Original Photo adapted from Hansueli Kramer / CC BY
Original Photo adapted from Hansueli Kramer / CC BY
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Session Overview |
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| 9:45am - 11:15am | PA3: Clinical Assessment 1: Children and Adolescents Session Chair: Nina Krüger |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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The Anxiety Screening for Kids (ASK): A new self-report instrument to measure trait-anxiety in primary school aged children University of Hamburg, Germany; Nina.Krueger@uni-hamburg.deNina.Krueger@uni-hamburg.de
Children at primary school age are already able to provide information about their level of trait-anxiety. The self-report is an important source of information for anxieties which are not recognizable on behavioral level. However, there is a lack of instruments available in the German language in order to be able to assess heightened primary school aged children’s anxiety levels so far. This study aims to examine the test quality of the “Anxiety Screening for Kids (ASK)”. In order to define reference values and psychometric properties for the ASK 894, primary school children from northern Germany were tested, some of them repeatedly. Different quantitative methods as well as qualitative methods were applied to examine the validity of the test. Overall, the results verify the high test quality of the ASK. The given objectivity as well as satisfying up to good reliabilities and a satisfactory up to good retest reliability are to be highlighted. Furthermore, good discriminant and convergent validity as well as differential validity are given. The sensitivity to change has also been confirmed. The results characterize the ASK as an objective, reliable and valid test for measuring self-reported anxiety of primary school children.
Validity of the TAS-20 and interrelations between alexithymia and psychosocial ill-being among Finnish adolescents University of Turku, Finland; eerlaa@utu.fieerlaa@utu.fi
Alexithymia is defined as a set of cognitive-emotional deficits such as the inability to identify or express emotion and affect, as well as avoidance in coping with conflicts or articulating emotions. Due to poor affective communication, individuals with alexithymia may lack the skills to seek support from individuals around them. The first aim of this study was to validate a measurement scale (based on TAS-20 by Bagby, Parker & Taylor 1994) in order to evaluate Finnish adolescents (n =393) with alexithymia. Secondly, we aimed to study the interrelations between the adolescents' alexithymia and psychosocial ill-being (social and emotional loneliness, social anxiety, social phobia, and depression). This study was a part of a longitudinal research project focusing on the socio-emotinal well-being of Finnish school students in lower secondary school. Data was based on the self evaluations from the grades 7-9 (ages 13-15). Analyses were conducted mostly using structural equation modeling. Based on validity analyses a three-factor model (Difficulty Describing Feelings, Difficulty Identifying Feeling, Externally-Oriented Thinking) of adolescents with alexithymia was confirmed. Results showed that alexithymia was significantly interrelated with the psychosocial ill-being: alexithymic adolescents suffered more from loneliness, anxiety, social phobia, and depression, compared with the non-alexithymic subjects. Gender differences were not significant.
Asian Adolescents Depression Scale (AADS): Urdu translation and analysis of psychometric properties 1University of Luzern, Switzerland; 2University of Karachi, Pakistan; Muhammad.Rizwan@unilu.chMuhammad.Rizwan@unilu.ch
Depression is a mental illness that is prevailed in every society of the world regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, and age of habitants. There are lots of scales developed to measure the level of depression among community and clinical samples. One of newly developed measures of depression is Asian Adolescent Depression Scale (AADS; Woo, 2004) that is especially developed to measure level of depression among Asian adolescents. The Present study was designed to translated/adapt the English AADS into Urdu (National Language of Pakistan) by following back translation method. The Urdu translated version of AADS was applied with 292 adolescents in Karachi, Pakistan. The age range of participants was 13-16 (M=14.4) years. Analysis of internal consistency by Cronbach’s alpha α = .86 provided a good evidence of AADS reliability. The positive correlation of AADS was found with Depression (r=.36), Anxiety (r=.31), and Stress (r=.34) subscales of DASS-21, and negative relationship was found with MSPSS (r= -.35). The correlation (r=.77) between original and Urdu translation of the AADS is also strong. Results indicated that Urdu AADS can be confidently utilized with community samples of Pakistani adolescents.
