Multidimensional Prayer Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Clinical Applications

Prayer is one of the most important aspects of religious/spiritual life. The psychological literature has identified various types of prayer and a few methods for measuring it. The Multidimensional Prayer Inventory (MPI) has received much attention from researchers since it allows for the capture of the most universal forms of prayer, characteristic of the Judeo-Christian tradition: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication, and Reception. The aim of this article was to examine psychometric properties and clinical applications of the Polish MPI. In four studies, we established the internal structure of the MPI using Principal Component Analysis (PCA, study 1) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, study 2), examined its validity and reliability in relation to religiousness (study 3), and analysed its clinical application (study 4). The Polish MPI has been confirmed as a reliable and valid measure of five types of prayer for use in research settings.

Employee Intrapreneurship Scale: adaptation and validation in the Romanian working population

The present article includes two studies that have tested the reliability and validity of the Romanian adaptation of the Employee Intrapreneurship Scale (EIS). Intrapreneurship is a relatively novel concept describing proactive behaviors through which employees contribute to the growth and development of organizations they are employed in. The factorial structure and gender invariance of the EIS have been tested in the first sample, including 307 employees with diverse occupational backgrounds. The factorial structure was cross-validated in a second sample, including 122 employees with a similar composition. The second study also established convergent validity of the scale through testing its’ associations to risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactive personality. Discriminant validity was tested using the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) procedure. The results have confirmed a factor structure whereby employee intrapreneurship is composed of two latent indicators: strategic renewal and corporate venturing. Reliability indices and factor loadings have shown a consistent and valid measure of intrapreneurship at the employee level. Furthermore, the concept showed significant positive associations to other constructs in the nomological network, and the AVE indicated satisfactory discriminant validity. Overall, these studies provide a psychometrically valid measure to be used in intrapreneurship research in Romanian organizations.

Investigating the Validity of the Integrated Measure of Intercultural Sensitivity: Predicting Success in a Multicultural Workplace

<p>In response to previous unsuccessful attempts to produce a valid measure of intercultural sensitivity, Weiss (2012) created the Integrated Measure of Intercultural Sensitivity (IMIS). The aim of the current thesis was to examine the validity of an English version of the IMIS. After back-translation of the scale, two studies were conducted. Study 1 tested the construct validity of the IMIS amongst a population of native English speakers. Study 2 investigated the predictive and incremental validity of the IMIS subscales in regard to outcomes relating to success in a multicultural workplace. The results of these two studies reveal that only one subscale is a valid predictor of such outcomes; this subscale did not predict additional variance when compared to existing predictive measures such as the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire and the Cultural Intelligence Scale. The results of these two studies indicate that the IMIS is not a valid measure of intercultural sensitivity; however the potential for a valid measure intercultural sensitivity is emphasized.</p>

Investigating the Validity of the Integrated Measure of Intercultural Sensitivity: Predicting Success in a Multicultural Workplace

<p>In response to previous unsuccessful attempts to produce a valid measure of intercultural sensitivity, Weiss (2012) created the Integrated Measure of Intercultural Sensitivity (IMIS). The aim of the current thesis was to examine the validity of an English version of the IMIS. After back-translation of the scale, two studies were conducted. Study 1 tested the construct validity of the IMIS amongst a population of native English speakers. Study 2 investigated the predictive and incremental validity of the IMIS subscales in regard to outcomes relating to success in a multicultural workplace. The results of these two studies reveal that only one subscale is a valid predictor of such outcomes; this subscale did not predict additional variance when compared to existing predictive measures such as the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire and the Cultural Intelligence Scale. The results of these two studies indicate that the IMIS is not a valid measure of intercultural sensitivity; however the potential for a valid measure intercultural sensitivity is emphasized.</p>

Patient-reported chronic rhinosinusitis disease control is a valid measure of disease burden

Background: Disease control is an important treatment goal for chronic uncurable conditions such as chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The objective of this study was to determine whether patient-reported CRS disease control is a valid reflection of disease burden. Methods: Prospective longitudinal study of 300 CRS patients (35% CRS with nasal polyps, 65% CRS without nasal polyps). At enrollment and at a subsequent follow-up timepoint, all participants were asked to rate their CRS disease control as “not at all,” “a little,” “somewhat,” “very,” or “completely”, as well as to complete a 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and the 5-dimension EuroQol general health questionnaire from which the visual analogue scale (EQ-5D VAS) was used. Results: At enrollment and follow-up timepoints, patient-reported CRS disease control was significantly correlated with SNOT-22 and EQ-5D VAS scores. The change in patient-reported CRS disease control was significantly correlated with change in SNOT-22 and change in EQ-5D VAS scores. There was significant cross-sectional and longitudinal correlation between patient-reported control and all SNOT-22 subdomain scores. A SNOT-22 score of ≤ 25 points or lower, or an EQ-5D VAS score of ≥77 was predictive of having well - (i.e. “very” or “completely”) controlled CRS. Conclusions: Patient-reported CRS disease control is a valid measure of CRS disease burden and general QOL. A patient-reported assessment of CRS disease control could be considered as a component of a more comprehensive measure of CRS disease control.

