与心理健康总分、偏执、敌对、适应不良等呈正相关。结论:高中生自我和谐与心理健康存在显著的相关性,自我和谐对心理健康具有一定的预测作用,培养高中生的自我和谐性有助于提高其心理健康水平。     

Sample size planning with the cost constraint for testing superiority and equivalence of two independent groups

The allocation of sufficient participants into different experimental groups for various research purposes under given constraints is an important practical problem faced by researchers. We address the problem of sample size determination between two independent groups for unequal and/or unknown variances when both the power and the differential cost are taken into consideration. We apply the well‐known Welch approximate test to derive various sample size allocation ratios by minimizing the total cost or, equivalently, maximizing the statistical power. Two types of hypotheses including superiority/non‐inferiority and equivalence of two means are each considered in the process of sample size planning. A simulation study is carried out and the proposed method is validated in terms of Type I error rate and statistical power. As a result, the simulation study reveals that the proposed sample size formulas are very satisfactory under various variances and sample size allocation ratios. Finally, a flowchart, tables, and figures of several sample size allocations are presented for practical reference.     

New heterogeneous test statistics for the unbalanced fixed‐effect nested design

When the underlying variances are unknown or/and unequal, using the conventional F test is problematic in the two‐factor hierarchical data structure. Prompted by the approximate test statistics (Welch and Alexander–Govern methods), the authors develop four new heterogeneous test statistics to test factor A and factor B nested within A for the unbalanced fixed‐effect two‐stage nested design under variance heterogeneity. The actual significance levels and statistical power of the test statistics were compared in a simulation study. The results show that the proposed procedures maintain better Type I error rate control and have greater statistical power than those obtained by the conventional F test in various conditions. Therefore, the proposed test statistics are recommended in terms of robustness and easy implementation.     

The First Asian Ecumenical Confession of Faith: The So‐Called Twelve Articles of Faith of Many Asian Protestant Churches

The Twelve Articles of Faith, written by Western Presbyterian and Reformed missionaries in India around 1900, have arguably been the most important ecumenical confession of faith of many Asian Protestant churches (Indian, Korean and Chinese Protestant churches and beyond). The articles by and large adopt the spirit and content of the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, and have some apparently Calvinistic elements. But they also have some new Arminian, universalistic and ecumenical elements that include the unique historical and theological implications of the epochal Western missions in Asia of the 19th and the early 20th centuries: both Christ's atonement for all people and a non‐predestinarian order of salvation. These elements, however, seem to entail a weak, individualistic ecclesiology along with a Biblicist or fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. Nonetheless, having influenced millions of Asian Christians, the articles have been and continue to be an important ecumenical confession of faith, and in this way can contribute to uniting Asian‐and world‐Christian churches.     

Saving for a Rainy Day? Comparative Optimism About Disability in Old Age

This study examined young (n = 40) and middle‐aged (n = 30) adults' susceptibility to comparative optimism and comparative pessimism regarding disability in old age and their willingness to save for long‐term care. Participants rated their risk of diverse levels of disability in old age, compared to another similar person, and indicated the amount of money they would be willing to save for future long‐term care. While middle‐aged participants showed the same level of comparative optimism for diverse disability levels, younger participants showed increasing levels of comparative optimism with increasing disability. Participants' comparative optimism levels and age both predicted their intentions to save. The findings are discussed in terms of theories of judgment and behavioral decision making.     

Ritualized Interaction for the Advancement of Children's National Identification in Hong Kong

Both ongoing practice and the theory of interaction ritual chains imply the significance of the contribution that ritual makes to group solidarity, such as national identification. This contribution is in need of empirical examination as in this study, which surveyed 1,788 schoolchildren in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The results show that, controlling for earlier national identification behavior (within the previous year) and other predictors, ritualized interaction in an activity for national cause (within the previous 6 months) manifested both linear and quadratic positive effects on current national identification sentiment. The effect was stronger for children who previously displayed lower national identification behavior. These results favor the use of ritual to promote national identification.     

Using SAS PROC TCALIS for multigroup structural equation modelling with mean structures

Multigroup structural equation modelling (SEM) is a technique frequently used to evaluate measurement invariance in social and behavioural science research. Before version 9.2, SAS was incapable of handling multigroup SEM. However, this limitation is resolved in PROC TCALIS in SAS 9.2. For the purpose of illustration, this paper provides a step-by-step guide to programming the tests of measurement invariance and partial invariance using PROC TCALIS for multigroup SEM with mean structures. Fit indices and parameter estimates are validated, thus providing an alternative tool for researchers conducting both applied and simulated studies. Other new features (e.g., different types of modelling languages and estimation methods) and limitations (e.g., ordered-categorical SEM and multilevel SEM) of the TCALIS procedure are also briefly discussed.