The Stammering Information Programme: a Delphi study

Purpose

To find out what information children, parents and education staff feel would be important to know to support a child who stutters in the educational environment, in order to develop appropriate resources.

Method

A Delphi study was carried out to seek the opinions of experts about the information to include. A structured six stage process was completed in order to gain consensus within four expert panels: children who stutter (CWS) aged 7-11 (n = 25); young people who stutter aged 12-18 (n = 27); parents of children and young people who stutter aged 2-18 (n = 67); and members of the education workforce (n = 35).

Results

In response to the questions, 538 statements were generated across the four expert panels, categorised and reduced to 276. Of the 154 rating questionnaires sent out, 99 were returned (64.2% response rate). The top 32 statements, which were those most highly rated and with the greatest consensus, were retained to inform the resources.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the value of including service users when devising materials aimed for the benefit of CWS. The methodology employed ensured that ideas, perceptions and needs were representative of a range of people who experience stuttering from different perspectives. The results indicated that each expert panel had different priorities of what should be included. The resulting resources may therefore be considered to have high content validity and would be predicted to meet the needs of those who require them.Educational Objectives: The reader will be able to (1) define the Delphi Approach (2) discuss the development of a user led resource for raising awareness about stuttering.     

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of a modified Positive and Negative Affect Schedule including a direction scale (PANAS-D) among French athletes

ObjectivesThe goal of these studies was to provide validity and reliability evidence of a modified Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) including a direction scale (PANAS-D). Study 1 tested the validity and reliability of the PANAS-D to measure both intensity and direction of affects. Study 2 examined the relationships between direction of affects and selected variables (i.e., coping, attainment of achievement goals and sport satisfaction) by controlling for intensity of affects.MethodA total of 306 and 296 athletes (studies 1 and 2) completed the PANAS-D and other self-report questionnaires. Data were analysed with reliability, confirmatory factor analyses (study 1) and correlational analyses (studies 1 and 2).DesignCross-sectional with self-reported questionnaires.ResultsIn study 1, the 4-factor structure of the PANAS-D (intensity and direction of positive affect and negative affect) fitted the data adequately. Multiple-group CFAs showed that PANAS-D was partially invariant across the two measurement occasions (before and after competition). The patterns of relationships between PANAS-D, attainment of achievement goals and coping provided evidence for the criterion-related validity of the PANAS-D. In study 2, direction of positive affect and negative affect were associated with selected outcomes (i.e., coping, attainment of sport achievement goals, and/or sport satisfaction) after intensity of these affective states were held constant.ConclusionsThis study provided support for the reliability and validity of the PANAS-D (study 1) and the incremental validity of the direction of affective states (study 2), supporting the distinction between athletes' intensity and direction of affective states.     

普通高校大学生综合国防素质的量表编制

本研究通过初始问卷编制、项目分析、探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析等程序,编制普通高校大学生综合国防素质量表,并进行了相关实证测量。结果显示,量表有8个维度共35个题项。量表的α系数和重测信度均符合心理测量学指标要求,具有良好的结构效度、聚敛区分效度与校标关联效度,可用于大学生综合国防素质的测量。测量结果发现,大学生综合国防素质总体处于中等偏上水平,且存在显著的性别差异与年级差异。     

When the “Charm of Three” Fades: Mental Imagery Moderates the Impact of the Number of Ad Claims on Persuasion

Given the prevalence of imagery appeals in today’s marketplace, the current research studies the role of mental imagery in how consumers process and react to advertisements with different numbers of ad claims. Past research has proposed “three” as the magical number of ad claims that maximizes persuasion, with more than three ad claims increasing skepticism and reducing evaluation. In the current research, we replicate this so-called “charm of three” effect, but only when consumers do not engage in mental imagery; when they do, however, we find that the effect is moderated, in that more ad claims beyond three produces more favorable product evaluation. Additionally, we provide evidence that the moderating effect of mental imagery is driven by transportation and skepticism toward the ad claims, with mental imagery increasing transportation and decreasing skepticism when there are more than three ad claims. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the “charm of three” effect, its boundary conditions, and underlying mechanism.     

Cross-cultural validation of the positivity-scale in five European countries

The aim of the present paper was to test the cross-cultural validity of the Positivity-Scale (P-Scale), a new questionnaire designed for the measurement of positivity (i.e., general tendency to evaluate self, life, and future in a positive way). Participants (N = 3544) from Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, and Serbia answered eight items of the P-Scale and responded to items from other well-validated measures. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the assumed one-factor structure of the P-Scale and demonstrated its gender invariance in each country and cross-cultural validity. Correlation analyses revealed significant and positive associations of the P-Scale with self-esteem, life satisfaction, optimism, and a latent factor variable of positivity, and a negative relation to depression. The findings provided support for the convergent validity of the P-Scale across countries. Possible applications of the P-Scale are suggested. Implications for further research on conditions and outcomes of positivity in different cultural contexts are discussed.     

Criterion Validity is Maintained When Items are Evaluatively Neutralized: Evidence from a Full‐scale Five‐factor Model Inventory

The original version and an evaluatively neutralized version (with items rephrased to reduce popularity) of a personality inventory were compared. The results revealed (i) similar criterion validity across three different sets of self‐rated behaviours, (ii) stronger relations to the rated social desirability of criteria for the original version and (iii) less correlation between factors for the neutralized version. We take the results to indicate that evaluative neutralization is a viable technique for reducing social desirability in self‐ratings. Implications for test construction are discussed. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

中文版一般自我效能量表的信度和效度检验

该研究以山东省610名高中生为被试,检验了中文版一般自我效能量表（GSES）的信度和效度.结果表明：（1）中文版GSES的有些项目,区分度不高;（2）中文版GSES具有较高的内部一致性信度与分半信度,但重测信度不高;（3）中文版GSES的单维度性没有得到证实;（4）中文版GSES不具有很好的预测效度.     

One-year temporal stability and predictive and incremental validity of the Body,Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among college women

This study examined the one-year temporal stability and the predictive and incremental validity of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Measure (BEECOM) in a sample of 237 college women who completed study measures at two time points about one year apart. One-year temporal stability was high for the BEECOM total and subscale (i.e., Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation) scores. Additionally, the BEECOM exhibited predictive validity in that it accounted for variance in body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomatology one year later. These findings held even after controlling for body mass index and existing measures of social comparison orientation. However, results regarding the incremental validity of the BEECOM, or its ability to predict change in these constructs over time, were more mixed. Overall, this study demonstrated additional psychometric properties of the BEECOM among college women, further establishing the usefulness of this measure for more comprehensively assessing eating disorder-related social comparison.