Neuroadaptive Changes in 5-HT1A Autoreceptor Sensitivity Following High-Dose MDMA Treatment

<p>Rationale: There is evidence that the serotonin (5-HT) deficits and related cognitive and mood impairments caused by +/-3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) may be mediated by neuroadaptations of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor. Objectives: The increase in sensitivity of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor caused by highdose, repeated MDMA treatment was assessed neurochemically, by measuring 5- HTP accumulation, and physiologically, via changes in body temperature. Methods: Experiment 1 confirmed the effects of 8-hydroxy-2-(di-npropylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 mg/kg s.c.) on 5- hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) accumulation following 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine dihydrochloride (NSD-1015) administration as a valid measure of 5-HT synthesis and hence 5-HT1A autoreceptor sensitivity in rats. Experiment 2 performed these procedures in additional animals, with half receiving MDMA (4x 10 mg/kg i.p. at 2 hour intervals) two weeks before testing. Body temperature changes due to the 8-OH-DPAT hypothermic response were tested using a rectal probe. Experiment 2b repeated the procedures in additional groups with lower doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.0125 and 0.00625 mg/kg s.c.). Results: No significant changes in 5-HTP accumulation levels or changes in the hypothermic response to 8-OH-DPAT were found between MDMA pretreated rats and controls in Experiments 2 and 2b. Moreover, there was no substantial evidence of expected 5-HT deficits due to high-dose MDMA treatment. Conclusion: The results do not indicate an increase in sensitivity of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor, and hence the original hypothesis is not supported. However, there were a number of methodological issues, as indicated by the lack of MDMAinduced 5-HT deficits, which prevent a firm conclusion from being drawn. Future research is outlined to overcome these issues.</p>

Neuroadaptive Changes in 5-HT1A Autoreceptor Sensitivity Following High-Dose MDMA Treatment

<p>Rationale: There is evidence that the serotonin (5-HT) deficits and related cognitive and mood impairments caused by +/-3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) may be mediated by neuroadaptations of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor. Objectives: The increase in sensitivity of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor caused by highdose, repeated MDMA treatment was assessed neurochemically, by measuring 5- HTP accumulation, and physiologically, via changes in body temperature. Methods: Experiment 1 confirmed the effects of 8-hydroxy-2-(di-npropylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 mg/kg s.c.) on 5- hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) accumulation following 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine dihydrochloride (NSD-1015) administration as a valid measure of 5-HT synthesis and hence 5-HT1A autoreceptor sensitivity in rats. Experiment 2 performed these procedures in additional animals, with half receiving MDMA (4x 10 mg/kg i.p. at 2 hour intervals) two weeks before testing. Body temperature changes due to the 8-OH-DPAT hypothermic response were tested using a rectal probe. Experiment 2b repeated the procedures in additional groups with lower doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.0125 and 0.00625 mg/kg s.c.). Results: No significant changes in 5-HTP accumulation levels or changes in the hypothermic response to 8-OH-DPAT were found between MDMA pretreated rats and controls in Experiments 2 and 2b. Moreover, there was no substantial evidence of expected 5-HT deficits due to high-dose MDMA treatment. Conclusion: The results do not indicate an increase in sensitivity of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor, and hence the original hypothesis is not supported. However, there were a number of methodological issues, as indicated by the lack of MDMAinduced 5-HT deficits, which prevent a firm conclusion from being drawn. Future research is outlined to overcome these issues.</p>

Is a Phone-Based Language and Literacy Assessment a Reliable and Valid Measure of Children’s Reading Skills in Low-Resource Settings?

Technology-based remote research methods are increasingly widespread, including learning assessments in child development and education research. However, little is known about whether technology-based remote assessments remain as valid and reliable as in-person assessments. We developed a low-cost phone-based language and literacy assessment for primary-school children in low-resource communities in rural Côte d’Ivoire using voice calls and SMS. We compared the reliability and validity of this phone-based assessment to an established in-person assessment.679 5th grade children completed language (phonological awareness, vocabulary, language comprehension) and literacy (letter, word, pseudoword, passage reading and comprehension) tasks in-person and by phone. Reliability (internal consistency) and predictive validity was high across in-person and phone-based tasks. In-person and phone-based assessments were moderately to strongly correlated. Phonological awareness and vocabulary skills measured in-person and by phone significantly predicted in-person and phone-based letter, word and pseudoword reading. Oral language and decoding skills measured in-person and by phone also significantly predicted in-person and phone-based passage reading and comprehension scores.Our phone-based assessment was a reliable and valid measure of language and reading and feasible for low-resource settings. Low-cost technologies offer significant potential to measure children’s learning remotely, contributing to greater inclusion of remote and low-resource populations in education research.

Work Stress, Mental Health and Validation of Professional Stress Scale (PSS) in an Italian-Speaking Teachers Sample

This study aimed validate the Italian version of the Professional Stress Scale (PSS). A questionnaire was translated into Italian and administered to two sample groups. The first group (n = 200) was the control group and the second (n = 1137) the experimental group. The participants in the study were students enrolled in a special needs training teacher course or a specialization course that aims to train support teachers. The study conducted two analyses; factor and reliability analyses. The factor analysis utilized the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test which had a result of 0.925 for the scale; this was above the acceptable value of 0.7. The research studied 33 items and the BTS was significant for the 33 items scale (χ2 (528) = 4353.508, p < 0.001). Moreover, five eigenvalues greater than 1 were identified in the data, whereas the total variance explained was 63.7%. The reliability test utilized the Cronbach’s Alpha score (0.936) of the scale and the value is calculated based on the response of 1106 individuals. The value is well above the value of 0.80, which indicates a high internal consistency level of the different items of the scale. This study showed that the Italian version of the PSS is a reliable and valid measure that can be used for research and clinical purposes.