scholarly journals Developing and testing items for the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI)

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Hill ◽  
Jan Alewyn Nel ◽  
Fons J.R. Van de Vijver ◽  
Deon Meiring ◽  
Velichko H. Valchev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Personality Assessment ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: A multicultural country like South Africa needs fair cross-cultural psychometric instruments.Research purpose: This article reports on the process of identifying items for, and provides a quantitative evaluation of, the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) items.Motivation for the study: The study intended to develop an indigenous and psychometrically sound personality instrument that adheres to the requirements of South African legislation and excludes cultural bias.Research design, approach and method: The authors used a cross-sectional design. They measured the nine SAPI clusters identified in the qualitative stage of the SAPI project in 11 separate quantitative studies. Convenience sampling yielded 6735 participants. Statistical analysis focused on the construct validity and reliability of items. The authors eliminated items that showed poor performance, based on common psychometric criteria, and selected the best performing items to form part of the final version of the SAPI.Main findings: The authors developed 2573 items from the nine SAPI clusters. Of these, 2268 items were valid and reliable representations of the SAPI facets.Practical/managerial implications: The authors developed a large item pool. It measures personality in South Africa. Researchers can refine it for the SAPI. Furthermore, the project illustrates an approach that researchers can use in projects that aim to develop culturally-informed psychological measures.Contribution/value-add: Personality assessment is important for recruiting, selecting and developing employees. This study contributes to the current knowledge about the early processes researchers follow when they develop a personality instrument that measures personality fairly in different cultural groups, as the SAPI does.

scholarly journals Self-perceived employability among undergraduate students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
The Self ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: South Africa has been suffering from persistently high levels of unemployment since 2008. The youth is regarded as the most at-risk group in the South African labour market and unemployment amongst the youth is considered one of the most critical socio-economic problems in South Africa. Increasing one’s employability is essential to securing employment and enhancing one’s well-being.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university.Motivation for the study: Currently, there is a scarcity of published research on the self-perceived employability amongst undergraduate students at higher education institutions in South Africa.Research approach/design and method: The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A quantitative-based cross-sectional survey design was used. Convenience sampling was used to select the students who were included in the survey. Data were collected through a web-based survey, using a standardised coded questionnaire that consisted of a five-point Likert-type scale.Main findings: The results indicated that the respondents were relatively confident about their internal employability, but they were less confident about their opportunities in the external labour market.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding one’s employability and the accompanied issues creates awareness of one’s potential, skills and knowledge to become a successful citizen and employee.Contribution/value-add: The study shed light on the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university and consequently contributes to the existing literature on employability in the South African context.

scholarly journals Assessing cultural intelligence, personality and identity amongst young white Afrikaans-speaking students: A preliminary study

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Nel ◽  
J. Alewyn Nel ◽  
Byron G. Adams ◽  
Leon T. De Beer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
South African ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a relatively new construct to academia that has recently gained increasing attention. Its relevance in a multicultural context like South Africa is apparent since cultural interaction between different ethnic groups is unavoidable.Research purpose: The objective of this research is to determine the relationship between personality, identity and CQ amongst young Afrikaans-speaking South Africans.Research approach, design and method: A quantitative research design was used in this study. This study was cross-sectional in nature. For the purpose of this study, a sample of young South African university students (N = 252) was used. The personal identity subscale from the Erickson Psychosocial Stage Inventory, the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure, the Religious Identity Short Scale, the South African Personality Inventory questionnaire and the Four Factor Model of Cultural Intelligence Scale were applied as the measuring instruments.Main findings: Religious identity and ethnic identity have a relationship with cognitive CQ. Soft-heartedness and conscientiousness have a relationship with behavioural CQ. Also, soft-heartedness, facilitating, extroversion and religious identity have a relationship with motivational CQ.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations within South Africa will gain a better understanding of CQ and the benefits of having a culturally intelligent workforce as a strengths-based approach. Culturally intelligent employees will be able to adjust to working with co-workers from another culture, not feel threatened when interacting with co-workers and clients and be able to transfer knowledge from one culture to another, which will aid the organisation in completing overseas assignments, cross-cultural decision-making, leadership in multicultural environments and managing international careers.Contribution/value-add: CQ is a relatively new concept and empirical research on positive subjects is still very limited. Research on personality, identity and CQ within the South African context is still very limited. Therefore, this study will contribute to literature on positive psychology and cultural intelligence.

scholarly journals Investigating the factor structure of the South African Personality Inventory – English version

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Morton ◽  
Carin Hill ◽  
Deon Meiring ◽  
Leon T. De Beer
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Personality Assessment ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
English Version ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implication

