scholarly journals The Development of the French Version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Questionnaire: An Analysis of its Structure, Properties and Potential for Research with at-risk Students

Author(s):  
Jerome St-Amand ◽  
Robert Boily ◽  
Francois Bowen ◽  
Jonathan Smith ◽  
Michel Janosz ◽  
...  

Introduction. As it plays an important role in students' adjustment, and positively impacts their motivation and academic success, school belonging seems to be a pivotal determinant of the overall quality of a school experience. However, measuring such a belonging and estimating its contribution to the overall quality of school adjustment remain a challenge for the scientific community. Method. Thus, the French version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire was tested to determine its latent structure, validity, and capacity to predict dropout among at-risk students. In Study 1, the French version of the PSSM scale was thoroughly analyzed for validity while performing exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis on self-reported data provided by a sample of high school students. In study 2, answers of a particular sample of at-risk students were carefully analyzed with ANOVAS to determine the potential of the PSSM to predict high school dropout. Results. The exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis revealed four predominant dimensions: (1) teacher-student relationships; (2) peers' relationships; (3) sense of acceptance; and (4) sense of attachment, while the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed the PSSM to be partially invariant with regards to the gender of the participants. In Study 2, we found that the PSSM can be used as a tool to help identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Conclusion. Strategies to develop students' school belonging are discussed.

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Bouvard ◽  
Anne Denis ◽  
Jean-Luc Roulin

This article investigates the psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). A group of 704 adolescents completed the questionnaires in their classrooms. This study examines potential confirmatory factor analysis factor models of the RCADS as well as the relationships between the RCADS and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised (SCARED-R). A subsample of 595 adolescents also completed an anxiety questionnaire (Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised, FSSC-R) and a depression questionnaire (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D). Confirmatory factor analysis of the RCADS suggests that the 6-factor model reasonably fits the data. All subscales were positively intercorrelated, with rs varying between .48 (generalized anxiety disorder-major depression disorder) and .65 (generalized anxiety disorder-social phobia/obsessive-compulsive disorder). The RCADS total score and all the RCADS scales were found to have good internal consistency (> .70). The correlations between the RCADS subscales and their SCARED-R counterparts are generally substantial. Convergent validity was found with the FSSC-R and the CES-D. The study included normal adolescents aged 10 to 19. Therefore, the findings cannot be extended to children under 10, nor to a clinical population. Altogether, the French version of the RCADS showed reasonable psychometric properties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 108-108
Author(s):  
Tommy Buckley ◽  
Kyeongmo Kim ◽  
Denise Burnette

Abstract Psychological sense of community is a concept used to describe how individuals feel about their community. The Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) is an 8-item scale that includes these four domains: membership, needs fulfillment, emotional connection, and influence. It has been used in various contexts and was validated with young adults in Puerto Rico. The purpose of this study was to validate the BSCS for use with Spanish-speaking older adults in Puerto Rico. We conducted face-to-face interviews with a non-probability sample of 154 community- dwelling adults aged 60+ in Puerto Rico. BSCS is comprised of a 5-point likert-type scale with score values ranging from 0 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree) (total score range 0-32, mean= 24.75, SD= 6.04), and it showed good reliability in our sample (a=.85) and acceptable subscale reliability (membership, a=.85; needs fulfillment, a=.85; influence, a=.66; and emotional connection, a=.69). Five competing factor structures were tested based on prior research using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA indicated that a four factor structure from the original scale was the best fit (χ² (16) =25.9; p=.06; RMSEA=.06; CFI=.98; TLI=.97; SRMR=.04). The BSCS showed significant correlations in the expected direction with quality of life (r=.41), social isolation (r=.34), loneliness (r=.27) and self-rated health (r=.17). We conclude that the BSCS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring psychological sense of community with community-dwelling Spanish-speaking older adults in Puerto Rico. Future research should confirm and extend our findings with other Spanish-speaking older adult populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Keuning-Plantinga ◽  
Evelyn J. Finnema ◽  
Wim Krijnen ◽  
David Edvardsson ◽  
Petrie F. Roodbol

