Examination of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale among Adults Using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory1, 2

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has impaired every aspect of life, especially causing much psychological damage—for instance, increasing the risk of suicide. Intense fear and anxiety are considered to play a central role in mental health problems. This study examined the psychological properties of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) using classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). Five hundred fifty participants aged 18–69 years and from across Japan completed questionnaires, including the Japanese FCV-19S, the Japanese Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-15 (DASS-15), and the Japanese version of the Kessler 6 (K6). CTT showed that each item of the Japanese FCV-19S had no ceiling and floor effect and was close to the normal distribution, and IRT revealed that each item had an appropriate parameter of discrimination and difficulty. Finally, the Japanese FCV-19S was shown to have an acceptable reliability and moderate good concurrent validity. Consequently, the Japanese FCV-19S has robust psychometric properties and can be useful for early detection of adults impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.     

物质主义价值观量表在大学生群体中的修订

以449名大学本科生为被试,对物质主义价值观量表（MVS）进行中文版的修订,考察其信效度指标。探索性因素分析发现,修订后的量表具有与原量表基本相同的三个维度;验证性因素分析结果显示,MVS的三因素结构拟合较好;MVS的内部一致性信度为0．792,重测信度为0．830;MVS的效标关联效度良好。表明修订后的MVS具有较好的心理测量学属性,可作为测量我国大学生物质主义价值观的工具。     

The Negative Physical Self Scale: Initial development and validation in samples of Chinese adolescents and young adults

This research presents four studies on the initial development and validation of the 48-item Negative Physical Self Scale (NPS), a multidimensional measure of body image concerns for use with Chinese samples. In Study 1 (N = 1095), exploratory factor analyses identified five dimensions underlying the NPS (General Appearance, Facial Appearance, Shortness, Fatness, Thinness). In Study 2 (N = 1057), confirmatory factor analyses replicated this factor structure. In Studies 3 and 4, the validity of all NPS dimensions except Thinness Concern was supported via their patterns of relation with both objective physical characteristics/behaviors and other self-report measures of body image and general self worth. Because Chinese adolescents and young adults expressed relatively more concerns about General Appearance, Shortness, and Facial Appearance than about Fatness, the NPS may have greater utility for assessing body image disturbances in China than existing measures that focus exclusively on general body satisfaction and body size/weight.     

Children's social behavior: Reliability and concurrent validity of two self-report measures

In this study the psychometric qualities of Deluty's Children's Action Tendency Scale (CATS) and Michelson and Wood's Children's Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS) were assessed with 157 Dutch children. Both instruments are designed to assess children's self-reported responses to interpersonal situations, whereby aggressive, assertive, and submissive scores are obtained. In general acceptable psychometric properties were obtained for both the CATS and the CABS, except for the assertive scale of the CATS. Furthermore, it was found that the ability of both the CATS and the CABS to discriminate between submissiveness and assertiveness was low. Important gender differences that were found regarding the relations with measures of perceived competence and social desirability are offered as a possible explanation for the relative failure of the CABS and the CATS to unbind submissive from assertive behavior. The parent version of the CABS is offered as a possible alternative or additional source of information for the assessment of children's submissiveness. Recommendations for future applications and research are presented.This research was supported by Grant 2843 from the NFGV to the second author.     

矛盾年龄偏见量表在中国大学生群体中的修订及信效度检验

目的：修订矛盾年龄偏见量表(the Ambivalent Ageism Scale, AAS),并在中国大学生群体中进行信、效度检验。方法：对1182名大学生施测AAS中文翻译版,探索并验证其因子结构,分析信、效度和测量等值性。其中347人还完成老化知识量表(FAQ)和容纳他人量表(AOS),用以检验AAS中文版的校标关联效度。另有74人在4周后重测AAS中文版。结果：AAS中文修订版包含认知帮助/保护、不想要的帮助和敌意年龄偏见三因子,总量表和各维度的Cronbach’s α系数依次为0.83、0.80、0.85、0.76,重测信度依次为0.78、0.62、0.78、0.71。AAS中文修订版及各维度与FAQ和AOS负相关(r=-0.23～-0.48,ps<0.001)。验证因素分析表明AAS中文修订版的拟合良好(χ²/df=3.51,CFI=0.96,TLI=0.94,RMSEA=0.07,SRMR=0.05)。且该量表跨性别形态、弱等值、部分强等值和部分严格测量等值成立。结论：修订后的矛盾年龄偏见量表(AAS)中文版的信、效度良好,具备跨性别的测量部分...     

