Measuring acceptance of prevention programmes in children

The present paper describes the development of a scale to measure social validity in elementary-school children. A standardized assessment of children's opinions about prevention programmes can be helpful in ensuring successful implementation and effectiveness. The results show that the scale consists of three factors: importance of goals, importance of effects and appropriateness of methods. Correlations with parental reports as well as gender differences were analysed. It can be concluded that measuring social validity with the newly developed scale can help researchers in the field of developmental psychology to tailor prevention programmes to the target group.     

German version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire – Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS): Confirmatory factor analysis and validation

The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) is a widely used questionnaire that measures body image as a multidimensional construct. The Appearance Scales (AS) of the MBSRQ (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Overweight Preoccupation and Self-Classified Weight) are subscales which facilitate a parsimonious assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image. The current study tested the psychometric properties and factor structure of a German translation of the MBSRQ-AS. Participants were n = 230 female patients with the SCID diagnosis of an eating disorder and n = 293 female healthy controls. In a confirmatory factor analysis, convincing goodness-of-fit indices emerged. The subscales of the questionnaire yielded good reliability and convergent and discriminant validity coefficients, with most items showing excellent characteristics. Like the English version, the German adaptation of the questionnaire can be recommended for a multidimensional assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image in both research and clinical practice.     

Assessment of job stress factors in a context of organizational change

IntroductionResearch consistently showed that stress and organizational change are closely related.ObjectiveThis study was conducted to identify the psychosocial job characteristics that are responsible for psychological stress in a context of organizational change.MethodAn expanded 30-item version of the Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure psychological demands, decision latitude, supervisor support, coworker support, and organizational difficulties. Online survey responses from 973 employees from the university of Strasbourg were analyzed.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses indicated a poor fit of the five-factor model based on 30 items but an acceptable to good fit of a reduced five-factor model based on 26 items. Results from a stepwise regression showed that the organizational difficulties dimension was the second most important predictor of psychological stress.ConclusionThe implications of these findings for further work on health outcomes of organizational changes closed this study.     

Walkability,risk perception and safety assessment among urban college pedestrians in Kuwait

The aim of this study was to examine what factors worried people as pedestrians in Kuwait. It aimed also to assess the correlation between perceived risk and worry and between worry and walking frequencies. The focus of this study was on urban college pedestrians as one of the most vulnerable population groups that suffered recently from many safety problems related to walking activities. This is relevant since most of the college’s students in Kuwait University are female (almost 90%). To do so, an online questionnaire was conducted to assess how respondents perceived risk and how worried they were when exposed to different hazards (traffic accident, harassment, and theft). Another online questionnaire was used to calculate the walkability index at different areas of Kuwait. From the results, it was shown that worry had influenced the pedestrian’s behavior as walking frequencies had dropped among respondents who had higher levels of worry. Cohen’s d showed a large difference in worry levels between those who walk daily and those who rarely walk. People reporting high levels of worry from experiencing accidents, harassment, and theft during nighttime were around 15 to 20% higher than those during daytime. The results from the second questionnaire showed that the area with the highest walkability index was Sabah Al-Salem as it was rated as the safest, the highest density of interesting businesses, and the best public transit area. These observations showed that major improvements are needed in Kuwait to increase the modal shift from cars to walking. In order to induce healthier lifestyles and improve the pro-environment by reducing the emissions linked to car usage.     

Public opinion on automated driving: Results of an international questionnaire among 5000 respondents

This study investigated user acceptance, concerns, and willingness to buy partially, highly, and fully automated vehicles. By means of a 63-question Internet-based survey, we collected 5000 responses from 109 countries (40 countries with at least 25 respondents). We determined cross-national differences, and assessed correlations with personal variables, such as age, gender, and personality traits as measured with a short version of the Big Five Inventory. Results showed that respondents, on average, found manual driving the most enjoyable mode of driving. Responses were diverse: 22% of the respondents did not want to pay more than $0 for a fully automated driving system, whereas 5% indicated they would be willing to pay more than $30,000, and 33% indicated that fully automated driving would be highly enjoyable. 69% of respondents estimated that fully automated driving will reach a 50% market share between now and 2050. Respondents were found to be most concerned about software hacking/misuse, and were also concerned about legal issues and safety. Respondents scoring higher on neuroticism were slightly less comfortable about data transmitting, whereas respondents scoring higher on agreeableness were slightly more comfortable with this. Respondents from more developed countries (in terms of lower accident statistics, higher education, and higher income) were less comfortable with their vehicle transmitting data, with cross-national correlations between ρ = −0.80 and ρ = −0.90. The present results indicate the major areas of promise and concern among the international public, and could be useful for vehicle developers and other stakeholders.     

