Examined the psychometric properties of a social competence scale for school-age children. Factor analyses identified two moderately correlated competence aspects, Prosocial Orientation and Social Initiative. Scale showed reliability across one year, and concurrent and predictive validity in interrater agreement; also corresponded with observed…

Three studies of college students (n=178, 129, and 96) evaluated the reliability and validity of the Assessment of Attributions for Career Decision-Making instrument. Factor analysis supported a three-factor structure. The instrument demonstrated adequate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct, criterion, and incremental…

This study uses 312 college students cited for under-aged drinking to replicate and validate the College Alcohol Problem Scale (CAPS). Findings demonstrate close replication in factor structure and internal consistency ratings. Subscale factors were covalidated with a measure of heavy/peak drinking. Discusses suggestions for utilizing CAPS in…

The factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was studied with a subsample of 93 bulimic women from a total sample of 110 women with eating disorders. Results suggested that the BDI appears to assess a unidimensional construct in patients with eating disorders. (SLD)

Parents of 601 children and adolescents with mental retardation rated their children on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC). Factor analysis revealed a factor structure similar to the original ABC but without the inappropriate speech factor. Analysis of subject variables revealed main effects for gender, age, and classroom assignment…

Discusses issues related to model evaluation in structural equation modeling. Supports nested model comparisons via sequential chi-square difference tests as consistent with the four-step approach to model evaluation when models of the factor analytic simultaneous equation type are entertained. (Author/SLD)

Assesses the validity and reliability of a scale of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for second language learning, and examines the relations between these types of motivation and the four orientations discussed by Clement and Kruidenier (1983). Results are discussed with reference to how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are relevant to…

Describes extensive analysis of revised eight-scale circumplex version of the Impact Message Inventory (IMI-C) across a combined sample from eight studies. Overall, IMI-C demonstrates adequate psychometric and structural properties; principal-components and multidimensional scaling analyses suggesting that the scales generally conform…

Assessed multidimensionality for six forms of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) through factor analysis. Determined that the LSAT appears to measure two different reasoning abilities: inductive and deductive. Describes the techniques used to assess dimensionality. (SLD)

Hardiness of academic self-concept was measured in 481 high school students; factor analyses were conducted. Validity and reliability of the Academic Hardiness Scale were supported, and a three-factor model emerged, depicting hardiness as a process of commitment, control, and challenge that served to buffer stressful situations. (Contains 60…

The choice of constraints used to identify a simple factor model can affect the shape of the likelihood. Specifically, under some nonzero constraints, standard errors may be inestimable even at the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE). For a broader class of nonzero constraints, symmetric normal approximations to the modal region may not be…

The present study describes the development of a short, general measure of experiential avoidance, based on a specific theoretical approach to this process. A theoretically driven iterative exploratory analysis using structural equation modeling on data from a clinical sample yielded a single factor comprising 9 items. A fully confirmatory factor…

Background: Prenatal screening for chromosomal abnormalities is routinely offered to all pregnant women who present for care by their 20th gestational week. Not all women, however, choose to undergo one of these tests, and choice of which test(s) to undergo also vary. The reasons for variation in screening test behavior have not been fully…

Research in aggressive behavior development has distinguished between proactive (i.e., intended to achieve an instrumental goal) and reactive (i.e., emitted as an emotional response to provocation) subtypes of aggression. A similar distinction has not been made with regard to prosocial behavior. In this study, subtypes of both aggressive and…

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) are widely studied components of Gray's sensitivity to reinforcement model. There is growing interest in integrating the BAS and BIS into models of risk for psychopathology, however, few measures assess BAS and BIS functioning in children. We adapted a questionnaire…