Convergent and divergent validity of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales – 2nd edition and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire University of Coimbra, Portugal; smajor@fpce.uc.ptsmajor@fpce.uc.pt
The development of behavior rating scales specifically intended to assess preschoolers’ social-emotional behaviors has been a concern in the field of psychological assessment for quite some time. This study aims to analyze the correlations between scores on the Portuguese version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales – 2nd Edition (PKBS-2) and on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Por). The sample was composed of preschool children (n=80; 40 males, 40 femalles) assessed with both rating scales, by parents and teachers. As expected, all the PKBS-2 Social Skills scores had negative correlations with the SDQ-Por problem scores, and all the PKBS-2 Problem Behaviors scores had positive correlations with the SDQ-Por problem scores. Correlations with the SDQ-Por Prosocial Behavior score were in the opposite direction. The correlation for Problem Behaviors total scores was of .53 and .73 for parents and teachers, respectively (p˂.01). The strongest correlation was found between the PKBS-2 Opposition/Explosive subscale and the SDQ-Por Conduct Problems (r=.65, parents' ratings) and between the PKBS-2 Overactivity/Inattention subscale and the SDQ-Por Hyperactivity/Inattention (r=.79, teachers' ratings). Results confrim the constructs assessed by both instruments, reinforcing utility of the Portuguese version of the PKBS-2 as a valid tool available to assess social-emotional behaviors at preschool age.
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| 11:45am - 1:15pm | PA7: Meaning in Life and Well-Being Session Chair: Shulamith Kreitler |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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The Children's Quality of Life Questionnaire 1Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, Israel; 2Tel-Aviv University, Israel; krit@netvision.net.ilkrit@netvision.net.il
The purpose of this study was to test a measurement model of a new measure of quality of life for children and adolescents. The sample (n=3574) included males (n=1295) and females (n=1387); four age groups: 6-8 years (n=223), 9-11 years (n=1008), 12-14 years (n=949), 15 -18 years (n=539); inhabitants of small towns (n=1213), medium cities (n=1008) and big cities (n=1122; and ethnic groups (Jewish=2734; Arab=840). The Children's Quality of Life Questionnaire, administered to all participants, included 53 items, each with three response alternatives, assessing 15 scales: Functioning at school, Social functioning, Cognitive functioning, Functioning in the family, Physical state, Worries, Basic needs, Body image, Sense of Mastery, Self image, Negative feelings, Stress, Positive feelings, Fun, and Motivation. The results showed the validity of the measurement model in the Jewish sample: Chi sqare=646.605, df=75, p<.0001, chi square/DF=8.621, CFI=.988, NFI=.986, TLI=.983, RAMSEA=.053. It was confirmed in the ethnic, gender, age and residential subsamples. The scales differed significantly in rank order and standardized regression weights in the subsamples. Accordingly, the measurement model validates the questionnaire structure, and demonstrates its stability across subsamples defined in demographic terms, and is still sensitive enough to present differences in the standardized regression weights of the subsamples.
The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Psychometric properties of the Italian version University of Milano, Italy; luca.negri@unimi.itluca.negri@unimi.it
Among the instruments developed to assess meaning in life as a major component of well-being, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) measures both perceived presence of and search for meaning. The psychometric properties of the Italian version of MLQ were investigated. The moderating effect of resilient personality on the relationship between search for meaning and subjective well-being was explored. A group of 464 Italian volunteers aged 20-60 (M=39.34; SD=10.86; 254 female and 210 male) were administered MLQ, Big Five Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Short Form Health Survey. The MLQ structure was investigated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses after sample split. Internal reliability and construct validity were evaluated. Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test the moderating role of personality. Results replicated the original MLQ two factor structure (S-Bχ2(34)=65.24, p<.01; SRMR=.059; CFI=.969; TLI=.959; RMSEA=.063, 90% CI=.039/.086, p=ns), also highlighting the instrument reliability in the Italian context. Search for meaning was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower life satisfaction among non-resilient participants, but not among resilient ones. These findings provide a novel contribution to the understanding of the relationship between meaning and well-being.