Orientation: Most psychological measuring instruments developed in Western, educated, industrial, rich, democratic (W.E.I.R.D.) countries have been found to inadequately capture and represent personality outside the borders of these countries. Consequently, culturally informed or indigenous measuring instruments need to be developed.Research purpose: This study aimed to inspect whether an overlap exists between the empirical data obtained and the theoretical six-factor SAPI framework, providing evidence for an indigenous personality structure in a multi-cultural context.Motivation for the study: Psychological professionals in South Africa have been criticised for using culturally biased instruments that do not display an accurate representation of the 11 official cultural groups. The South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) aims to address these criticisms, highlighting the importance of establishing the cultural applicability of the model through model-fit analyses.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used to administer the SAPI-English version to a sample of employed, unemployed and employment-seeking South Africans (N = 3912). Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) was used to model the data.Main findings: The results revealed that the model was a good fit to the data and that the SAPI factors accurately represent personality in a multi-cultural context.Practical/managerial implication: Using a well-researched indigenous personality assessment like the SAPI can assist South African organisations to fairly and reliably assess people across the 11 official cultural groups.Contribution/value-add: This study advances the processes surrounding indigenous test development through the establishment of a personality model and measure that encapsulates personality traits exhibited in a multi-cultural context.

scholarly journals Developing And Validating A Measure Of Monitoring And Evaluation For The South Africa Skills Development Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-238
Author(s):  
Maelekanyo Christopher Tshilongamulenzhe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Development Context ◽  
Skills Shortages

Abstract As nations around the world grapple with the deepening challenge of skills crunch, policies, strategies and interventions are being devised to develop and retain a competitive workforce. South Africa is not spared from the global talent war, and the persistence of skills shortages across most economic sectors makes the country vulnerable economically and socially. Legislative instruments and strategies were formulated and implemented to ameliorate the situation, but scientific evidence suggests a looming crisis due to poor monitoring and evaluation systems regarding the success of these instruments and strategies. This study develops and validates a monitoring and evaluation (ME) scale for the South African skills development context. A quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 557 participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software (version 23.0). The findings show that the ME scale is scientifically valid and reliable and can be used with confidence in the South African skills development context. The findings provide scope for a validation study on an independent sample, and an evaluation of structural invariance of the ME scale across sample subgroups.

scholarly journals Intrinsic rewards and work engagement in the South African retail industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Jacobs ◽  
Michelle Renard ◽  
Robin J. Snelgar
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Intrinsic Rewards ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: There is a lack of South African research relating to the provision of intrinsic rewards to retail employees.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a relationship between intrinsic rewards and work engagement in the South African retail industry. Furthermore, it sought to validate an instrument to measure intrinsic rewards within the South African context.Motivation for the study: There is currently a paucity of research exploring intrinsic rewards, specifically their importance for work engagement. Furthermore, there is a lack of instruments validated in South Africa that can be used to measure intrinsic rewards.Research approach, design and method: This quantitative study was conducted using a cross-sectional design and non-probability sampling of 181 employees from a South African retail organisation. The questionnaire included a demographic section, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Work Engagement Profile.Main findings: Statistically significant, positive relationships were found between all subscales of the two instruments. There were significant differences in the means for intrinsic rewards and work engagement for gender and age. Notably, the exploratory factor analysis for both instruments did not support the factor structure indicated in the literature.Practical/managerial implications: South African retail organisations should create work environments that provide intrinsic rewards as part of their reward package, to encourage work engagement.Contribution/value-add: These findings add to the current body of literature regarding intrinsic rewards and work engagement and provide insight into variables that promote work engagement within the South African retail context.

scholarly journals Validity and reliability of the South African Triage Scale in prehospital providers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nee-Kofi Mould-Millman ◽  
Julia M. Dixon ◽  
Taylor Burkholder ◽  
Jennifer L. Pigoga ◽  
Michael Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Early Warning Score ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The South ◽  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Prehospital Triage

Abstract Background The South African Triage Scale (SATS) is a validated in-hospital triage tool that has been innovatively adopted for use in the prehospital setting by Western Cape Government (WCG) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in South Africa. The performance of SATS by EMS providers has not been formally assessed. The study sought to assess the validity and reliability of SATS when used by WCG EMS prehospital providers for single-patient triage. Methods This is a prospective, assessment-based validation study among WCG EMS providers from March to September 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants completed an assessment containing 50 clinical vignettes by calculating the three components — triage early warning score (TEWS), discriminators (pre-defined clinical conditions), and a final SATS triage color. Responses were scored against gold standard answers. Validity was assessed by calculating over- and under-triage rates compared to gold standard. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculating agreement among EMS providers’ responses. Results A total of 102 EMS providers completed the assessment. The final SATS triage color was accurately determined in 56.5%, under-triaged in 29.5%, and over-triaged in 13.1% of vignette responses. TEWS was calculated correctly in 42.6% of vignettes, under-calculated in 45.0% and over-calculated in 10.9%. Discriminators were correctly identified in only 58.8% of vignettes. There was substantial inter-rater and gold standard agreement for both the TEWS component and final SATS color, but there was lower inter-rater agreement for clinical discriminators. Conclusion This is the first assessment of SATS as used by EMS providers for prehospital triage. We found that SATS generally under-performed as a triage tool, mainly due to the clinical discriminators. We found good inter-rater reliability, but poor validity. The under-triage rate of 30% was higher than previous reports from the in-hospital setting. The over-triage rate of 13% was acceptable. Further clinically-based and qualitative studies are needed. Trial registration Not applicable.

