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Psychological research often builds on between-group comparisons of (measurements of) latent variables; for instance, to evaluate cross-cultural differences in neuroticism or mindfulness. A critical assumption in such comparative research is that the same latent variable(s) are measured in exactly the same way across all groups (i.e., measurement invariance). Otherwise, one would be comparing apples and oranges. Nowadays, measurement invariance is often tested across a large number of groups by means of multigroup factor analysis. When the assumption is untenable, one may compare group-specific measurement models to pinpoint sources of noninvariance, but the number of pairwise comparisons exponentially increases with the number of groups. This makes it hard to unravel invariances from noninvariances and for which groups they apply, and it elevates the chances of falsely detecting noninvariance. An intuitive solution is clustering the groups into a few clusters based on the measurement model parameters. Therefore, we present mixture multigroup factor analysis (MMG-FA) which clusters the groups according to a specific level of measurement invariance. Specifically, in this article, clusters of groups with metric invariance (i.e., equal factor loadings) are obtained by making the loadings cluster-specific, whereas other parameters (i.e., intercepts, factor (co)variances, residual variances) are still allowed to differ between groups within a cluster. MMG-FA was found to perform well in an extensive simulation study, but a larger sample size within groups is required for recovering more subtle loading differences. Its empirical value is illustrated for data on the social value of emotions and data on emotional acculturation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). ispartof: Psychological Methods vol:27 issue:3 pages:281-306 ispartof: location:United States status: published

The Action Control Scale (ACS-90) measures action-state orientation (ASO), which describes individual differences in volitional processes such as goal initiation and maintenance. In this study, we examine psychometric properties of a Turkish translation of the ACS-90 (ACS-T). Moreover, we extend past research by investigating the relationship between ASO and emotional labor measured as a trait and a state construct. We conducted four studies to address our aims. Study 1 (N = 569) shows that the revised 23-item ACS-T with three factors (preoccupation, hesitation, and volatility) provides a good fit to the data and displays acceptable reliability. Study 2 (N = 377) confirms the factor structure of the 23-item ACS-T and provides evidence for construct validity. Study 3 (N = 159) shows that the hesitation subscale negatively predicts trait surface acting. Study 4 (N = 74, daily responses = 231) indicates that the preoccupation and hesitation subscales negatively predict state surface acting. Altogether, the results show that the 23-item three-factor ACS-T displays good psychometric qualities in Turkish samples and that ASO is relevant to emotional labor research., Ege University Planning and Monitoring Coordination of Organizational Development and Directorate of Library and Documentation, We are grateful to Ege University Planning and Monitoring Coordination of Organizational Development and Directorate of Library and Documentation for their support in editing and proofreading service of this study.

Loneliness affects well-being and has long-term negative impacts on physical and mental health, educational outcomes, and employability. Because of those current and long-term impacts, loneliness is a significant issue for which we need reliable and appropriate measurement scales. In the current paper, psychometric properties of the eight most commonly used loneliness scales are reviewed both descriptively and meta-analytically. Results suggest that for many of the scales, the psychometric properties are promising. However, for some psychometric features, especially test-retest reliability and measurement invariance, evidence is rather scarce. Most striking, however, is the fact that all of the scales included items that do not measure loneliness. Surprisingly, for many (sub)scales, this was even the case for about half of the items. Because our measures are the foundation of our research work, it is crucial to improve the way loneliness is being measured. ispartof: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH vol:19 issue:17 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published

Measurement properties of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and its various translations and adaptations for specific target groups have been investigated for over 30 years. No systematic review analyzing studies on measurement properties of the WAI has been conducted to date. COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurements INstruments (COSMIN) were developed for conducting high-quality systematic reviews on measurement properties in a transparent and standardized way. Aim of this study was to systematically review studies on measurement properties of the WAI, and its adapted versions, within psychotherapy, and other healthcare contexts using COSMIN criteria. PsycINFO, Medline, and EMBASE were searched (1989-2021). In all phases of the review procedure, study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, rating of the quality of measurement properties, and rating of the quality of evidence for measurement properties, disagreement between reviewers was resolved by discussion. Results on validity, internal structure, reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness were analyzed. In total 66 studies were included. In most studies, evidence for measurement properties was according to COSMIN criteria, insufficient, lacking, or conflicting. Content validity was rated insufficient because neither patients nor healthcare professionals were involved in the development and validation process. Hence evidence for content validity of the WAI is unknown. Conflicting evidence was found for structural validity. Evidence for internal consistency could not be established. Limited evidence was found for inter-rater reliability and convergent validity. Conflicting evidence was also found for test-retest reliability and divergent validity. COSMIN criteria exposed persistent problems in validation studies of the WAI. These findings may indicate that measurement properties of the WAI are not up to current standards, or that COSMIN criteria may be less appropriate for assessing measurement properties of the WAI, or it could indicate both. The results of this systematic review suggest that WAI outcomes should be interpreted with caution and further research is needed regarding the content validity and hypotheses development. For the future, the theoretical framework underlying the measurement of the working alliance needs to be studied in psychotherapy and other health contexts, and tested in methodologically sound studies.