Rasch analysis of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Findings from three countries 1North-West University, South Africa; 2Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; 3University of Melbourne, Australia; lusilda.schutte@nwu.ac.zalusilda.schutte@nwu.ac.za
Meaning in life has recently been positioned as a flagship indicator of well-being. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire operationalizes Steger et al.’s (2009) model of meaning in life, and involves two independent 5-item subscales: Presence and Search for Meaning. Respondents rate their degree of agreement with each item on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (absolutely untrue) to 7 (absolutely true). The sample (n =635) contained participants from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa who completed the English version of the scale. The data were analysed with Winsteps 3.81 and RUMM2030 using the Rasch rating scale model. For the Presence subscale, the only reversed-phrased item in the scale (“My life has no clear purpose”) was highlighted for possible removal, as it displayed misfit, deviation from unidimensionality, and differential item functioning among the countries. Addition of more difficult to endorse items was suggested. The items of the Search subscale was sufficiently unidimensional, locally independent and well-targeted for the sample. For both subscales, participants did not distinguish reliably among the seven response categories and a revised 4- or 5-point rating scale is suggested. Theoretical implications for understanding meaning in life and recommendations for future use of the scale are suggested.
Short scales for the assessment of accomplishment and positive relationships: Initial validation and correlative and experimental evidence for their association with well-being University of Zurich, Switzerland; f.gander@psychologie.uzh.chf.gander@psychologie.uzh.ch
In his Authentic Happiness Theory, Seligman (2002) proposed three basic orientations that lead to happiness: The life of pleasure, the life of engagement, and the life of meaning. The Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005) has been developed as a subjective measure for these three orientations. In 2011, Seligman revised his theory and added two new components; positive relationships and accomplishment. In three studies, we examine the construction and initial validation of two short scales for the assessment of the endorsement of positive relationships and accomplishment. Study 1 describes the scale construction and provides evidence for the factorial, convergent, and divergent validity in three samples (n = 233, n = 336, and n = 125). Study 2 showed that the new scales have high test-retest reliabilities over a period of 1, 3, and 6 months (r = .68 - .78). Study 3 examines the malleability of positive relationships and accomplishment in an intervention study that uses the two new scales as dependent measures. Overall, the three studies show that the new scales have satisfactory psychometric properties and possible applications are discussed.
Measuring well-being at school: Results of an initial investigation with daily diaries University of Zurich, Switzerland; l.wagner@psychologie.uzh.chl.wagner@psychologie.uzh.ch
Recently, there has been an increased focus on measuring childrens's and adolescents’ well-being at school, both as an important outcome as well as a factor that may influence school achievement. One widely accepted conceptualization of well-being at school encompasses both a cognitive (domain-specific satisfaction) and an affective component (domain-specific positive and negative affect, cf. Long, Huebner, Wedell, & Hills, 2012). In the present study, we investigate the psychometric properties of a daily measurement of well-being at school. A sample of 183 secondary school students (mean age = 14.3 years; 100 females, 83 males) completed measures of habitual school satisfaction (respective scale of the MSLSS, Huebner, 1994) and habitual positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) at school (modified from PANAVA-KS, Schallberger, 2005) as well as measures of school satisfaction and PA/NA at school that were adapted for measuring daily experiences. On five consecutive days, PA and NA were assessed each morning and each afternoon, and school satisfaction each afternoon. We will present results on the factor structure of the daily measurements, their reliability, their variability within and between persons, as well as within and between classrooms, and on their relationships with habitual well-being at school. Implications for further research will be discussed.
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| 4:30pm - 6:00pm | PA10: Cross-Cultural Assessment and Adaptation Session Chair: Isabel Benítez Baena |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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The assessment of bias between groups from different cultures speaking the same language 1University of Granada, Spain; 2Tilburg University, The Netherlands; 3University of Queensland, Australia; 4North-West University, South Africa; ibenitez@ugr.esibenitez@ugr.es
Numerous studies have been conducted aimed at discovering sources of bias in cross-cultural research. Translation issues have been targeted as one of the most impacting sources when developing different linguistic versions of tests and questionnaires. However, little is not known about sources of bias when groups involved are sharing the language. The aim of the study is to identify and investigate sources of bias when comparing groups from different cultures speaking the same language. Spanish speakers from Spain, Colombia and Mexico responded to “Quality of Life” (QoL) scales in their respective countries. In addition, immigrants with Spanish as mother tongue living in Spain also took part in the study. Responses to QoL scales were compared and inquired by conducting qualitative procedures with some of participants from those different groups. Results were integrated and conclusions about sources of bias are formulated in terms of cultural issues provoking differences between groups and elements of bias maintained and neutralized when living or not in the same country.
