Researchers have a long-standing interest in better understanding why some students avoid challenging academic course work at the risk of harming their academic standing, whereas others are willing to pursue these types of challenges. The Academic Hardiness Scale (AHS) was developed to better understand characteristics that may differentiate these…

The aim of this study on 42 seventh graders (ages 12-13) was to determine whether and to what extent students' metacognitive level is inked to their conceptualization and performance in problem solving at school, especially science problems. This hypothesis is supported by a number of studies showing that metacognition is a factor in learning. Two…

Validation work on the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; B. J. Vandiver et al., 2000) is described in 2 studies using African American college students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis supported the presence of 6 CRIS subscales. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a 2-factor higher order model of the 6 CRIS…

General self-efficacy (GSE), individuals' belief in their ability to perform well in a variety of situations, has been the subject of increasing research attention. However, the psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity) associated with the scores on GSE measures have been criticized, which has hindered efforts to further establish the…

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factor structure of coping in mothers with high levels of life stress. In Study 1, EFA of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989) in a sample of mothers of full-term or very low…

There has been recent pressure for practitioners to consider cultural variables when implementing evidence-based interventions. Therefore, the Semistructured Interview for Consideration of Ethnic Culture in Therapy Scale (SSICECTS) was empirically developed to address this issue. First, psychometric properties of a 6-item scale were evaluated in…

Batterers with access to firearms present a serious lethal threat to their partners. The purpose of this exploratory study is to estimate the prevalence of and risk markers for gun possession among Massachusetts men enrolled in batterer intervention programs. The authors found that 1.8% of the men reported having a gun in or around their home.…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore approaches to learning in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: Computer based questionnaires are used with a sample of over 300 employees. Findings: Using a version of the Revised Approaches to Study Inventory (RASI) adapted to workforce development, the factor structure of deep, surface and…

This study addressed which, if any, contemporary fit indices are least susceptible to the bias associated with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) involving a large number of measured variables. Data were obtained from student responses from 1980 to 1990 on the Student Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instrument of H. Marsh (1987). Factor…

A recent unpublished study by B. Griesemer (1995) studied the relationship between motivation and self-efficacy for learning among 146 sixth graders. Griesemer used two instruments in that study: one to measure intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation composed of three subscales from the Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the…

A mental model is a knowledge structure composed of concepts and the relations between them. Mental models are distinct from declarative and procedural knowledge--they go beyond semantic relationships and skills acquisition and contain varied intellectual skills and knowledge. This study describes an initial investigation into the construct…

The first study described in this paper estimates the reliability of the four subscale versions of the 40-item Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), an instrument designed to measure attitudes toward learning about and using computers. It provides detailed information about the factor patterns of CAS subscales and evidence of the differential validity of…

In the early 1970s A. Constantinople wrote a seminal article that led to the development of the construct of psychological androgyny. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory is a popular measure of the construct, but the measure remains controversial. The construct validity of scores from the measure was explored using confirmatory factor analysis on data from…

The purposes of this study were to develop an instrument to measure students' attitude toward statistics (STATS), and to define the underlying dimensions that comprise the STATS. The instrument consists of 24 items. The sample included 79 male and 97 female students from the statistics classes at the College of Education and the College of…

Early intervention has shifted in focus to family centered assessment and treatment. The Comprehensive Evaluation of Family Functioning was developed to meet the need for accurate family assessment, but limited psychometric information on the measure is available. The present research investigated the psychometric properties of the CEFF with a…