Measurement properties of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and its various translations and adaptations for specific target groups have been investigated for over 30 years. No systematic review analyzing studies on measurement properties of the WAI has been conducted to date. COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurements INstruments (COSMIN) were developed for conducting high-quality systematic reviews on measurement properties in a transparent and standardized way. Aim of this study was to systematically review studies on measurement properties of the WAI, and its adapted versions, within psychotherapy, and other healthcare contexts using COSMIN criteria. PsycINFO, Medline, and EMBASE were searched (1989–2021). In all phases of the review procedure, study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, rating of the quality of measurement properties, and rating of the quality of evidence for measurement properties, disagreement between reviewers was resolved by discussion. Results on validity, internal structure, reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness were analyzed. In total 66 studies were included. In most studies, evidence for measurement properties was according to COSMIN criteria, insufficient, lacking, or conflicting. Content validity was rated insufficient because neither patients nor healthcare professionals were involved in the development and validation process. Hence evidence for content validity of the WAI is unknown. Conflicting evidence was found for structural validity. Evidence for internal consistency could not be established. Limited evidence was found for inter-rater reliability and convergent validity. Conflicting evidence was also found for test-retest reliability and divergent validity. COSMIN criteria exposed persistent problems in validation studies of the WAI. These findings may indicate that measurement properties of the WAI are not up to current standards, or that COSMIN criteria may be less appropriate for assessing measurement properties of the WAI, or it could indicate both. The results of this systematic review suggest that WAI outcomes should be interpreted with caution and further research is needed regarding the content validity and hypotheses development. For the future, the theoretical framework underlying the measurement of the working alliance needs to be studied in psychotherapy and other health contexts, and tested in methodologically sound studies.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42019051428.

The Need to Belong concept encompasses the need for inclusion and the discomfort with exclusion. The Need to Belong Scale of Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, and Schreindorfer (2013, p. 610), however, primarily probes into the discomfort aspect, and it does not distinguish between relational and collective self-levels. Two studies (total N = 429) provided evidence of the reliability, distinctiveness, and validity of the newly developed Need for Inclusion scale. The results revealed that Relational Need for Inclusion positively contributes to psychological well-being and negatively to ill-being. Collective Need for Inclusion was distinctively related to collective and group-level outcomes of self, such as social trust and collective self-esteem. Need to Belong yielded a reversed pattern of results for the studied outcomes. It is concluded that inclusion needs and discomfort with exclusion are positively related but clearly distinct, and that future studies should investigate their joint effects in a single research design.

Objectives. The current study assessed the role of hypervigilance for bodily sensations in the back in long term low back pain (LBP) problems. Methods. People with chronic low back pain (CLBP), recurrent low back pain (RLBP), and no LBP were compared on the extent to which they attended to somatosensory stimuli on the back during a movement task. To measure hypervigilance, somatosensory event-related potentials (SEP) to task-irrelevant tactile stimuli on the back were measured when preparing movements in either a threatening or a neutral condition, indicated by a cue signaling possible pain on the back during movement or not. Results. Results showed stronger attending to stimuli on the back in the threat condition than in the neutral condition, as reflected by increased amplitude of the N96 SEP. However, this effect did not differ between groups. The CLBP group showed a larger P171 SEP than the other groups, but this effect was not dependent upon condition, suggesting a more general state of arousal resulting in increased somatosensory responsiveness. No significant associations were found between somatosensory attending to the back and theorized antecedents such as pain catastrophizing, pain-related fear and pain vigilance. Discussion. The current study confirmed that individuals preparing a movement attended more towards somatosensory stimuli at the lower back when anticipating back pain during the movement, as measured by the N96 SEP. However, no differences were found for this component between participants suffering from CLBP or RLBP, or the healthy controls.

The aim of this study was to develop a scale instrument for measuring academic intellectual capital in the Turkish higher education context depending on student perceptions. The sample consisted of students of higher education institutions in the 2020-2021 academic year. Data were gathered in two stages. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted in the first stage and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted in the second stage. The EFA sample consisted of 538 students studying in 96 higher education institutions while the CFA sample consisted of 492 students studying in 112 higher education institutions. Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) extraction and Promax rotation methods were used in EFA. Results of EFA showed that the scale had a three-factor structure with 20 items. The three-factor structure was confirmed with CFA. Cronbach’s alpha, stratified alpha, Composite Reliability and McDonald’s omega were calculated in order to determine the reliability of the scores obtained from the scale. Item discrimination was verified by calculating item-total correlation and item-remainder correlation. Also, t-test was carried out between upper and lower 27% to check item discrimination. Analyses were conducted making use of R (ver. 4.1.2) and RStudio (ver. 2021.09.1 build 372). Overall, results showed that the structure of Academic Intellectual Capital Scale was valid. The measurement tool was concluded to have three factors and 20 items, all in affirmative form.

This research investigated the construct and criterion validity of the English version of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS) within the South African financial services context ( n = 345). A quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional design was utilized to determine the psychometric properties of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS-10). Confirmatory factor analysis was used with a latent variable modeling approach for the construct validity and a structural path model for criterion validity. One of the working compulsively items did not perform well and was omitted to establish a 9-item scale. Additionally, due to problematic discriminant validity between the working compulsively and working excessively factors, the results did not corroborate the expected two-factor structure. However, a revised second-order structure of the DUWAS showed an acceptable fit to the data indicating that an overall workaholism score is appropriate in this context. Furthermore, the results showed that workaholism had positive relationships with work overload, work hours, and burnout but negatively related to work engagement and organizational commitment. All in all, evidence suggested that an adapted 9-item version of the DUWAS performed well.

The Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM) is an action-based tool that supports professionals to engage in a biopsychosocial assessment with patients and measure their needs. It is a promising tool for person-centered care. As the Netherlands lacks such a tool, a Dutch version was developed. Furthermore, we aimed to contribute to the relatively limited insights into the psychometric properties and value of the tool when used as part of a needs assessment in primary care. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to study construct validity and Cronbach’s alpha was computed to assess reliability. Furthermore, we interviewed 15 primary care professionals who used the PCAM. It was confirmed that each PCAM domain measures a separate construct, informed by the biopsychosocial model. The tool showed adequate reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83). Despite face validity concerns, the tool was mainly valued for measurement of patient needs and to facilitate action planning. Criticism of the PCAM pertained to a limited focus on the patient perspective, which is one of the crucial aspects of person-centered care. These rich, mixed-method insights can help to improve the value of the PCAM, as one of the few multifunctional tools to support professionals in holistic assessments.

