Cross-Validation of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 Youth Version: An Exploration of Strength-Based Latent Traits

High-quality measurement is a necessary requirement to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of programs that use strength-based principles and strategies. Using independent cross-validation samples, we report two studies that explored the construct validity of the BERS-2 Youth Report, a popular measure designed to assess youth strengths, whose conceptual structure has not yet been examined. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis found a four-factor solution with conceptual support, which included both internal assets associated with (a) the management of emotions and positive social interaction skills and (b) engagement in the important social contexts of family and school. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses found reasonable model fit for the BERS-2 five-factor structure and superior model fit for the more parsimonious four-factor solution found in Study 1. In future studies, parallel reporting of the four-factor model may provide additional insight to the nature and structure of the BERS-2 Youth Version’s clinical validity and utility when compared with the five-factor model, thus potentially contributing to a broader objective to develop a better understanding of important strength-based latent traits.     

The Femininity Ideology Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability, Convergent and Discriminant Validity, and Social Contextual Variation

This study reports on the psychometric properties of the Femininity Ideology Scale (FIS) from the responses of 407 undergraduate participants in the USA. Factor analysis supported the five factor structure. Cronbach alpha coefficients of the factors and total scale were adequate. Support for discriminant validity was found after examining the relationship between the FIS and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, which measures feminine traits. Support for convergent validity was found after examining, first, with the entire sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Male Role Norm Inventory, and second, with the female sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Feminist Identity Development Scale. We also found that FIS scores vary in relationship to the social contextual variables of race/ethnicity and sex.     

Testing the Domain Specificity of Creativity with Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale: A Meta-Analytic Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Domain-specificity is a topic of debate within the field of creativity. To shed light on this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis of cross-domain correlations based on the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS). To evaluate the model fit of one general factor versus two factors that encompass the primary K-DOCS subscales (Scholarly, Everyday, Artistic, Scientific, and Performance), we employed the one-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling (OSMASEM) approach. Poor fit of these models would provide evidence of domain-specificity, as the proposed models would not outperform the independence model. Our analysis included 45 correlation matrices from 30 studies, with a total sample size of 31,136 participants. The results provided support for a general domain of creativity, as well as a two-factor solution consisting of Arts and Sciences factors. Among the subscales, the highest correlation was found between the Artistic and Performance domains (r = .478), while the smallest correlation was observed between the Everyday and Scientific domains (r = .178). Furthermore, moderator analyses incorporating age and gender revealed that the Scientific and Everyday subscales exhibited a stronger factor load in older participants compared to younger participants. Implications are discussed for research and practice.     

Learning climate scale: Construction,reliability and initial validity evidence

The current study developed an instrument for measuring learning climate in organizations. A review of the organizational learning and facilitation of workplace learning literature resulted in three theoretically relevant dimensions referring to facilitation, appreciation, and error avoidance. The 3-dimensional learning climate scale (LCS) was tested in a heterogeneous sample of Dutch wage earners (N = 1013). Confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of measurement invariance were conducted to establish the factorial structure of the measure. Also, convergent, divergent, and construct validity of the LCS were investigated. The findings showed that the newly developed instrument for learning climate has good psychometric properties: the three-factor structure was supported and the sub-scales were reliable. Furthermore, the LCS showed good convergent and divergent validity.     

Comparing sport motivation scales: A response to Pelletier et al.

ObjectivesPelletier, Rocchi, Vallerand, Deci, and Ryan (2013) proposed a new version of the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS; Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, & Blais, 1995) as a measure of different types of behavioral regulations in sport, as outlined in self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). They examined various aspects of reliability and validity of scale scores, and concluded that the new scale performs better than the original version. They also claimed that the SMS-II is superior to other measures of motivation in sport, including the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ) developed by Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2008). By comparing the evidence presented in papers by Pelletier et al. and Lonsdale et al., our objective was to examine the relative merits and shortcomings of the two measures and suggest directions for future research into sport motivation measurement.ConclusionsBoth the SMS-II and BRSQ have shown relative strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the construct validity evidence of scores derived from the two measures was similar. There is insufficient information to support the claim that one scale is superior to the other. Researchers are encouraged to make direct comparisons by administering both measures to the same group of participants in future studies.     