Exploring the relationship between the Greek taxonomic study and the HEXACO personality structure in a Greek population sample 1Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Greece,; 2University of Crete, Greece; christthomad@gmail.comchristthomad@gmail.com
The study of personality has received an increased research discussion within the Big Five domain and how personality domains can be summarized and explained within this era. However, recent studies have brought up a newer, more representative structure called the HEXACO, which consists of six rather than five dimensions. Under this perspective, the aim of this study was to explore the emergence of the HEXACO personality model in the Greek culture. Using the initial Greek taxonomic work by Saucier et al., (2005), we attempted to identify whether the HEXACO model could be replicated. The sample consisted of 3400 individuals candidates (ages 18-21 years old) for the Greek Military academies, also refered to as young cadets. Adopting modern psychometric techniques (i.e. EFA and CFA) we found that a six-factor solution best represents the data from the Greek sample. The results from this analysis suggest that this six-dimensional structure of personality is similar to the HEXACO model verified in other cultures. The results from this analysis could help both practitioners and researchers to assess personality characteristics in a variety of organizational settings using a comprehensive theoretical framework.
Psychological distress among low-income U.S.- and foreign-born women of Mexican descent: Impact of acculturation 1University of Illinois, USA; 2Tulane University, USA; 3Boston College, USA; venerab@illinois.eduvenerab@illinois.edu
After testing the capacity of Kessler’s psychological distress (K6) scale to measure equally across low-income Mexican-born women and U.S.-born women of Mexican descent, this study assessed the impact of acculturation on this group’s psychological distress. Using the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2007, we involved 1,138 low-income Mexican women, 319 born in U.S. and 819 born in Mexico. We employed descriptive and confirmatory factor analyses to test the cross-cultural equivalence of K6. Multivariate and logistic regression were used to test the association between acculturation and psychological distress among all participants. The key statistics which determined the cross-cultural equivalence of K6 were χ2 (>0.05), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) (<0.05), Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) and Comparative Fit Index (> .90). The cross-cultural equivalence analysis demonstrated that some of the scale’s items had the capacity to measure psychological distress equally among participants. Regression indicated that the more acculturated these women became, the greater their psychological distress.The study recommends that researchers emphasize the cross-cultural equivalence of their measures and suggests a heightened awareness among practitioners of the multidimensional impact of acculturation on well-being of their clients.
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| 9:45am - 11:15am | PA13: Personality Session Chair: Eva Schürch |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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How to measure narcissism – An ongoing discussion University of Bern, Switzerland; eva.schuerch@psy.unibe.cheva.schuerch@psy.unibe.ch
Over the last decades, research on narcissism was dominated with a focus on grandiose narcissism as measured by the NPI (Raskin & Terry, 1988), however, recent discussions emphasize the broad range of manifestations of narcissism, in particular more vulnerable aspects. As a result, new questionnaires were developed to cover the full range of these aspects. One example is the Pathological Narcissism Scale (PNI, Pincus et al. 2009), a 52 item questionnaire with seven subscales covering both grandiose and vulnerable aspects. Validation studies show that narcissism as measured with the PNI differs substantially from narcissism as measured with the NPI. Moreover, a discussion concerning the composition of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism has evolved from these data. In our study we demonstrate how scores on narcissism and narcissism subtypes are associated with a broad variety of personality and clinical measures. In a sample of 1837 participants (1240 female, 597 male; mean age 26.8 years) we investigated the correlation patterns of both PNI and NPI subscales with constructs like FFM, aggression, emotions, clinical symptoms, and well-being. Results show that the assignment of subscales to grandiose and vulnerable subtypes are not unambiguous. We therefore conclude that the decision of how to measure narcissism needs further investigation.
