TRAINING COUNSELING SKILLS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

A community development perspective suggests the value of using local resources to solve local problems. Two low-income staff of a community service center served as nonprofessional counselors after receiving a training program consisting of written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. The effects of the 40-hour training program were positive for both counseling and problem-solving skills. There was also evidence of generalization of counseling performance across clients, problems, and time. In addition, expert judges' ratings of performance were obtained as a measure of social validity. These findings suggest that the training procedures are effective in enhancing the counseling and problem-solving skills of low-income nonprofessionals.     

Psychological Abuse Experienced in Groups Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Japanese Version

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Psychological Abuse Experienced in Groups Scale (PAEGS) for use in the Japanese population. This scale evaluates the frequency with which an individual has experienced psychologically abusive behaviors within a group. A questionnaire was administered to 130 former members of abusive groups and to a comparison sample composed of 124 former members of non‐abusive groups. The main results showed a one‐dimensional factor structure and an adequate reliability score. Significant correlations were found between the PAEGS and a group abusiveness measure, providing evidence of convergent validity. In addition, high discriminatory power was found, determining an optimal cut‐off point to distinguish between abusive experiences and non‐abusive experiences within groups. The Japanese version of the PAEGS is able to overcome limitations of previous instruments intended to assess the phenomenon, as sufficient empirical evidence is found for its use in research. In addition, it can be useful in clinical and legal contexts to assess the degree of psychological abuse experienced by Japanese people during their involvement in certain groups.     

基于印象管理量表的反应模式筛查故意作假者

社会称许性反应由两个成分组成:自我欺骗(无意识地夸大反应)和印象管理(有意识地歪曲作答)。采用实验研究范式和Mixed Rasch Model,探讨二者在BIDR印象管理量表上的得分及作答模式差异。结果发现,当发生印象管理时,量表分数高于仅发生自我欺骗时的分数,且被试倾向选择极端反应。进而采用logistic回归对量表分数划定分界线,将高于分数线的被试认定为故意作假者,低于分界线的被试认定为仅发生了自我欺骗,没有故意作假。     

Argentine validation of the Purpose in Life Test / Validación argentina del Test de Propósito en la Vida

Despite the fact that the Purpose in Life Test developed by James Crumbaugh and Leonard Maholick in the 1960s is considered to be one of the most commonly used measures in positive psychology, there are no validations of it into the Argentine context. This paper aims to assess the psychometric properties of PIL in a sample of 336 university students residing in Buenos Aires. The results suggest that PIL has adequate psychometric properties for the Argentine context. The confirmatory factor analysis presents a good fit of the data as proposed by the authors. These results favour the assessment of psychological well-being in this local context. Future studies should use different samples in order to provide more robust support to the construct.     

Premières étapes de construction et de validation d’une échelle de spiritualité explicite areligieuse

Although spirituality and religion have often been used in an undifferentiated way in the literature, the existence of an areligious spirituality beyond the question of religious belief. The objective of our study was to construct and validate a scale of areligious spirituality applicable to the university student. The unidimensional structure of the scale was revealed in an exploratory study carried out with 263 students. This structure was also exhibited in a confirmatory study concerning 259 students. The internal coherence was satisfactory. Multi-group analyses showed that the model works equally well for men and women and for members and non-members of a religious order. Finally a high score on the scale of areligious spirituality is associated with a strong satisfaction with life. This preliminary research highlights the good psychometric properties of the Explicit Scale of Areligious Spirituality (ESAS) and seems to be a good investigative tool for all researchers and professionals interested in the subject of spirituality.     

Capturing the noonday demon: development and validation of the State Boredom Inventory

For centuries, scholars have positioned state boredom as an impediment to organizational productivity and performance given its unpleasant and distracting qualities. However, research on state boredom has been impeded by a lack of definitional consensus and measurement issues. In this article, we sought to advance organizational research on state boredom by developing the State Boredom Inventory (SBI), an 11-item measure grounded in a theoretically derived definition of state boredom. Across five studies using 10 independent samples, we develop the SBI and provide validity evidence for our measure, including content validity and convergent and discriminant validity. Our data support the conceptualization of state boredom as a higher-order multidimensional construct with three underlying dimensions: disengagement, unpleasant low arousal, and inattention.     

Effects of varying numbers of Likert scale points on factor structure of the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale

Likert‐type rating scales are among the most widely used tools in psychological research. Different numbers of response categories would likely affect response style, data distribution, reliability, and construct validity. There is a lack of research in factor structure invariance under Likert scales with different numbers of categories. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of varying numbers of Likert points (4–11) on scale properties such as factor structure, external validity, and latent means based on the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1989 ). The sample consists of 1,807 students from secondary schools in Macau. Confirmatory factor analysis shows that the correlated two‐factor model is the most appropriate one; longitudinal invariance analysis reveals that measurement invariance across Likert scales was satisfied at the scalar level. In addition, latent mean scores on the two factors as well as observed means on the subscales are comparable across Likert scales. Moreover, the measurement model across Likert scales exhibit similar external validity. Although psychometric properties are mostly similar among a different number of points, the 4‐point Likert scale is not recommended for its higher skewness and lower loadings; the 11‐point Likert scale from 0 to 10 is slightly preferred for its higher loadings and composite reliability.     

Validation of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version with male intimate partner violence offenders

The working alliance is a key element to increase intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders’ motivation, adherence to treatment, and active participation in batterer intervention programs (BIPs). The objective of the present study is to assess the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version (WAI-O-S) with a sample of IPV offenders. The sample was 140 men convicted for IPV and court-mandated to a community-based BIP. Inter-rater agreement and reliability were evaluated by computing the intraclass correlation coefficient. To test the latent structure a Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis approach was used. To test criterion-related validity, the WAI-O-S factorial scores were correlated to protherapeutic behavior, stage of change and motivation to change. The WAI-O-S showed an adequate reliability. Results from Bayesian confirmatory factor analyses showed two first-order factors (Bond and Agreement), and a second-order factor (General working alliance) explaining the relationship between the first-order factors. Results also support the validity of this instrument. The availability of reliable and valid observational measure of the working alliance provides a useful tool to overcome self-report measurement limitations such as social desirability, deception, and denial among IPV offenders.     

The cyber dating violence inventory. Validation of a new scale for online perpetration and victimization among dating partners

Cyber dating abuse is a new kind of dating violence. Several recent measures assess this phenomenon, but do not focus on a severe aggression that aims to spoil a partner’s relational network (relational cyber abuse). This study developed and validated the Cyber Dating Violence Inventory (CDVI) with 1405 adolescents and young adults (M_age = 18.17; SD_age = 2.39; 65.1% females), an instrument that considers the relational dimension of online dating abuse. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses found two correlated factors (Psychological and Relational) for both perpetration and victimization, showing good reliability. CDVI factors were positively correlated with offline dating violence, showing good criterion validity. This instrument has clinical and educational implications.