The structure of temperament in preschoolers: a two-stage factor analytic approach

The structure of temperament traits in young children has been the subject of extensive debate, with separate models proposing different trait dimensions. This research has relied almost exclusively on parent-report measures. The present study used an alternative approach, a laboratory observational measure, to explore the structure of temperament in preschoolers. A 2-stage factor analytic approach, exploratory factor analyses (n = 274) followed by confirmatory factor analyses (n = 276), was used. We retrieved an adequately fitting model that consisted of 5 dimensions: Sociability, Positive Affect/Interest, Dysphoria, Fear/Inhibition, and Constraint versus Impulsivity. This solution overlaps with, but is also distinct from, the major models derived from parent-report measures.     

School-based,randomised controlled trial of an evidence-based condom promotion leaflet

A condom use promotion leaflet was designed for use with older teenagers in schools. The text targeted a series of cognitive and behavioural antecedents of condom use identified in the literature. Given previous evidence that motivational incentives can enhance the effectiveness of health promotion leaflets, the leaflet was presented in conjunction with a quiz and prize draw. Students were randomly assigned to either the intervention condition or a (no leaflet or incentive) control condition. Measures were taken immediately, pre-intervention and 4 weeks later from 404 students. The 20-min intervention successfully promoted six of the eight measured cognitions, namely (1) attitude towards using condoms with a new partner (2) attitude towards using condoms with a steady partner (3) normative beliefs in relation to preparatory actions (4) self-efficacy in relation to both preparatory actions and (5) condom use (6) intention to use condoms, as well as three measured preparatory actions, that is, purchasing condoms, carrying condoms and discussing condom use. The intervention did not increase condom use with steady or new partners but power to test intervention impact on condom use was curtailed.     

How women's sexual orientation guides accuracy of interpersonal judgements of other women

This research examines how women's sexual orientation guides the accuracy of judgements of other women. One hundred ten judges (67 straight and 43 lesbian women) watched videotapes of 9 targets (4 straight and 5 lesbian) and made judgements about the targets' thoughts, emotions, personality, and sexual orientation. Accuracy scores were created for each judge by comparing judgements to criterion data gathered about targets. Straight judges were significantly more accurate at judging thoughts and marginally more accurate at judging emotions compared to lesbian judges. There were no significant differences in judging personality. Straight targets' thoughts and personality were more easily assessed than lesbian targets' while lesbians' emotions were more easily judged than straight targets'. Lesbian judges were more accurate at judging sexual orientation regardless of their tendency to categorize women as lesbian compared to straight judges. Findings support past research on the accurate perception of sexual orientation and contribute to understanding how sexual orientation guides person perception.     

Episodic future thought: Contributions from working memory

The ability to imagine hypothetical events in one’s personal future is thought to involve a number of constituent cognitive processes. We investigated the extent to which individual differences in working memory capacity contribute to facets of episodic future thought. College students completed simple and complex measures of working memory and were cued to recall autobiographical memories and imagine future autobiographical events consisting of varying levels of specificity (i.e., ranging from generic to increasingly specific and detailed events). Consistent with previous findings, future thought was related to analogous measures of autobiographical memory, likely reflecting overlapping cognitive factors supporting both past and future thought. Additionally, after controlling for autobiographical memory, residual working memory variance independently predicted future episodic specificity. We suggest that when imagining future events, working memory contributes to the construction of a single, coherent, future event depiction, but not to the retrieval or elaboration of event details.     

A community psychology of object meanings: Identity negotiation during disaster recovery

What do material goods intended for personal consumption mean to community? We use the extreme example of natural disaster recovery in a community to explore this question. Our work describes how members make sense of material objects that transition from private to public possessions (damaged goods) and public to private possessions (donated goods). By blending consumer and community psychology perspectives with our narratives, we employ a three-dimensional framework for analyzing object meanings: (1) material objects as agents of communitas (a shared sense of “we”), (2) material objects as agents of individualism (a focus on “me”), and (3) material objects as agents of opposition (the “we” that speaks for “me” and “us” versus “them”). This theoretical frame allows us to show how different conceptions of identity lead to conflicting meanings of objects within community, and to explain how and why object meanings shift as objects move across time and space from private to public and from scarcity to abundance. We also provide implications for coping with disasters that consider collective and individual identities as well as oppositional stances in between.     

A Rasch Analysis of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–3

Rasch analysis of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–3 (SASSI‐3; F. G. Miller & Lazowski, 1999 ) indicated that the SASSI‐3 meets fundamental measurement properties; however, the authors of the current study recommend the elimination of nonfunctioning items and the improvement of response options for the face valid scales to increase functioning and ease of use.     

Analysis of responses to work-home interaction as measured by the SWING

The primary objective of this study was to analyse the responses of the Survey Work-home Interaction-Nijmegen – (SWING) using the Rasch measurement model. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used. Paper-and-pencil copies of the SWING were distributed to heterosexual working couples that lived in the greater Gauteng region in South Africa (n?=?318; females?=?50%; age range 25 to 65, Black Africans?=?35%, various work sectors). The main findings of this study indicate that work-home interaction is a multidimensional construct that can validly be measured by the four SWING subscales: (1) negative work-home interaction; (2) positive work-home interaction; (3) negative home-work interaction; and (4) positive work-home interaction. Further validation work should seek to develop shorter and more efficient measures of SWING subscales.     

Validation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) in a non-clinical sample of South African working adults

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) in a non-clinical sample of working people. Working South African persons (N = 269; females = 62%; mean age = 33, SD = 11.5) completed the DASS-21, as well as the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7). Results following Confirmatory Factor Analysis and correlational analysis yielded a three-factor structure (depression, anxiety, and stress) for the DASS-21. The evidence for discriminant and convergent validity was strong. Additionally, we found good reliabilities for the overall scale as well as the subscales. The DASS-21 appears a valid and reliable instrument for measuring depression, anxiety, and stress in the workplace. Future studies should investigate differential item functioning and equivalence of items among South African working populations.