© 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Multigroup exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has gained popularity to address measurement invariance for two reasons. Firstly, repeatedly respecifying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models strongly capitalizes on chance and using EFA as a precursor works better. Secondly, the fixed zero loadings of CFA are often too restrictive. In multigroup EFA, factor loading invariance is rejected if the fit decreases significantly when fixing the loadings to be equal across groups. To locate the precise factor loading non-invariances by means of hypothesis testing, the factors’ rotational freedom needs to be resolved per group. In the literature, a solution exists for identifying optimal rotations for one group or invariant loadings across groups. Building on this, we present multigroup factor rotation (MGFR) for identifying loading non-invariances. Specifically, MGFR rotates group-specific loadings both to simple structure and between-group agreement, while disentangling loading differences from differences in the structural model (i.e., factor (co)variances). ispartof: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING-A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL vol:26 issue:6 pages:905-923 status: published

Purpose The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment (Achilles tendon—VISA-A, greater trochanteric pain syndrome—VISA-G, proximal hamstring tendinopathy—VISA-H, patellar tendon—VISA-P) questionnaires are widely used in research and clinical practice; however, no systematic reviews have formally evaluated their content, structural, and cross-cultural validity evidence. The measurement properties referring to content, structural and cross-cultural validity of the VISA questionnaires were appraised and synthesized. Methods The systematic review was conducted according to Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) methodology. PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, SportsDiscus, grey literature, and reference lists were searched. Development studies and cross-cultural adaptations (12 languages) assessing content or structural validity of the VISA questionnaires were included and two reviewers assessed their methodological quality. Evidence for content (relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility), structural, and cross-cultural validity was synthesized. A modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was applied to evidence synthesis. Results The VISA-A presented very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance, insufficient comprehensiveness, and inconsistent comprehensibility. VISA-G displayed moderate-quality evidence for sufficient comprehensibility and very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance and comprehensiveness. The VISA-P presented very-low-quality evidence of sufficient relevance, insufficient comprehensiveness, and inconsistent comprehensibility, while VISA-H presented very-low evidence of insufficient content validity. VISA-A displayed low-quality evidence for structural validity concerning unidimensionality and internal structure, while VISA-H presented low-quality evidence of insufficient unidimensionality. The structural validity of VISA-G and VISA-P were indeterminate and inconsistent, respectively. Internal consistency for VISA-G, VISA-H, and VISA-P was indeterminate. No studies evaluated cross-cultural validity, while measurement invariance across sexes was assessed in one study. Conclusions Only very-low-quality evidence exists for the content and structural validity of VISA questionnaires when assessing the severity of symptoms and disability in patients with lower limb tendinopathies. Level of evidence IV. Registration PROSPERO reference—CRD42019126595.Other Information Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00167-021-06598-5

Purpose This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Body Understanding Measure for Pregnancy scale by adapting it to Turkish society. Design and methods This methodological study was conducted with 265 pregnant women. Findings We performed exploratory factor analysis and determined that the scale consists of 17 items and 2 subdimensions. The two-factor structure was confirmed as a result of the confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was 0.87. Practise implications The Body Understanding Measure for Pregnancy scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool for measuring the body satisfaction of pregnant women for Turkish society.

Introduction To make valid comparisons across groups, a measurement instrument needs to be measurement invariant across those groups. The present study evaluates measurement invariance for experience of violence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods We used survey data collected from 1,081 AGYW aged 15–22 years from two Nairobi’s informal settlements of Korogocho (n = 617) and Viwandani (n = 464) in 2017 through DREAMS (an initiative aimed at reducing HIV incidence among AGYW with a core package of evidence-based interventions) impact evaluation project. Experience of violence was measured using the 15-item WHO’s violence against women instrument, and factorial (non)invariance assessed within exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) framework. Cross-group measurement invariance was assessed using Bayesian Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model across site, age groups, self-reported invitation to participate in DREAMS, marital status, currently in school, education level, religion, ethnic groups, ever had sex, slept hungry at night past 4 weeks, and wealth index. Results The mean and median ages of the AGYW were 17.9 years and 17 years, respectively. About 59% reported having had sex and 58% of AGYW were in school. The percentage reporting each act of violence varied from 1.6% (“attacked you with a weapon”) to 26.5% (“insult you or make you feel bad about yourself”). About 44% (n = 474) of participants experienced ≥1 acts of violence, and 2.7% (n = 29) experienced at least half of the 15 acts. The structure underlying the 15 items was configurally similar to that proposed by WHO, with three factors reflecting either psychological, physical, or sexual violence. Noninvariance was detected for five items—spread across the three domains. Three of five items showed noninvariance only for sleeping hungry at night in the past 4 weeks. As the majority of items did not show evidence of noninvariance, differences in latent mean scores likely reflect actual differences and may not be attributable to measurement artifacts. Conclusions Using state-of-the-art statistical techniques on a widely used instrument for measuring exposure to violence among women, this study provides support for the subscales of psychological, physical and sexual violence in a Kenyan AGYW population. The instrument supports comparisons across groups within this population. This is crucial when comparing violence against girls/women prevalence rates and to understand challenges and exchange strategies to reduce abuse or violence experienced by AGYW, or women in general.

