The study was designed to develop and evaluate the Early Childhood Generalized Trust Belief Scale (ECGTBS) as a method of assessing 5-8-year-olds' generalized trust. Two hundred and eleven (103 male and 108 female) children (mean age 6 years and 2 months at Time 1) completed the ECGTBS twice over a year. A subsample of participants completed the…

The authors build on literature related to the development of epistemic cognition, research on historical thinking, and studies of individuals' epistemic beliefs. They designed this study to explore, develop, and test a measure of epistemic cognition in history. They administered the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching History Questionnaire to…

Recently, within the field of special education, attention has been accorded to the conceptualization and measurement of family outcomes. The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scale is an instrument that can be used to measure family outcomes for families who have children with disabilities, and it has been demonstrated to have psychometric validity.…

Background: Negative trauma-related cognitions have been found to be a significant factor in the maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Initial studies of such appraisals in trauma-exposed children and adolescents suggest that this is an important line of research in youth, yet empirically validated measures for use with…

Any organization that is able to promote the importance of increased levels of social capital and individuals who can leverage and use the resources that exist within the network may experience higher levels of performance. This study sought to add to our knowledge about individuals' accessing social resources for the purpose of accomplishing…

Objective: To assess psychometric properties of the Commitment to Physical Activity Scale (CPAS). Methods: Girls in third to fifth grades (n = 932) completed the CPAS before and after a physical activity intervention. Psychometric measures included internal consistency, factor analysis, and concurrent validity. Results: Three CPAS factors emerged:…

Substantial evidence exists for 3- and 4-factor models of psychopathy underlying patterns of covariation among the items of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in diverse adult samples. Although initial studies conducted with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) indicated reasonable fit for these models in incarcerated male…

Using data from the standardization sample of the "Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning--Third Edition" (DIAL-3), this study compared the usefulness of an empirically derived factor structure introduced by Anthony, Assel, and Williams with the author's theoretical conceptualization. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs)…

This study uses a new measure to examine how different types of reasons for cohabitation are associated with individual well-being and relationship quality in a sample of 120 cohabiting heterosexual couples (N = 240). Spending more time together and convenience are the most strongly endorsed reasons. The degree to which individuals report…

This study explores the longitudinal and subgroup measurement properties of a 10-item, physical activity decisional balance scale, previously published by Plotnikoff, Blanchard, Hotz, and Rhodes (2001), within a diabetic sample of Canadian adults. Results indicated that a three-factor measurement model consistently improved model fit compared to…

The current business environment requires various communication skills to succeed. The skills include the use of a number of technologies that were not available 20 years ago. For this research, students were required to complete a project with students not in their own class using alternative communication methods. A questionnaire was…

During the past 2 decades the provision of basic education courses in public 4-year universities has been scrutinized and debated by state officials, higher education executives, educators and the public. This cross-sectional study examined academic and psychosocial characteristics of entering fall 2008 students in relation to their persistence at…

Demands for enhanced accountability and effectiveness in higher education have also affected athletic departments, requiring a more cost-efficient managerial approach to the administration of athletic facilities, especially arenas. The purpose of this study was to examine athletic directors' perceptions towards the arena management models they…

Student motivation is an important topic in teacher education and educational psychology. Although there is considerable research on what influences student motivation there seems to be a disconnect between theory and practice. One potential reason for this disconnect may be due to underlying beliefs about motivation. This dissertation attempts to…

Elementary school age children engage in levels of physical activity that are well below recommended guidelines. It has been suggested that classroom teachers can assist in remedying the problem by providing physical activity breaks and physical activity embedded in instruction. This study utilized the instrument, Physical Activity in the…