Social Responsibility Scale (SRS-37): A psychodiagnostic measurement tool tested for reliability, validity, and its standardisation 1Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Ukraine; 2National Technical University of Ukraine "KPI", Ukraine; 3University of Indiana, USA; olenakovalchuk@gmail.comolenakovalchuk@gmail.com
A 37-item tool to measure social responsibility was developed from questionnaires filled out by students at the National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI” (n = 311, age 19-24). In designing this questionnaire we summarized the theoretical and empirical studies of Ukrainian and foreign authors (Savchin, 2008; Kocharyan, 2010; Dementiy, 2001; Sakharova, 2003; Salkovskis et al., 2000; Gough, McClosky, Meehl, 1957; Berkowitz, Lutterman; 1968; Rotter, 1966; Kohlberg, 1964) to outline its phenomenological field. For psychometrics testing the questionnaire, we used procedures such as factor structure reconstruction, reliability, criterion validity, construct validity and standardization. Factor analysis showed five components of social responsibility, i.e. civil consciousness, law-abiding ability, reflection of the action results, moral consciousness, and altruism. The tool was developed having adequate reliability and validity for the specification of group trends and differences and it meets all main requirements for good psychological scales that are discriminatory power, reliability, validity, and standardization (H. Coolican, 2009). The implications of the scale analysis were discussed, and its limitations were recognized.
Non-verbal personality assessment with 10 cartoon-like portrayals 1Veryday, Sweden; 2University of Gothenburg, Sweden; 3University College West, Sweden; 4University College of Skovde, Sweden; magnus.roos@cfk.gu.semagnus.roos@cfk.gu.se
This paper describes a non-verbal personality assessment that consists of 10 cartoon-like portrayals, one for each factor in the five-factor model of personality and their counterparts (i.e. open-minded, conscientious, extravert, agreeable, and neurotic; versus close-minded, impulsive, introvert, antagonistic, and emotionally stable). The assessment has been constructed in collaboration with graphic designers at an international top-ranking design and innovation agency, Veryday. Unlike existing personality assessments, this assessment is developed for interviews and combines the respondent´s perceived self and ideal self rather than only focusing on the respondent´s self-reported perceived self. The aim of the assessment is to provide insight into gaps that reside in incongruity between the respondent´s perceived self and ideal self and thereafter focusing the interview on how to bridge the gap(s). The portrayals have been validated through 156 undergraduate students at Stockholm University. The content validity was verified via tag clouds of top-of-mind words and the criterion validity was verified via the verbal assessment criterion, HP5i. The preliminary analyses are promising in terms of reshaping and adjusting established personality assessments into non-verbal tools for interview settings in therapy and user-studies. However, the assessment need to be further validated and discussed with experts in the field of psychological assessments.
Fifty scales of grey? - A common analysis of dominance self-report scales Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Germany; carolin.palmer@psychol.uni-giessen.decarolin.palmer@psychol.uni-giessen.de
Dominance is proven to be an important trait for exerting influence in groups and teams (Anderson & Kilduff, 2009) and is described as a highly relevant leadership skill (Hoffman et al., 2011). In the present discussion about the relationship between dark triad personality factors (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) and leadership performance, dominant behaviour is considered, as well. Besides behavioural observations and peer-ratings, self-reports are applied very often to assess dominance. Clinical instruments exist as well as subclinical surveys, furthermore dominance is operationalised as a personality trait or as a motive. But do these various instruments converge in a joint construct of dominance? To test the internal structure of the dominance construct, items from differing dominance self-report scales have been subjected to common analysis (i. a. EFA and CFA). Moreover, additional personality traits, demographic variables, and external criteria have been collected (n = 300; students and professionals). Despite diverse backgrounds of scale construction, essentially two general factors could be identified for the dominance concept: social-oriented dominance and object-oriented dominance. Gender effects and differential validities for external criteria are discussed. Implications for future research are derived.
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| 11:45am - 1:15pm | PA17: Assessment Center and Coaching Session Chair: Nigel George Evans |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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Assessment in coaching: Trait questionnaires offering holistic approaches NEC, UK; nigel@nigel-evans.comnigel@nigel-evans.com
The use of questionnaires in coaching applications is well established and highly valued to understand the client more holistically. However many of these tools have been based on specific theories, often with a very practical application in mind, rather than direct reference to an established and robust personality framework. As such, the psychometric properties of typical coaching tools can fall well short of that expected of trait questionnaires, raising issues of sufficient breadth and depth of assessment when working with sophisticated clients in modern business and life. This session will outline the use of a number of trait tools in coaching assessment. Given that personality is made up of individual traits, coaching clients should be able to be profiled accurately from trait personality data alone, without having to use specific type or role tools. Specific case studies are drawn from international occupational databases with groups in excess of 20,000 participants. It will be shown that there are different approaches taken when using trait profiles in effective coaching interventions. Illustrations will cover data reshaping, concept modelling, and factor integration. As this data holds high psychometric properties, it gives scientific-practitioner credibility to the assessment for subsequent development initiatives within a coaching context.