Psychometric Properties of a Chinese Version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale

This study focuses on the reliability and validation of the Chinese version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale. Factor analysis confirmed that the scale includes two factors: perceptual moral attentiveness and reflective moral attentiveness. Moral attentiveness is negatively correlated with normlessness and positively associated with internalization and symbolization, moral identity, and other academic dishonesty behaviors. Reflective moral attentiveness moderated the relationship between formalism and unethical decision making. All results showed that the Chinese version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale has satisfactory psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable measurement of moral attentiveness in the Chinese population.     

The effects of sport dance on brain connectivity and body intelligence

Dancing is characterised by physical movement in accordance with rhythm perception. Twelve sport dancers and 12 age- and sex-matched young adults who had no dance experience (control group) were recruited. Body intelligence and brain activity were assessed in both groups using the Body Intelligence Scale (BIS) and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. BIS scores of dancers were higher than those of control subjects. The dancer group showed increased functional connectivity from the precentral gyrus to the right cingulate gyrus, right occipital fusiform gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, right parietal postcentral gyrus, and right frontal lobe compared with control subjects. Sport dancers had increased body intelligence sensitivity compared with matched controls. In addition, the characteristics of dance, including physical movement in accordance with rhythm perception, might be associated with increased brain activity in the somatosensory and rhythm perception networks.     

一般自我效能感量表的信度和效度研究

由Schwarzer等人编制的一般自我效能感量表(GSES)目前在国际上广泛使用,本研究拟对中文版GSES的信度和效度进行研究.412名大学生接受了GSES的测试.结果表明①和其他文字版本的GSES一样,中文版GSES也具有较高的信度;②中文版GSES的单维度性得到了证实,印证了Schwarzer等人的有关发现;③中文版GSES具有很好的预测效度.     

Development and validation of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children (MIQ-C)

The ability to perform movement imagery has been shown to influence motor performance and learning in sports and rehabilitation. Self-report questionnaires have been developed to assess movement imagery ability in adults, such as the Movement Imagery Questionnaire 3 (MIQ-3); however, there is a dearth of developmentally appropriate measures for use with children. To address this gap, the focus of this research was to develop an imagery ability questionnaire for children. This process involved adaptation of the MIQ-3 via: i) cognitive interviewing with twenty children, ii) validation with 206 children by examining its factor structure via multitrait-multi method confirmatory factor analysis, and iii) examination of test-retest reliability with 23 children. The findings of Study 1 led to changes to the wording of the questionnaire and modifications of the instructions to successfully adapt the MIQ-3 for children aged 7–12 years. The validation undertaken in Study 2 found that a correlated-traits correlated-uniqueness model provided the best fit to the data. Finally, test-retest reliabilities varied from fair (for external visual imagery) to substantial (for kinesthetic imagery). With respect to ease of imaging, no significant gender or age-group differences were noted. However, significant difference were found among the three imagery modalities (p < .001), with external visual imagery rated as easiest to image and kinesthetic imagery rated as the most difficult. Taken together, findings support the use of the MIQ-C for examining movement imagery ability with children.     

The forest and the trees: Examining the association of self-compassion and its positive and negative components with psychological functioning

ABSTRACT

This paper presents two studies focusing on the link between psychological functioning and self-compassion as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), especially in terms of SCS components that represent increased compassionate and reduced uncompassionate behavior. Study One examined this association in seven domains – psychopathology, positive psychological health, emotional intelligence, self-concept, body image, motivation, and interpersonal functioning – and found that while reduced negative self-responding had a stronger link to negative emotionality and self-evaluation than positive self-responding, they were roughly equivalent predictors in other domains. Study Two examined the association of compassionate and reduced uncompassionate behavior with sympathetic nervous system and inflammatory activity after stress, and found they equally predicted salivary alpha amylase and interleukin-6 levels in individuals after a stressful situation. Overall, results suggest that both compassionate and reduced uncompassionate self-responding are central to self-compassion and that both help to explain its link to healthy psychological functioning.