The Dirty Dozen (Jonason & Webster, 2010) is a frequently used concise version of the Dark Triad to measure three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism. The present study has examined measurement invariance in a sample of Belgian adults. The present study aims to assess measurement invariance of the Dutch version of the Dirty Dozen measure across gender in a large city-based representative adult sample in Belgium (N = 1587). Multi-group first order confirmatory factor analysis for categorical indicators was utilized. In addition, unique associations between Dirty Dozen traits, trait self-control and, acceptance of illegitimate norms were examined in a series of structural equation models. Results indicated that the internal consistency of the Dirty Dozen subscales was good for Machiavellianism (alpha = 0.80) and narcissism (alpha = 0.80), but modest for psychopathy (alpha = 0.64). The hypothesized three correlated factors model with separate factors for Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism provided a poor fit for men and women. Invariance testing across gender showed evidence for weak invariance only, indicating that the underlying latent factors are measured the same way with the same metric in the two populations. However, we were not able to establish strong measurement invariance. Observed group differences should be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were strongly associated with trait self-control in both men and women. Strong correlations were found between acceptance of illegitimate norms and Dirty Dozen traits, Machiavellianism and, psychopathy, but not with narcissism.

In social sciences, the study of group differences concerning latent constructs is ubiquitous. These constructs are generally measured by means of scales composed of ordinal items. In order to compare these constructs across groups, one crucial requirement is that they are measured equivalently or, in technical jargon, that measurement invariance holds across the groups. This study compared the performance of multiple group categorical confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CCFA) and multiple group item response theory (MG-IRT) in testing measurement invariance with ordinal data. A simulation study was conducted to compare the true positive rate (TPR) and false positive rate (FPR) both at the scale and at the item level for these two approaches under an invariance and a non-invariance scenario. The results of the simulation studies showed that the performance, in terms of the TPR, of MG-CCFA- and MG-IRT-based approaches mostly depends on the scale length. In fact, for long scales, the likelihood ratio test (LRT) approach, for MG-IRT, outperformed the other approaches, while, for short scales, MG-CCFA seemed to be generally preferable. In addition, the performance of MG-CCFAs fit measures, such as RMSEA and CFI, seemed to depend largely on the length of the scale, especially when MI was tested at the item level. General caution is recommended when using these measures, especially when MI is tested for each item individually. A decision flowchart, based on the results of the simulation studies, is provided to help summarizing the results and providing indications on which approach performed best and in which setting.

Exposure in vivo has been found successful in reducing pain-related fear, disability, and experienced pain in chronic pain patients. Despite the success of exposure treatment, experimental studies show that extinction learning is fragile, raising doubts whether extinction of pain-related fear generalizes to new threatening activities after treatment. This study examined whether a particular exposure treatment, in which patients are exposed to a variety of activities (Multiple Exposure condition), promotes generalization of extinction to new threatening situations, compared to an exposure treatment in which subjects are repeatedly exposed to the same set of activities (Repeated Exposure condition). Generalization tests were combined with randomized replicated single case experimental designs (N=8). Included were patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type I reporting elevated levels of pain-related fear. The Multiple Exposure treatment condition consisted of at least 15 activities to which patients were exposed once. The Repeated Exposure treatment condition exposed patients to only three activities during five sessions each. Generalization was tested by exposing patients to new fearful activities post-treatment and 6-months follow-up. Patients from both conditions performed equally well at both generalization tests. Daily measures showed that the Multiple Exposure condition is preferred to reduce fear of movement/(re)injury, pain catastrophizing and pain experience. ispartof: Behaviour Research And Therapy vol:124 ispartof: location:England status: published

In social sciences, the study of group differences concerning latent constructs is ubiquitous. These constructs are generally measured by means of scales composed of ordinal items. In order to compare these constructs across groups, one crucial requirement is that they are measured equivalently or, in technical jargon, that measurement invariance (MI) holds across the groups. This study compared the performance of scale- and item-level approaches based on multiple group categorical confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CCFA) and multiple group item response theory (MG-IRT) in testing MI with ordinal data. In general, the results of the simulation studies showed that, MG-CCFA-based approaches outperformed MG-IRT-based approaches when testing MI at the scale level, whereas, at the item level, the best performing approach depends on the tested parameter (i.e., loadings or thresholds). That is, when testing loadings equivalence, the likelihood ratio test provided the best trade-off between true positive rate and false positve rate, whereas, when testing thresholds equivalence, the chi-square test outperformed the other testing strategies. In addition, the performance of MG-CCFA's fit measures, such as RMSEA and CFI, seemed to depend largely on the length of the scale, especially when MI was tested at the item level. General caution is recommended when using these measures, especially when MI is tested for each item individually.

BackgroundThe prevalence of psychotic experiences (PEs) is higher in low-and-middle-income-countries (LAMIC) than in high-income countries (HIC). Here, we examine whether this effect is explicable by measurement bias.MethodsA community sample from 13 countries (N = 7141) was used to examine the measurement invariance (MI) of a frequently used self-report measure of PEs, the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), in LAMIC (n = 2472) and HIC (n = 4669). The CAPE measures positive (e.g. hallucinations), negative (e.g. avolition) and depressive symptoms. MI analyses were conducted with multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses.ResultsMI analyses showed similarities in the structure and understanding of the CAPE factors between LAMIC and HIC. Partial scalar invariance was found, allowing for latent score comparisons. Residual invariance was not found, indicating that sum score comparisons are biased. A comparison of latent scores before and after MI adjustment showed both overestimation (e.g. avolition, d = 0.03 into d = −0.42) and underestimation (e.g. magical thinking, d = −0.03 into d = 0.33) of PE in LAMIC relative to HIC. After adjusting the CAPE for MI, participants from LAMIC reported significantly higher levels on most CAPE factors but a significantly lower level of avolition.ConclusionPrevious studies using sum scores to compare differences across countries are likely to be biased. The direction of the bias involves both over- and underestimation of PEs in LAMIC compared to HIC. Nevertheless, the study confirms the basic finding that PEs are more frequent in LAMIC than in HIC.