Abstract Background Person-centred care is the preferred model for caring for people with dementia. Knowledge of the level of person-centred care is essential for improving the quality of care for patients with dementia. The person-centred care of older people with cognitive impairment in acute care (POPAC) scale is a tool to determine the level of person-centred care. This study aimed to translate and validate the Dutch POPAC scale and evaluate its psychometric properties to enable international comparison of data and outcomes. Methods After double-blinded forward and backward translations, a total of 159 nurses recruited from six hospitals (n=114) and via social media (n=45) completed the POPAC scale. By performing confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity was tested. Cronbach’s alpha scale was utilized to establish internal consistency. Results The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the comparative fit index (0.89) was slightly lower than 0.9. The root mean square error of approximation (0.075, p=0.012, CI 0.057–0.092) and the standardized root mean square residual (0.063) were acceptable, with values less than 0.08. The findings revealed a three-dimensional structure. The factor loadings (0.69–0.77) indicated the items to be strongly associated with their respective factors. The results also indicated that deleting Item 5 improved the Cronbach’s alpha of the instrument as well as of the subscale ‘using cognitive assessments and care interventions’. Instead of deleting this item, we suggest rephrasing it into a positively worded item. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the Dutch POPAC scale is sufficiently valid and reliable and can be utilized for assessing person-centred care in acute care hospitals. The study enables nurses to interpret and compare person-centred care levels in wards and hospital levels nationally and internationally. The results form an important basis for improving the quality of care and nurse-sensitive outcomes, such as preventing complications and hospital stay length.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Trafford Crump ◽  
Alex Peterson ◽  
Camille Charbonneau ◽  
Kevin V. Carlson ◽  
Jason M. Sutherland ◽  
...  

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 26-item Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-26) for measuring the quality of life in patients treated for localized prostate cancer. The EPIC-26 is a patient-reported outcome instrument recommended for use with patients treated for localized prostate cancer. Methods: This study is based on data collected prospectively between September 2014 and February 2017 in Alberta, Canada. Men were treated with either radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy and administered the EPIC-26. Responses to the EPIC-26 were the primary outcome. Construct validity was measured using confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was measured using Chronbach’s alpha and item-total correlation. Ceiling and floor effects were also investigated. Results: EPIC-26 response data from 205 participants (prostatectomy =138; radiation=60; both=7) were used in this analysis. The EPIC-26 was administered an average of 33.8 weeks after treatment. The confirmatory factor analysis model did not meet the threshold for adequate fit. Several items had near-zero factor loadings and were non-significant. Four out of the EPIC- 26’s five domains met the acceptable reliability threshold based on Cronbach’s alpha. Ceiling effects were observed in four out of five domains. Conclusions: The EPIC-26 demonstrated poor construct validity, adequate reliability, and large ceiling effects. Several issues were observed, suggesting that the instrument’s five domains were not well-defined by their respective items. The original EPIC’s conceptual framework should be reviewed and the shortened instrument revised to improve its performance for measuring post-treatment quality of life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1148-1154
Author(s):  
Lakeshia Cousin ◽  
Laura Redwine ◽  
Christina Bricker ◽  
Kevin Kip ◽  
Harleah Buck

Psychometrics of the Gratitude Questionnaire-6, which measures dispositional gratitude, was originally estimated in healthy college students. The purpose of this study was to examine the scales’ factor structure, convergent/divergent validity, and reliability among 298 AA adults at risk for CVD in the community. Analyses were performed using bivariate correlations, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale demonstrated acceptable estimates for internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.729). Our exploratory factor analysis results yielded a one-factor structure consistent with the original instrument, and the confirmatory factor analysis model was a good fit. Convergent/divergent validity was supported by the association with positive affect (coefficient = 0.482, 95% CI = [0.379, 0.573], spiritual well-being (coefficient = 0.608, 95% CI = [0.519, 0.685], and depressive symptoms (coefficient = −0.378, 95% CI = [−0.475, −0.277]. Findings supported the scale’s reliability and convergent/divergent validity among AAs at risk for CVD.


Author(s):  
Cristina Nunes ◽  
Javier Pérez-Padilla ◽  
Cátia Martins ◽  
Pedro Pechorro ◽  
Lara Ayala-Nunes ◽  
...  

Parenting generally brings about high internal and external demands, which can be perceived as stressful when they exceed families’ resources. When faced with such stressors, parents need to deploy several adaptive strategies to successfully overcome these challenges. One of such strategies is coping, an important cognitive and behavioural skill. In this study, we intended to examine the psychometric properties of Carver’s (1997) Brief COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced), extending its cross-cultural validity among a Portuguese sample of community and at-risk parents. The sample comprised community (n = 153) and at-risk (n = 116) parents who completed the brief COPE, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales and the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, cross sample invariance, convergent and discriminant validity were analysed. Data from the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 14-factor model obtained the best fit. The results provided evidence that the Brief COPE is a psychometrically sound instrument that shows measurement invariance across samples and good reliability. Our findings demonstrated that the Portuguese version of brief COPE is a useful, time-efficient tool for both practitioners and researchers who need to assess coping strategies, a relevant construct in family context.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1789-1795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana-Belén Meseguer-Henarejos ◽  
Juan-José Gascón-Cánovas ◽  
José-Antonio López-Pina

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