The development and initial validation of the Fatigue Sensitivity Questionnaire

ABSTRACT

Currently, there is poor understanding of fatigue and the possible psychological conditions that may underlie chronic fatigue. Although substantial work has been directed to better clinically address fatigue, no work has explored individual differences in expectations or perceptions of the negative consequences associated with fatigue-related symptoms. The goals of this study were to (a) develop and (b) validate a measure of expectations or perceptions of the negative consequences associated with fatigue-related symptoms (e.g. fatigue sensitivity) across two independent samples (N = 1,827; 73.1% female; M_age = 21.68; SD = 4.54) of young adults. Results supported a 10-item measure of fatigue sensitivity, entitled the Fatigue Sensitivity Questionnaire (FSQ). The FSQ demonstrated unidimensionality, excellent internal consistency, and strong convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, the 10-item scale offers a single score that can be employed to measure fatigue sensitivity. Clinically, the FSQ may be a brief, informative, and easily disseminated measure in better understanding and capturing expectations or perceptions about the negative consequences of fatigue. As a research tool, the use of the FSQ may provide broader understanding of vulnerability factors that may influence fatigue-related health outcomes. Future research is needed to test the validity of the FSQ in other samples.     

Experimental and Self-Reported Indices of Childhood Abuse Using the Binghamton Childhood Abuse Screen

This study describes the validation of the Binghamton Childhood Abuse Screen (BCAS) using response latencies on an emotional Stroop task as a criterion measure. Sixty-four male undergraduate participants were selected based on their responses to the BCAS and a brief screen of their abuse history. Participants completed an emotional Stroop task in which they named the colors of neutral, positive, and abuse words. Participants scoring high on the BCAS exhibited greater response latencies to abuse words than participants scoring low on the BCAS. No group differences were found for positive words. The results provide support for the validity of the BCAS.     

Lean on me: The importance of one's own and partner's intercultural personality for expatriate's and expatriate spouse's successful adjustment abroad

This research explores the role of three intercultural personality traits—emotional stability, social initiative, and open-mindedness—as coping resources for expatriate couples’ adjustment. First, we examined the direct relationships of expatriates’ and expatriate spouses’ personality trait levels with psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Psychological adjustment refers to internal psychological outcomes such as mental health and personal satisfaction, whereas sociocultural adjustment refers to more externally oriented psychological outcomes that link the individual to the new environment. Second, we examined the association of expatriates’ personality trait levels with professional adjustment, which was defined in terms of job performance and organizational commitment. Cross-sectional analyses among 196 expatriates and expatriate spouses (i.e., 98 expatriate couples) revealed that the three dimensions are each associated with specific facets of adjustment. A longitudinal analysis among a subsample (45 couples) partially confirmed these findings. Furthermore, we obtained evidence for a resource compensation effect, that is, the compensatory process whereby one partner's lack of sufficiently high levels of a certain personality trait is compensated for by the other partner's high(er) levels of this traits. Through this resource compensation effect, the negative consequences of a lack of sufficient levels of a personality trait on adjustment can be diminished. Apparently, in the absence of sufficiently high trait levels, individuals can benefit from personality resources in their partners.     

The Factor Structure and Reliability of a Six-Item Sense of Coherence Measure

The study investigated the factor structure and reliability of a six-item sense of coherence (SOC) measure. Participants were a South African white collar employee sample (n=7185) purposively selected from over 300 different companies across various business sectors. The sample constituted 34% male and 66% female and 34% Black, 18% Coloured, 11% Indian and 37% White employees. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used for the structural analysis. The reliability of the scores was also estimated. A unidimensional structure seemed to best represent the six-item SOC measure. The internal reliability of the scores from the measure was high.     

Development of a Post-Modern Career Interest Questionnaire for South-African School Settings

The study explored the potential value and viability of an interest narrative (questionnaire) in terms of its psychometric properties and by comparing it with a commonly administered (positivist) career interest questionnaire. Participants were 159 boys and 183 girls, mean ages were 17.87 (males) and 17.41 (girls), SD (males) = 1.63, SD (females) = 1.70. In the first phase, four provinces were selected purposively: one urban and three rural or semirural. Secondly, a stratified random sample of schools was selected, divided according to medium of instruction (Afrikaans/English) and area (urban/rural area). Data were collected and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches: trustworthiness, assessment-reassessment consistency and intercorrelations with the Rothwell Miller Interest Blank (Hall, Halstead & Taylor, 1986). The CIP yielded satisfactory results with regard to, inter alia, trustworthiness, assessment-reassessment reliability and intercorrelations with the RMIB, and provides psychologists with a useful instrument for the identification of interest profiles of Grade 11 learners in South Africa.     

How do you fake a personality test? An investigation of cognitive models of impression-managed responding

Because faking poses a threat to the validity of personality measures, research has focused on ways of detecting faking, including the use of response times. However, the applicability and validity of these approaches are dependent upon the actual cognitive process underlying faking. This study tested three competing cognitive models in order to identify the process underlying faking and to determine whether response time patterns are a viable method of detecting faking. Specifically, we used a within-subjects manipulation of instructions (respond honestly, make a good impression, make a specific impression) to examine whether the distribution of response times across response scale options (e.g., disagree, agree) could be used to identify faking on the NEO PI-R. Our results suggest that individuals reference a schema of an ideal respondent when faking. As a result, response time patterns such as the well-known inverted-U cannot be used to identify faking.     

广东省中职生生涯规划问题研究

本研究以广东省中等职业学校学生为研究对象,考察一直走在全国职业教育前沿的广东省中职生的生涯规划现状。通过自编的生涯规划测量量表对广州地区近800名中职学生的调查结果显示(1)积极方面:对专业的接受度较高、中职生的就业准备时间较早和对工作的薪酬较为理性;(2)消极方面:缺乏生涯规划意识、学习动力不足,学习动机复杂、中职生的就业地点较为局限等。     

初中生情感能力问卷的初步编制

目的:编制初中生情感能力问卷,检验其信效度。方法:在文献研究的基础上,构建初中生情感能力的理论维度,编写问卷题目。对316名初中生进行预测,形成初步问卷,再对864名初中生进行测量。使用SPSS17.0和Lisrel8.7软件对问卷进行探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析。结果:初中生情感能力结构分为情感识别能力、情感体验能力、情感评价能力、情感管理能力四个维度,由15道题目组成。验证性因素分析的GFI,NNFI,AGFI,CFI,IFI均在0.9以上,模型拟合较好。结论:初中生情感能力问卷具有较好的信度和效度,可以成为评定初中生的情感能力素质的测评工具。     

Extending self‐leadership research to the East: Measurement equivalence of the Chinese and English versions of the MSLQ

In response to calls regarding the applicability of self‐leadership measurement in Eastern (collectivistic) and Western (individualistic) cultures, this study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the modified self‐leadership questionnaire (MSLQ). The sample consisted of 395 Chinese students and 241 Australian students. Results revealed that the modified self‐leadership questionnaire exhibited a satisfactory condition of psychometric properties across cultures. A series of multi‐sample confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the cross‐cultural similarity of an 11‐factor model across the Chinese and Australian samples. The modified self‐leadership questionnaire was also found to possess measurement invariance, suggesting that it is appropriate for cross‐cultural research assessing differences of self‐leadership behaviour across Chinese and Western cultures. Implications for future research are also discussed.