Background The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II) is a self-report questionnaire that measures dissociative experiences such as derealization, depersonalization, absorption and amnesia. The DES-II has been prevalently used as a screening tool in patients suffering from psychotic disorders or schizophrenia. However, dissociative experiences can also be part of normal psychological life. Despite its popularity, the most problematic aspect of the DES-II is the inconsistency in its factor structure, which is probably due to the tendency to treat ordinal responses as responses on an interval scale, as it is assumed in the Classical Test Theory approach. In order to address issues related to the inconsistency of previous results, the aim of the present study was to collect new psychometric evidence to improve the properties of the DES-II using Rasch analysis, i.e. analyzing the functioning of the response scale. Methods Data were obtained on a sample composed by 320 Italian participants (122 inmates and 198 community-dwelling individuals) and were analyzed with the Rasch model. This model allows the estimation of participants’ level of dissociation, the degree of misfit of each item, the reliability of each item, and their measurement invariance. Moreover, Rasch estimation allows to determine the best response scale, in terms of response modalities number and their discriminant power. Results Three items of the scale had strong misfit. After their deletion, the resulting scale was composed by 25 items, which had low levels of misfit and high reliability, and showed measurement invariance. Participants tended to select more often lower categories of the response scale. Conclusions Results provided new knowledge on the DES-II structure and its psychometric properties, contributing to the understanding and measurement of the dissociation construct.

A growing pediatric and adult literature highlights the role of injustice appraisals in adjustment to pain. However, interpersonal injustice dynamics have remained largely unexplored. The present study investigated the factor structure and criterion validity of parentally adjusted versions of the Injustice Experience Questionnaire, assessing child-oriented (IEQ-Pc) and self-oriented appraisals (IEQ-Ps) in the context of child pain. Participants were triads of healthy children (N .407, M-age = 12) and both their parents and dyads of children with chronic pain (N .319, M-age = 14) and 1 parent. In both samples, children completed measures of functional disability and quality of life (physical, emotional, social, and academic); parents completed the IEQ-Pc, IEQ-Ps, and a measure of parental catastrophizing about child pain. Across samples, a confirmatory oblique two-factor model (Severity/Irreparability-Blame/Unfairness) provided a better fit to the data compared to a one-factor model; nevertheless, the two-factor solution was considered suboptimal. A post hoc exploratory factor analysis consistently revealed 1 factor. In terms of criterion validity, the IEQ-Pc and IEQ-Ps demonstrated differential associations depending on the child's pain versus healthy status, independent of parental catastrophizing. Further, findings in the healthy sample indicated that fathers' self-oriented injustice appraisals related to lower child social function. In the clinical sample, parental child-oriented injustice appraisals related to greater child functional disability and lower physical, emotional, social, and academic function. Current findings support the unique role of parental injustice appraisals, assessed by the IEQ-Pc and IEQ-Ps, in understanding child pain, but also suggest these may only partially capture the phenomenology of parental injustice appraisals in the context of child pain. Perspective: This manuscript presents an examination of the construct and criterion validity of 2 parentally adjusted versions of the Injustice Experience Questionnaire. These measures could be valuable tools for clinicians in examining how parents respond to their child's pain as it impacts both the child's life and the parents'. (C) 2020 U.S. Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In social sciences, the study of group differences concerning latent constructs is ubiquitous. These constructs are generally measured by means of scales composed of ordinal items. In order to compare these constructs across groups, one crucial requirement is that they are measured equivalently or, in technical jargon, that measurement invariance (MI) holds across the groups. This study compared the performance of scale- and item-level approaches based on multiple group categorical confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CCFA) and multiple group item response theory (MG-IRT) in testing MI with ordinal data. In general, the results of the simulation studies showed that, MG-CCFA-based approaches outperformed MG-IRT-based approaches when testing MI at the scale level, whereas, at the item level, the best performing approach depends on the tested parameter (i.e., loadings or thresholds). That is, when testing loadings equivalence, the likelihood ratio test provided the best trade-off between true positive rate and false positve rate, whereas, when testing thresholds equivalence, the chi-square test outperformed the other testing strategies. In addition, the performance of MG-CCFA's fit measures, such as RMSEA and CFI, seemed to depend largely on the length of the scale, especially when MI was tested at the item level. General caution is recommended when using these measures, especially when MI is tested for each item individually.

Abstract. The internal structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been widely discussed in the literature. The first purpose of this study was, therefore, to analyze the internal structure of the SDQ as completed by German parents and teachers. Parents and teachers of 1,135 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years in German daycare facilities were asked to complete the SDQ. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we found that the original five-factor model with added correlations between items with similar content and allowing cross-loads of reverse-worded items to the prosocial behavior factor is the model that fits the data the best. Additionally, we found significant mean differences between parents and teachers in four of the five SDQ subscales. Nevertheless, to compare the scores across both groups, it is necessary that the SDQ measures social-emotional and behavioral difficulties for both parents and teachers in the same way. Hence, the second purpose of this study was to test for measurement invariance of the SDQ across both groups. Using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA), we found that strict measurement invariance is tenable. Therefore, the observed means of the SDQ scores from parents and teachers are readily comparable and interpretable.