Putting theory into practice – The ongoing validation of the Swiss Armed Forces’ assessment centers Military Academy at ETH Zurich, Switzerland; nadine.eggimann@milak.ethz.chnadine.eggimann@milak.ethz.ch
The Assessment Center for prospective career officers (ACABO) has been in use as a selection tool in the Swiss Armed Forces since 1996. Students who want to become career officers must pass the ACABO before they start the Bachelor Study Course at the Military Academy in Zurich. The ACABO is a classical three-day assessment center and conforms to current quality standards (International Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines, 2000; Swiss Assessment, 2010). Ongoing evaluation of an assessment center is crucial. While it is certainly important to evaluate construct validity as well as the criterion-related validity, care should also be taken to ensure the social validity. For instance, even successful candidates may view an organization as less attractive if they perceive this organization’s assessment center negatively (e.g., Gilliland, 1993). In the current paper, we present different study findings which illustrate the procedure of an evaluation process within an operational assessment center and the impact of this scientific examination on the further development of the respective selection instrument. Specifically, we present results regarding the validity of the ACABO (N > 300) and discuss our findings from a practical perspective.
The presentation of the draft “National Assessment Center Guideline for Turkey” National Study Group on Assessment Center Methods, Turkey; mehmet.surmeli@lcwaikiki.commehmet.surmeli@lcwaikiki.com
The idea of having national standards began with a benchmark, which was carried out among the biggest companies of Turkey, to understand the assessment center usage and the competency assessment tools. After realizing the organizational differences between assessment center operations within the context of benchmark studies (e.g. assessor trainings, assessor evaluation methods, data integration sessions, job analysis methodologies, using technological/online tools, exercise designs, competency numbers per exercise, and total competency numbers per assessment center), some of the experts representing a wide range of talents and interests from universities, business organizations, consultants, and the psychology profession came together to establish the National Assessment Center Guideline. The draft version of the National Assessment Center Guideline and the topics (e.g., vocational qualifications & certification, the preparation of the AC candidates, and the rights of the parties, etc.), which were discussed by the study group members.
Assessment Centres - A large bandwidth of practice NEC, UK; nigel@nigel-evans.comnigel@nigel-evans.com
Assessment Centres can come in all shapes and sizes, however the one thing that should be consistent is the quality of their implementation. There is increasing witness of a large degree of difference in quality of provision, yet this has been largely anecdotal in content and collection.The purpose of the paper is aimed at giving a practical ‘in the field’ spotlight on what is actually happening in Assessment Centres on a more systematic case basis. Observations of Assessment Centre implementation by the author have been collated within 10 medium to large sized consulting companies, delivering in 5 different countries. Fundamentally the findings show that there is a large bandwidth of practice – ranging from what could be classified as ‘Best’ to ‘Questionable’. Clear links are made to British Assessment Centre standards, European Test User Qualifications, and ISO 10667. Fortunately illustrations of best practice do show what is possible to achieve within an organisational context. The suggestion is made that raising the awareness of issues within Assessment Centre Implementation by practical example will raise standards in the longer term, with test and assessment professionals taking the lead.
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| 4:30pm - 6:00pm | PA22: Subjective Well-Being Session Chair: Marco Weber |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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Assessment of young people’s satisfaction in five different life domains: Adaptation and initial validation of the German version of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale University of Kassel, Germany; marco.weber@uni-kassel.demarco.weber@uni-kassel.de
The Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS; Huebner, 1994) is a self-report inventory assessing young people’s satisfaction in five different life domains (i.e., satisfaction with family life, friendships, school experiences, self, and living environment). The present paper describes the adaptation (incl. the translation-back translation procedure), and initial validation of the German adaptation of this measure. About 400 participants (aged between 10 and 17 years) completed the German version of the MSLSS, and additional measures/items assessing information on different validation criteria (e.g., family climate, number of best friends, school experiences, living location, etc.). The five scales yielded satisfying reliabilities, and they showed small to medium age effects and small gender effects. Results on validity emerged as promising; for example, an oblique five-factor solution was found to represent the data well. Furthermore, a supporting and warm parenting style contributed mostly to participants’ satisfaction with the family life, and the location where the participants lived (e.g., urban vs. rural areas) was predictive of participants’ satisfaction with the living environment. Overall, the MSLSS demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties and promising initial evidence for its validity. Future studies are needed to provide further information on reliability and validity of the German version of the MSLSS.