scholarly journals Validating Indigenous Versions of the South African Personality Inventory

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Hill ◽  
Mpho Hlahleni ◽  
Lebogang Legodi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
South African ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
The South ◽  
Official Languages

Personality assessments are frequently used to make decisions and predictions, creating a demand for assessments that are non-discriminatory. South African legislation requires psychological tests to be scientifically proven to be valid, reliable, fair and non-biased. In response to the necessity for a measure sensitive to indigenous differences, South African and Dutch researchers developed the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). The SAPI represents a theoretical model of personality that uses an indigenous (emic) and universal (etic) approach to capture South Africa’s rich multicultural and multilingual view of personhood. The development of SAPI items and its simultaneous translation from English into all official languages necessitated the investigation of all the translated language versions’ psychometric properties. This study used Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling to examine the factor structure and model fit of two indigenous language versions of the SAPI, targeting the Tshivenda and the Southern Sotho languages. To accomplish this objective, Study 1 (N = 290) was done in South Africa among the Tshivenda ethnic group, while Study 2 (N = 293) was conducted in South Africa among the Sesotho ethnic group. An acquiescence response pattern was noticed in both studies, possibly to adhere to group consensus and emphasizing harmony within relationships. The ESEM solutions generated an excellent fit for both language versions, and most facets loaded acceptably on their expected factors. The Neuroticism factor proved to be problematic in both language versions. Within the Tshivenda version, the Emotional Stability facet did not generate adequate loadings on any SAPI factors. In contrast, neither Emotional Stability nor Negative Emotionality loaded sufficiently on the Neuroticism factor for the Southern Sotho version. While the overall fit of the six-factor model was excellent, the language in which a person completes a personality questionnaire seems to influence such an assessment’s factor structure. The Tshivenda and Sesotho versions of the SAPI cannot yet be positioned as equitable alternatives when using an indigenous version of the SAPI is needed. The implications of the results and proposals for future studies are discussed.

scholarly journals A Rasch analysis of the fear of coronavirus-19 scale in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio L. Peral ◽  
Brandon Morgan ◽  
Kleinjan Redelinghuys
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
South African ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Partial Credit Model ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
African Context

Orientation: Investigating the psychological aspects associated with the coronavirus disease might be important for psychological interventions. The fear of coronavirus-19 scale (FCV-19S) has emerged as a popular measure of coronavirus-19-related fear. However, its psychometric properties remain unknown in South Africa.Research purpose: This study set out to investigate the internal validity of the FCV-19S in the South African context using the Rasch measurement model.Motivation for the study: There have been some mixed findings on the psychometric properties of the FCV-19S in international research and its psychometric properties are yet to be investigated in South Africa. Investigating these psychometric properties can provide psychometric information to practitioners who wish to use this instrument in the South African context.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey research design was used. The FCV-19S was administered to 159 adults. The Rasch partial credit model was applied to the item responses to investigate the measurement quality of the FCV-19S.Main findings: The FCV-19S showed somewhat satisfactory internal validity in the South African context within the boundaries of the current sample, and clarity was obtained on the mixed findings obtained in the previous research. Potential shortcomings of the scale were identified that might reduce its applicability to the South African context.Practical/managerial implications: Our results provide tentative support for the internal validity of the FCV-19S in South Africa. Suggestions for the improvement of the scale are made.Contribution/value-add: This is one of the first studies to investigate the internal validity of the FCV-19S in South Africa. Our results hold important implications for the continued use of this scale and have helped to clarify some of the mixed findings obtained in previous research.

Investigating measurement invariance in the South African Personality Inventory: English version

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-289
Author(s):  
Nadia Morton ◽  
Carin Hill ◽  
Deon Meiring ◽  
Fons JR van de Vijver
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
South African ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
The South ◽  
Employment Equity ◽  
Modelling Analysis ◽  
Ethnocultural Groups ◽  
Official Languages

We are interested in the psychometric properties of the South African Personality Inventory, a personality measure developed to apply equally to speakers of all official languages in South Africa, by testing for measurement invariance across the four ethnocultural groups in South Africa. We conducted an exploratory structural equation modelling analysis to eliminate any restrictions on the variables and to allow them to covary. While measurement invariance was found on configural and metric levels, scalar invariance was not found. The results advance the aim of the South African Personality Inventory to comply with stipulations in South Africa’s Employment Equity Act regarding fair and unbiased assessments.

scholarly journals The validation of the perceived wellness survey in the South African Police Service

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Rothmann ◽  
J Ekkerd
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Perceived Wellness ◽  
Perceived Wellness Survey ◽  
South African Police

The objectives of this study were to assess the validity and reliability of a Setswana translation of the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) in the South African Police Service and to investigate differences in the perceived wellness of police members, based on gender, qualification, age and rank. A cross-sectional survey design with an accidental sample (N = 673) of Setswana speaking police personnel was used. The Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Two reliable factors, namely wellness and unwellness, were extracted in a random sample (n = 335) and in a replication sample (n = 338). However, an alternative interpretation was also possible. Statistically significant differences were found between perceived wellness of employees in terms of age and rank.

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