Psychotic experiences (PEs) are common in the general population but do not necessarily reflect a risk status if they occur in relative isolation or are not distressing. Emerging evidence suggests that PEs might be experienced as more benign for individuals from collectivistic low- and middle-income countries (LAMIC) compared with individualistic high-income countries (HIC). The aim of this study was to determine whether: (1) self-reported PEs are less distressing in community samples from LAMIC than from HIC; (2) the network of PEs is significantly less connected in a sample from LAMIC than from HIC. Adults from 8 HIC (n = 4669) and 5 LAMIC (n = 2472) were compared. The lifetime frequency of PEs and related distress were assessed with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences. We analyzed the associations of PEs with distress and country type. The interconnection of PEs was visualized by a network analysis and tested for differences in global connection strengths. The average endorsement rates of PEs were significantly higher in LAMIC than in HIC (χ2 = 1772.87, P < .01, Φcramer = 0.50). There was a universal positive correlation between higher frequency of PEs and more distress, but the distress levels controlled for frequency were significantly higher in HIC (R2 = 0.11; b = 0.26; SE = 0.01; T = 17.68; P < .001). Moreover, the network of PEs was significantly less connected in LAMIC (S = 0.40, P < .05). The findings indicate that PEs are of less clinical relevance in LAMIC compared with HIC. The universal use of current high-risk criteria might thus not be adequate without consideration of associated distress and cultural values.

Studies investigating the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) are growing rapidly. As CFT is oriented toward helping people deal with internal processes of self-to-self-relating, having instruments to measure these processes is important. The 22-item Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) has been found a useful measure. In the present study, a 14-item short form of the FSCRS (FSCRS-SF) suited to studies requiring brief measures was developed and tested in a Dutch community sample (N = 363), and cross-validated in a sample consisting of participants in a study on the effectiveness of a guided self-help compassion training (N = 243). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated acceptable to good fit of the FSCRS-SF items to a three-factor model. Findings regarding internal consistency were inconsistent, with Study 1 showing adequate internal consistency for all subscale scores and Study 2 demonstrating satisfactory internal consistency only for the reassured self (RS) subscale score. Furthermore, the results showed that the FSCRS-SF subscale scores had adequate test-retest reliability and satisfactory convergent validity estimates with theoretically related constructs. In addition, the FSCRS-SF subscale scores were found to be sensitive to changes in self-to-self relating over time. Despite mixed findings regarding its reliability requiring further investigation, the FSCRS-SF offers a valid and sensitive measure which shows promise as a complimentary shorter version to the original FSCRS suited to nonclinical populations. Given that the FSCRS is increasingly used as a process and outcome measure, further research on this short form in nonclinical and clinical populations is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record

Background The PTSD Checklist-civilian (PCL-C) is one of the most commonly used self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, however, little is known about its validity when used in pregnancy. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PCL-C as a screen for detecting PTSD symptoms among pregnant women. Methods A total of 3372 pregnant women who attended their first prenatal care visit in Lima, Peru participated in the study. We assessed the reliability of the PCL-C items using Cronbach’s alpha. Criterion validity and performance characteristics of PCL-C were assessed against an independent, blinded Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview using measures of sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. We tested construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic approaches. Results The reliability of the PCL-C was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha =0.90). ROC analysis showed that a cut-off score of 26 offered optimal discriminatory power, with a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78–0.92) and a specificity of 0.63 (95% CI: 0.62–0.65). The area under the ROC curve was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.71–0.78). A three-factor solution was extracted using exploratory factor analysis and was further complemented with three other models using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In a CFA, a three-factor model based on DSM-IV symptom structure had reasonable fit statistics with comparative fit index of 0.86 and root mean square error of approximation of 0.09. Conclusion The Spanish-language version of the PCL-C may be used as a screening tool for pregnant women. The PCL-C has good reliability, criterion validity and factorial validity. The optimal cut-off score obtained by maximizing the sensitivity and specificity should be considered cautiously; women who screened positive may require further investigation to confirm PTSD diagnosis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1304-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify individual and contextual influences on in-house safety trainers’ role orientation toward the transfer of training (TT). Design/methodology/approach The authors tested a model where felt-responsibility for TT mediates the influence of job resources (i.e. autonomy, access to resources, access to information and organizational support) on trainers’ definition of their role and where training safety climate exerts a moderator effect. Data were collected from 201 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals, all in-house safety trainers, of large public and private companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The model highlighted the mediating influence of felt-responsibility in the interplay between job resources and role orientation, the moderating influence of safety climate on the relationship of autonomy and organizational support on role definition, but not access to resources and access to information on role definition in the TT. Results suggest that how much safety trainers consider supporting the TT as a part of their overall role is affected by autonomy and organizational support through a sense of responsibility regarding training results, and these effects are influenced by the perceived importance of safety training to the organization. Research limitations/implications The study is cross-sectional and used self-reported data, meaning that causal inferences should be carefully drawn. Further studies should explore other sources of influence over felt-responsibility, for example, supervisors’ support for transfer, the relationship between how in-house safety trainers define their role in the transfer process and trainees’ effective application of their new knowledge and skills. Practical implications Companies should overtly signal the importance of safety training to in-house safety trainers because it will elicit, by reciprocity, a greater sense of personal responsibility and increased efforts concerning training success. Originality/value No previous research looked at how in-house trainers define their role in the TT, as well as the individual and contextual factors that influence their efforts toward the efficacy of training.