Rasch analysis of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Findings from South Africa and Italy 1North-West University, South Africa; 2University of Milano, Italy; lusilda.schutte@nwu.ac.zalusilda.schutte@nwu.ac.za
The widely used Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) measures respondents’ subjective global satisfaction with their lives on a cognitive-judgemental level and consists of five 7-point Likert-type items, with anchor labels ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The sample (n=1192; South Africa= 676, Italy= 516 ) contained participants who completed the English and Italian versions of the scale, respectively. The data were analysed with Winsteps 3.81 and RUMM2030 using the Rasch rating scale model. Although the category thresholds were increasing monotonically, category 1 showed misfit to the Rasch model and the categories indicative of lower levels of satisfaction with life were the most likely to be endorsed on small regions of the latent trait. The effect of collapsing categories was explored. Item 5 (“If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing”) did not fit the Rasch model well. Differential item functioning was detected for age group for some collapsed category combinations, but none for country, gender or education level. Theoretical implications for understanding satisfaction with life and recommendations for future use of the scale are suggested.
The incremental validity of low-arousal affect in predicting well-being 1University of Rijeka, Croatia; 2Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; 3North-West University, South Africa; ibrdar@ffri.hribrdar@ffri.hr
According to the hedonic perspective, happiness is defined as subjective well-being, which refers to cognitive and affective evaluations of one's life. The vast majority of researchers use PANAS scales to measure the affective component of subjective well-being. These scales were constructed to assess high-arousal affects. Whereas some cultures favour high-arousal positive states, others value low-arousal positive states. Similar differences have been found between younger and older people. The aim of the present study is to examine the incremental validity of low-arousal affects in predicting well-being. 642 participants (mean age 44.3) from three countries completed the PANAS with additional eight low-arousal items, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (the shortened nine-item version) and the Depression scale (DASS). The results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that low-arousal affect explain an additional 11% of the variance in life satisfaction and depression, and 6% in basic psychological needs over and above what could be predicted by PANAS. These findings indicate the importance of including low-arousal affect in assessing affective well-being.
Assessing happiness with the Authentic Happiness Inventory: Evaluation of its psychometric properties, initial validation, and its use in intervention studies University of Zurich, Switzerland; s.wellenzohn@psychologie.uzh.chs.wellenzohn@psychologie.uzh.ch
The Authentic Happiness Inventory (AHI; Seligman et al., 2005) is a widely used instrument for the assessment of happiness. It was developed especially for the use in intervention studies, and is supposed to be particularly sensitive for detecting subtle changes in happiness and differentiating among high expressions of happiness. However, these assumptions have not been tested in detail so far. We examined the psychometric properties of the German version of the AHI, and compared its usefulness in intervention studies to the well-established Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985) in three studies. Data from three samples (n = 3,789/259/184) show factorial validity and high internal consistency. In a sample of 319 adults, we find high test-retest correlations (e.g., r = .75 for six months). Further data show that the AHI is sensitive to detect changes in well-being over six months in a placebo-controlled intervention study (using two well-established positive psychology interventions; sample sizes across the three groups vary between 127 and 137. Overall, the findings are encouraging and provide support for the notion that the AHI is a useful self-report instrument for the assessment of happiness.
