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This study developed a compact scale with improved validity and reliability for assessing satisfaction with university life. We reconstructed the “Satisfaction of University Life” Scale (SoULS-21) developed by Okuda et al. (2010b), which has four subscales: Commitment to the University Life, Companionship Satisfaction, Study Satisfaction, and Absence of Anxiety. We conducted a factor analysis using student data from five universities (N=934). The results extracted 12 items with the identical four-factor structure as the SoULS-21 (SoULS-12). The SoULS-12 had high reliability. We also investigated the construct validity of the SoULS-12 by examining correlations between these four subscales and related scales, which indicated an acceptable correlation. These results supported the reliability and validity of SoULS-12 for assessing satisfaction with university life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Important to ensure scales are invariant across gender and country. • This series of papers examines a range of variables across gender and country. • Meaning of the items as well as scale structure is important across gender and country. It is important that scales that evaluate body image and related attitudes and behaviors are both reliable and valid to evaluate these constructs in different countries. This paper introduces a series of five papers that examine the measurement invariance of multiple scales for men and women across eight countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the US). The papers examined measures of: sociocultural influences (i.e., appearance-related pressures) on strategies to lose weight/increase muscle; internalization of the thin/muscular ideal; body image; personality constructs; body change strategies to increase muscles and lose weight; and eating regulation. Measurement invariance was generally well-established across the eight countries. One or more items were removed in some scales for some countries to establish invariance. Factor loadings were equivalent across countries and refined scales demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability. The most frequent difference in the scales was in the item intercepts across groups, although most item intercepts were equivalent across groups. This series of papers makes an important contribution to the body image literature by demonstrating the validity of measures of body image, disordered eating, and sociocultural factors that can be used to better understand the relationship between these variables across different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research describes efforts toward developing a valid and reliable scale used to assess science communication training effectiveness (SCTE) undertaken in conjunction with a 4-year project funded by the National Science Foundation. Results suggest that the SCTE scale possesses acceptable psychometric properties, specifically reliability and validity, with regard to responses from graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. While it cannot be concluded that the SCTE scale is the "be-all-end-all" tool, it may assist investigators in gauging success of science communication training efforts and by identifying aspects of the program that are working or that need improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three studies tested the reliability and validity of a Japanese version ot the scale that measures compassionate goals to support others' well-being and selt-image goals to construct and defend a desired seh-image. Consistent wi:h Crocker and Canevello's (2008) original English scale, the Japanese scale had a correlated two-factor stricture and showed high reliability. Study 1 found that when controlling for self-image goals, compassionate goals were associated w ith lower zero-sum thinking, lower validation-seeking, higher growth-seeking, and higher independent self-construal. Controlling for compassionate goals, sell-image goals were associated with higher validation-seeking and higher interdependent self-construal. In Studies 2 and 3, compassionate goals were associated with self-compassion and private self-consciousness to a greater extent than self-image goals, whereas self-image goals were associated with insecure attachment and with public self-consciousness to a greater extent than compassionate goals. A promotion focus and a prevention focus were moderately associated with both goals, suggesting that compassionate and self-image goals are different from these constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A marital commitment scale was created to study marital relationships of middle-aged and elderly couples. This study examined the scale's reliability and validity. A total of 840 middle-aged and elderly married participants ranged from 37 to 89 years completed the marital commitment questionnaire and answered questions regarding marital love, perception of the balance of power between spouses, and the concept of gender roles. The results showed that marital commitment consisted of: personal commitment, resigned and instrumental commitment and normative commitment. Personal commitment was highly correlated with marital love. Resigned and instrumental commitment was correlated with perception of poorly balanced of power between spouses. Normative commitment was correlated with the concept of traditional gender roles. Thus the internal consistency as well as the construct and criterion-related validity of the marital commitment scale were confirmed. Gender differences were also identified. Men scored higher on personal and normative commitment, and women scored higher on resigned and instrumental commitment. The results are discussed in terms of gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A marital love scale was created to study the marital quality of middle-aged and elderly couples, and the scale's reliability and validity were examined. In this study, 888 middle-aged and elderly married participants completed the marital love scale questionnaire as well as answering questions regarding marriage satisfaction and husband-wife communication. In all age groups, men scored higher than women on the marital love scale. The marital love score gradually increased from the middle-aged to the senior period, and like the marriage satisfaction score, the marital love score showed a U-shaped curve in the whole married life. The results also showed that the scale was highly correlated with marriage satisfaction and spousal self-disclosure. Thus, the validity and internal consistency of the marital love scale were confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wille (1996) proposed an item selection strategy which may be used to maximise, first, the internal consistency and, next, the convergent and discriminant validity of items in multi-dimensional Likert-type questionnaires or scales. In terms of his strategy, the latter aspects of validity are maximised by means of exploratory factor analyses. In this article, it is done by means of Tateneni, Mels, Cudeck and Browne’s (2001) Comprehensive Exploratory Factor Analysis (CEFA) program which implements exploratory factor analysis, but provides the advantages of standard confirmatory factor analysis (e.g., the computation of the standard errors of the rotated factor loadings and measures of “model" fit). The benefits that accrue by using this incremental approach are demonstrated in terms of Allport and Ross’ (1967) Religious Orientation Scale, a widely-used psychological instrument. Opsomming Wille (1996) het ’n itemseleksiestrategie voorgestel om eerstens die interne konsekwentheid, en tweedens die konvergente en divergente geldigheid van items in multidimensionele Likert-tipe vraelyste of skale te maksimeer. Volgens sy strategie word laasgenoemde aspekte van geldigheid deur middel van eksploratiewe faktorontledings gemaksimeer. In hierdie artikel, sal dit gedoen word deur Tateneni, Mels, Cudeck en Browne (2001) se program vir Omvattende Eksploratiewe Faktorontleding (CEFA) te gebruik, wat eksploratiewe faktorontleding aanwend, maar ook die voordele van gewone, bevestigende faktorontleding (bv., die berekening van die standaardfoute van die geroteerde faktorbeladings en indekse van modelpassing) bied. Die voordele wat spruit uit die toepassing van hierdie inkrementele benadering word gedemonstreer aan die hand van Allport en Ross (1967) se Religious Orientation Scale, ’n gewilde sielkundige meetintrument.

The article discusses the results of a study on the use of the Figure Rating Scale (FRS) to measure women's weight status. The increase in the prevalence of obesity is reported and the correlation between Body Mass Index and FRS is elaborated. Subjects of the study included mothers of children whose age ranged from 3 to 6 years old.