Worry is a common phenomenon with people who anticipate and want to be prepared for future events. Pathological worry, however, is not limited to anticipating potentially dangerous events, but it is applied to small daily events, too. This kind of worry is perceived as uncontrollable, and it is strongly associated with catastrophism. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) was developed to assess pathological worry. Despite its excellent psychometric characteristics, its internal structure is still controversial. The combination of regular and reversed items and certain methodological considerations may account for the discrepancies in the results of previous investigations. With the aim to analyze worry in Portugal and the psychometric properties of the PSWQ, for the present study, methodological options were considered in order to minimize previous problems. A sample of 558 Portuguese community participants took part in this study. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed with two independent random subsamples. The results showed the unidimensionality of PSWQ and the psychometric adequacy of both the full, 16-item version and a reduced, 11-item version (without reversed scored items). Normative data are presented, the suitability of both versions is discussed, and the authors conclude by encouraging the use of the reduced, 11-item version of the PSWQ in applied settings. Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology [SFRH/BSAB/135551/2018]

Background Parental behavior can influence how well adolescents cope with chronic pain. Previous research has largely focused on how parents negatively impact adolescent functioning. Yet more recent work suggests that parents - and particularly parental psychological flexibility - can foster better adolescent pain-related functioning. In this study we examined if parental protective responses and instructions to engage in activities in the presence of pain mediate the impact of parental psychological flexibility and acceptance of adolescent pain on adolescents' daily pain-related behavior. Method Fifty-six adolescents with chronic pain (M age = 14.5 years, 86% girls) and one of their parents (93% mothers) were recruited at initial evaluation at two pediatric pain clinics in the US. Parents completed baseline questionnaires assessing psychologically flexible parenting and acceptance of adolescent pain. Next, parents and adolescents completed a 14-day self-report diary assessing adolescent activity-avoidance and activity-engagement in the presence of pain (adolescent report), and parental protective responses and instructions for their adolescent to engage in activities (parent report). Results Psychologically flexible parenting and acceptance of adolescent pain in parents were indirectly related to lower daily adolescent activity-avoidance, via their negative association with daily parental protective responses. Positive associations also emerged between baseline psychologically flexible parenting and overall levels of adolescent activity-engagement via its negative association with overall levels of parental protectiveness across the 14-day period. Psychologically flexible parenting and parental acceptance of adolescent pain were also indirectly related to daily decreases in adolescent activity-avoidance via their association with daily increases in parental activity-engagement instructions. These baseline parental resilience factors were also positively related to overall levels of parental engagement instructions, a route via which an indirect association with both higher overall activity-engagement as well as higher overall activity-avoidance in the adolescent was observed. Conclusion Our findings suggest an (indirect) adaptive role of parental psychological flexibility on adolescent daily pain-related behavior via its impact on parental protective behavior. If our findings replicate, they would suggest that these parental behaviors could be targeted in pain treatments that include both adolescents and their parents. Future research could further examine the impact of parental instructions on pain-related behavior in adolescents with chronic pain.

ObjectiveThis study sets out to identify potential daily antecedents and consequences of pain-related activity avoidance and engagement behavior in adolescents with chronic pain.MethodsAdolescents (N = 65, Mage = 14.41) completed baseline self-reports and a diary for 14 days. Afternoon and evening reports were used to infer a network structure of within-day associations between pain intensity, pain-related fear, pain catastrophizing, affect, and pain-related activity avoidance and engagement behavior. Baseline psychological flexibility was examined as a potential resilience factor.ResultsActivity avoidance in the evening was predicted by pain-related fear and avoidance earlier that afternoon. Activity engagement was predicted by positive affect and activity engagement in the afternoon. Pain-related behavior in the afternoon was not related to subsequent changes in pain intensity, pain-related fear, pain catastrophizing, or affect. Pain-related fear in the afternoon was predictive of increased levels of pain and pain catastrophizing in the evening. Both pain-related fear and pain catastrophizing in the evening were predicted by negative affect in the afternoon. Psychological flexibility was associated with lower levels of daily activity avoidance and buffered the negative association between pain intensity and subsequent activity engagement.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into unique factors that trigger and maintain activity avoidance and engagement and into the role of psychological flexibility in pediatric pain. Future work should focus on both risk and resilience factors and examine the role of psychological flexibility in chronic pediatric pain in greater detail.

Structural models of psychopathology provide dimensional alternatives to traditional categorical classification systems. Competing models, such as the bifactor and correlated factors models, are typically compared via statistical indices to assess how well each model fits the same data. However, simulation studies have found evidence for probifactor fit index bias in several psychological research domains. The present study sought to extend this research to models of psychopathology, wherein the bifactor model has received much attention, but its susceptibility to bias is not well characterized. We used Monte Carlo simulations to examine how various model misspecifications produced fit index bias for 2 commonly used estimators, WLSMV and MLR. We simulated binary indicators to represent psychiatric diagnoses and positively skewed continuous indicators to represent symptom counts. Across combinations of estimators, indicator distributions, and misspecifications, complex patterns of bias emerged, with fit indices more often than not failing to correctly identify the correlated factors model as the data-generating model. No fit index emerged as reliably unbiased across all misspecification scenarios. Although, tests of model equivalence indicated that in one instance fit indices were not biased-they favored the bifactor model, albeit not unfairly. Overall, results suggest that comparisons of bifactor models to alternatives using fit indices may be misleading and call into question the evidentiary meaning of previous studies that identified the bifactor model as superior based on fit. We highlight the importance of comparing models based on substantive interpretability and their utility for addressing study aims, the methodological significance of model equivalence, as well as the need for implementation of statistical metrics that evaluate model quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Contains fulltext : 208527.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Several approaches exist to model interactions between latent variables. However, it is unclear how these perform when item scores are skewed and ordinal. Research on Type D personality serves as a good case study for that matter. In Study 1, we fitted a multivariate interaction model to predict depression and anxiety with Type D personality, operationalized as an interaction between its two subcomponents negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI). We constructed this interaction according to four approaches: (1) sum score product; (2) single product indicator; (3) matched product indicators; and (4) latent moderated structural equations (LMS). In Study 2, we compared these interaction models in a simulation study by assessing for each method the bias and precision of the estimated interaction effect under varying conditions. In Study 1, all methods showed a significant Type D effect on both depression and anxiety, although this effect diminished after including the NA and SI quadratic effects. Study 2 showed that the LMS approach performed best with respect to minimizing bias and maximizing power, even when item scores were ordinal and skewed. However, when latent traits were skewed LMS resulted in more false-positive conclusions, while the Matched PI approach adequately controlled the false-positive rate.