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| 10:15am - 11:45am | PA26: Clinical Assessment 5 Session Chair: Sofia Major |
| KOL-G-221 (Ⅴ) | |
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Do we have a useful tool to assess preschoolers’ social skills and problem behaviors? University of Coimbra, Portugal; smajor@fpce.uc.ptsmajor@fpce.uc.pt
During the last 30 years, there has been an increased interest on childrens' social-emotional assessment and intervention. However, it was only more recently that this awareness has been focused on preschoolers. The aim of this study is to compare 41 3-6 years-old children referred for psychological intervention for problem behavior (PB) with 41 paired typically developing children, with regard to their social skills and problem behaviors. Each child was rated by parents and teachers with the Portuguese version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales – Second Edition (PKBS-2). Results from t test analyses indicated fewer social skills and higher levels of problem behaviors for the PB children as rated by home and school informants, mainly associated with large effect sizes. The discriminant functional analyses revealed that 93.9% and 78.0% (based on parents and teachers’ ratings, respectively) of the children were well included in the respective group. The Over Activity, Opposition/Explosive and Social Cooperation subscales better discriminated between groups and the more frequently rated items were analyzed for both informants. Results are discussed according to the literature available on this issue and highlight the validity of the Portuguese version of the PKBS-2 to assess social skills and problem behaviors in preschool age.
The narrativity of utterances about close interpersonal relationships and level of personality organisation assessment Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; soroko@amu.edu.plsoroko@amu.edu.pl
According to the object relation theory (in Kernberg’s view) the self-object representations serve as functioning regulators in both emotional and social domains. Thus it should be expected that the level of maturity of psychic structures (and the level of personality organisation as well) will determine the extent of the relational experiences processing. In consequence, also the narrativity of the utterances about close relationships will be affected by this. In the presented study, 95 autobiographical narratives generated by people with different levels of personality organisation (borderline, neurotic, and integrated) were analysed according to narrativity indices in two different modes (lexical; classical content analysis of narrative coherence). Inter-group comparisons revealed significant differences between borderline and integrated group (integrated group has higher coherence, specificity, human-focus and lower self-focus) and borderline and neurotic group (neurotic group has higher indices of orientation, structure, and concreteness). Results are discussed in the light of (1) the legitimation of the presented model of connections between intrapsychic structures (level of personality) and external manifestations (narratives), and (2) the usability of selected narrativity indices in clinical diagnosis, especially in understanding the processes of adaptation and self-regulation.
Psychodynamic diagnostics – Validation research based on computer modelling of handwriting psychology 1ASP/FSP/SBAP/SGG, Switzerland; 2SGG, Switzerland; m.a.nauer@bluewin.chm.a.nauer@bluewin.ch
New results in Neurophysiology obviously confirm approved theoretical models in handwriting psychology. Handwriting is brain-writing, and the patterns of micro-movements on paper reflect processes in the brain. Therefore, handwriting psychology allows highly efficient psychodynamic diagnostics while describing the dynamic and functional structure of personality. These results encourage reviewing the validity of the handwriting psychology, since the existing studies both with positive conclusions and with critical approach suffer from significant methodological drawbacks and negligence. The new approach is based on computer modelling of the handwriting psychology that ensures the objectivity and the reliability of research. It allows meeting the complexity of the topic by fundamental statistical investigations and systematic validation against various diagnostic instruments (psychological tests, personality inquiries, assessment centre etc.). Several new studies with significant results illustrate the approach.
Management of menace of drug abuse among students by understanding their personality and family dynamics: A longitudinal study GGS Indraprastha University, India; anusinghlather@ipu.ac.inanusinghlather@ipu.ac.in
This paper attempts to make a comparison between personality disposition and perception of parental attitudes toward drug abuse amongst students in 1985 and in 2015. This is a longitudinal study conducted by the authors. The sample in both the phases of study consisted of only male students between the ages of 17 and 25. In the first phase, conducted in 1985, a sample of 155 abusers and 155 non abusers was taken, out of which 117 drug abusers were from urban area and 38 were from rural area, and there were 113 non abusers from urban area and 42 from rural area. In the second phase, conducted in 2015, a total number of 100 respondents were taken out of which 50 were abusers and 50 were non abusers. Out of this sample, 41 drug abusers were from urban areas and 9 were from rural areas, and there were 36 non abusers from urban area and 14 from rural area. The tools of measurement used were Multi Phasic Personality Questionnaire by Murthy, Laxminarayan, Satyavathi (1964). In order to measure perception of parental attitudes the test used was Parental Attitude Questionnaire by Spence and Helmreich (1979).
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