A comparison between a visual analogue scale and a four point scale as measures of conscious experience of motion

Can participants make use of the large number of response alternatives of visual analogue scales (VAS) when reporting their subjective experience of motion? In a new paradigm, participants adjusted a comparison according to random dot kinematograms with the direction of motion varying between 0° and 360°. After each discrimination response, they reported how clearly they experienced the global motion either using a VAS or a discrete scale with four scale steps. We observed that both scales were internally consistent and were used gradually. The visual analogue scale was more efficient in predicting discrimination error but this effect was mediated by longer report times and was no longer observed when the VAS was discretized into four bins. These observations are consistent with the interpretation that VAS and discrete scales are associated with a comparable degree of metacognitive sensitivity, although the VAS provides a greater amount of information.     

Some thoughts on Likert-type scales

Many articles published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology describe the results obtained in studies that have used Likert-type scales. Such scales have advantages and disadvantages and in this article I comment on some of these. In particular I comment on the effects of using scales that start with the positive end and finish with the negative one, and on those that present high ratings on the left - as opposed to the right. I also consider that scores on negatively-worded items differ from those obtained on positively-worded ones and that it is not, therefore, appropriate to simply reverse the scores obtained on such items. Finally, I note that some items on these scales present more than one issue and it is hard to know whether when responding to these items, respondents are responding to all of the item or just one part.     

Fathers' and mothers' attachment representations as predictors of preadolescents' attachment security: A ten‐year follow‐up of Finnish families

The question of how mothers' and fathers' representations of attachment correlate ten years later with children's perceptions of attachment relationships was examined in a longitudinal study on Finnish families (N = 42). The parents completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) during the child's first year of life. At 11 years, the children filled out three scales on how secure they perceive the relationship with each parent. Parents' AAI classifications and AAI dimensions based on continuous scales were used as predictors of the preadolescents' attachment security. Regression analyses demonstrated that fathers' but not mothers' State‐of‐Mind and Experience dimensions predicted preadolescents' security of attachment to father. The discussion focuses on the predictive validity of the classical categorical versus the recently proposed continuous approach and the different roles of parents in transmitting security from one generation to another.     

Chinese sex differences in intelligence: Some new evidence

Sex differences on the WISC-R in Chinese children were examined in a sample of 788 aged 12 years. Boys obtained a higher mean full scale IQ than girls of 3.75 IQ points, a higher performance IQ of 4.20 IQ points, and a higher verbal IQ of 2.40 IQ points. Boys obtained significantly higher means on the information, picture arrangement, picture completion, block design, and object assembly subtests, while girls obtained a significantly higher mean on coding. The results were in general similar to the sex differences in the United States standardisation sample of the WISC-R. Boys showed greater variability than girls.     

Comparing the psychosocial health of tattooed and non-tattooed women

Tattooing, particularly for women, has often been considered a marker of psychopathology and deviance. The present study questions this association and hypothesises that tattooed women will be as psychosocially healthy as non-tattooed women, using generativity as a measure of psychosocial health. Generativity refers to the physical or ideological legacy that one will leave to future generations, and is theoretically and empirically associated with psychological health and pro-social behaviour. This study employed an internet survey of 710 females (age range 18–69, M = 26.49, SD = 10.11) and sought to explore: (1) whether there were differences between tattooed and non-tattooed women on generativity as measured by the Loyola Generativity Scale, and (2) whether women with tattoos would evidence the same pattern of significant relationships between generativity and the theoretically and empirically salient variables of age, relationship and parental status, as non-tattooed respondents. Results indicated that tattooed women were just as generative as non-tattooed women. Both groups also evidenced the same patterns of significant relationships between generativity and age, relationship and parental status.