Chronic pain patients enter treatment with different problem profiles making careful assessment a necessity for more individualized treatment plans. In this cross-sectional study we assigned 320 patients entering tertiary multidisciplinary pain treatment into four categories based on whether they scored low or high on the activity and the affective pain interference dimensions of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). To determine whether this categorization system delineates issues that should be assessed further, the categories were compared with ANOVA and MANOVA analyses on three domains: variables affecting physical well-being (body mass index, exercise, substance use), psychological resources (mood), and painspecific psychological factors (pain anxiety, pain acceptance). The results indicated that subjects who scored low on both interference dimensions compared similarly in weight: mean Body Mass Index (BMI) 27.0 (SD 6.0) kg/m(2), and exercise: mean of 2.4 (SD 1.7) exercising sessions over 20 minutes per week, to the general population, had no depressive symptoms on average: mean Beck Depression Index II (BDI-II) score 11.7 (SD 7.5), and had the most favorable psychological reactions to pain relative to the other categories: mean total Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale-20 (PASS-20) score 36.4 (SD 17.9). In contrast, when interference was high on activity, more physical well-being problems were evident e.g. weight: mean BMI 31.0 (SD 7.3) kg/m(2), diminished exercise: mean of 1.5 (SD 1.6) exercising sessions per week, and avoidance behavior: mean PASS-20 Escape/Avoidance subscale 3.7 (95% CI: 1.7 to 5.8) scores higher in comparison to activity interference remaining low. With high affective interference, more depressive symptoms: mean BDI-II score 17.7 (SD 7.3), and more cognitive pain anxiety: mean PASS-20 Cognitive Anxiety subscale 2.8 (95% CI 0.7 to 4.8) scores higher in comparison to affective interference remaining low, emerged. Having high interference on both dimensions indicated accumulated risks for reduced physical well-being: mean BMI 29.9 (SD 6.1) kg/m(2), mean of 1.2 (SD 1.7) exercising sessions per week, mood problems: mean BDI-II 20.3 (SD 10.6), and negative psychological reactions to pain: mean total PASS-20 score 53.2 (18.4). The results suggest that low interference on both dimensions may allow assessment with only physician consultations, while high interference on either dimension may call attention to distinct issues to be addressed with the help of a physiotherapist or a psychologist, whereas high interference on both dimensions highlights the need for a full multidisciplinary assessment.

Objective: Chronic pain is central to Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and is predictive of impaired functioning. Whereas most work has focused on identifying psychosocial risk factors for maladaptive outcomes, we explored the idea that child and parental psychological flexibility (PF) represent resilience factors for adaptive functioning of the child. We also explored differences between general versus pain-specific PF in contributing to child outcomes. Methods: Children with JIA (8-18 years) and (one of) their parents were recruited at the department of pediatric rheumatology at the Ghent University Hospital in Belgium. They completed questionnaires assessing child and parent general and pain-specific PF and child psychosocial and emotional functioning, and disability. Results: The final sample consisted of fifty-nine children and forty-eight parents. Multiple regression analyses revealed that child PF contributed to better psychosocial functioning and less negative affect. Child pain acceptance contributed to better psychosocial functioning, lower levels of disability and lower negative affect, and also buffered against the negative influence of pain intensity on disability. Bootstrap mediation analyses demonstrated that parental (general) PF indirectly contributed to child psychosocial functioning and affect via the child’s (general) PF. Parent pain-specific PF was indirectly linked to child psychosocial functioning, disability, and negative affect via child pain acceptance. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that child and parental PF are resilience factors and show that pain acceptance buffers against the negative impact of pain intensity. Implications for psychosocial interventions that target (pain-specific) PF in children as well as in parents are discussed.

Around the developed world, the need for graduates from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is growing. Research on educational and occupational choice has traditionally focused on the cognitive skills of prospective students, and on how these determine the expected costs and benefits of study programs. Little work exists that analyzes the role of personality traits on study choice. This study investigates how personality traits relate to preferences of students for STEM studies and occupations, and to specialization choice in high school. We use a rich data set that combines administrative and survey data of Dutch secondary education students. We find that personality traits are related to both the preference that students have for STEM as the actual decision to specialize in STEM studies, but to different degrees. We identify significant relations with preference indicators for all Big Five traits, especially for Openness to Experience (positive), Extraversion and Agreeableness (both negative). The size of these relations is often larger than those between cognitive skills and STEM preferences. Personality traits are comparatively less important with respect to the actual specialization choice, for which we identify a robust (and sizable) negative relation with Extraversion, and for girls find a positive relation with Openness to Experience. The results suggest that once students have to make actual study choice decisions, they rely more on cognitive skills rather than personality traits, in contrast to their expressed preferences.