Initial development and validity evidence for the processes of change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to create and provide validity evidence for the Processes of Change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire (PCPSTQ).DesignThe current study used a cross-sectional research design.MethodsFive hundred fifty nine NCAA Division I, professional, and Olympic level athletes participated in the current study. To create the PCPSTQ, an initial pool of 114 items was generated by the research team. After a content validity process, 65 items were retained for analysis. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used as an analytic strategy to identify the most appropriate factor structure for the PCPSTQ. Decisions about the most appropriate model were made using multiple fit indices. To examine the construct validity of the PCPSTQ, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences in processes of change use across stage of change.ResultsIn the current study, validity evidence provided support for a 7-factor process of change measure (χ² = 325.84, p < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .971; Tucker Lewis Index = .945; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .037; Standard Root Mean Square Residual = .020). Results also supported the construct validity of the scale as a significant difference in process of change use across stage of change was reported for all seven processes.ConclusionsResults of the current study support the factor structure and construct validity of the PCPSTQ. It appears that the processes of behavior change reported across multiple behavior change domains might also be viable for sport psychology professionals.     

Satisfaction profile (SAT-P) in 732 patients: Focus on subjectivity in hrqol assessment

Abstract

A 32-item questionnaire aimed at assessing patient's satisfaction about every day life is presented. In the Satisfaction Profile (SAT-P) patients are asked to evaluate their own satisfaction level on 32 daily life aspects concerning the last month. 732 participants were enrolled into the study: 490 in-patients suffering from different types of chronic diseases (e.g., chronic heart failure, severe respiratory failure, coronary heart disease) and 242 healthy persons of working age. SAT-P validity was confirmed by comparing its scores with the NHP, EPQ and STAI-X2 scores. The factor analysis extracted 5 factors which corresponded to the hypothesised areas (54% of variance explained). Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were confirmed: Pearson's coefficients were ranging from 0.45 to 0.93 and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.92. SAT-P responsiveness, evaluated by comparing baseline and 6 months follow up scores from 45 chronic heart failure patients, resulted to be satisfatory, although further studies are needed. These results, together with the “user-friendly” structure, the brief administration and scoring time, the simple graphic representation, suggest to consider the SAT-P a useful complementary tool in HRQoL assessment. The Italian, English and French versions are available.     

Examining adversarial growth in illness: The factor structure of the silver lining questionnaire (SLQ-38)

The Silver Lining Questionnaire (SLQ-38) is purported to measure 10 aspects of adversarial growth in illness. To date however, no empirical evidence exists to support this claim. Hence the aim of this study was to investigate the factor structure of the SLQ-38 in a sample of 560 individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), cancer, cardiac, and renal disease. The results demonstrate that 24 SLQ-38 items can be factored into five subscales: improved personal relationships, greater appreciation for life, positive influence on others, personal inner strength and changes in life philosophy, all of which are in accordance with the literature on adversarial growth. Individuals with MS experienced lower adversarial growth compared to other illness groups. Gender, age and time since diagnosis were unrelated to adversarial growth in illness. The utility of the revised SLQ-38 is discussed along with suggestions for future research on the convergent and divergent validity of this revised instrument.     

The utility of McGill pain questionnaire subscales for discriminating psychologica disorder in chronic pain patients

Abstract

The practice of separately scoring the sensory, affective and evaluative suhscules of the McGill Pain Questionnaire has not bccn unequivocally supported hy rcsearch, While there is moderate support for the three-factor Structure of this scale, recent studies have revealed strong intercorrelations among these factors and have not supported thcir differential predictive ahility. Present factor analytic results provide support for solutions involving a global factor in conjunction with either two or three subscale factors. The differential relationships of the sensory and affective factors to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Zung Dcpression Inventory demonstrate support for the validity of separately scoring the two factors in chronic pain patients. Preliminary guidelines are provided for the clinical use of the MPQ to discriminate psychological disorder in chronic pain patients.     

Gender and Age Differences in Social Skills Among Children with ADHD: Peer Problems and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract

Gender differences in peer problems and prosocial behavior among children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined. Parents and teachers rated social functioning on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) among 592 children (age 5–10?years) with ADHD and among 215 children (age 6–10?years) in a community sample. Results in the clinical group revealed significant interaction effects where older boys showed fewer peer problems than younger boys, but older girls had similar peer problems as younger girls. Teachers reported less prosocial behavior among younger girls than older girls. No gender differences in social problems emerged for the nonclinical comparison group.