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Frontiers in Psychology 2024Excessive internet and mobile cell phone use has been increasing in recent years especially in teenagers who are a vulnerable population. However, there is a lack of...
INTRODUCTION
Excessive internet and mobile cell phone use has been increasing in recent years especially in teenagers who are a vulnerable population. However, there is a lack of psychometric evaluation of instruments that allow to identify behavior regarding problematic use of the internet and cell phones in the Latin America, particularly in Ecuador. The main aim of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of two instruments: the Internet-related experiences questionnaire (IREQ) and Mobile-related experiences questionnaire (MREQ) in high school students ( = 4, 174, = 15.63; 51.19% male and 48.37% female).
METHODS
The validation process was performed using one and two factors for both questionnaires according to previous literature. After checking the models proposed to date, the best fit model was the one-factor model for (IREQ) and one-factor model for (MREQ).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The invariance was performed using two samples according to gender (male, female) and has been confirmed with an acceptable internal consistency for both questionnaires. For IREQ (, ω = 0.80; , ω = 0.77; , ω = 0.82) and for MREQ (, ω = 0.83; , ω = 0.82; , ω = 0.84). In addition, we performed the correlation analysis between IREQ, MREQ, and socio-demographic variables and finally, both instruments demonstrated strong psychometric qualities within the local population.
PubMed: 38899132
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1390174 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024This study examines the psychometric properties of a German version of the Upward and Downward Physical Appearance Comparison Scales (UPACS and DACS).
Is my body better than yours? Validation of the German version of the Upward and Downward Physical Appearance Comparison Scales in individuals with and without eating disorders.
INTRODUCTION
This study examines the psychometric properties of a German version of the Upward and Downward Physical Appearance Comparison Scales (UPACS and DACS).
METHODS
A total of 2,114 participants, consisting of 1,360 women without eating disorders ( = 25.73, = 6.84), 304 men without eating disorders ( = 24.48, = 6.34), and 450 women with eating disorders ( = 27.11, = 7.21), completed the UPACS and DACS as well as further questionnaires on appearance comparisons, eating disorder pathology, and self-esteem.
RESULTS
Structural equation modeling confirmed the proposed one-factor structure of the original English-language version of the DACS but not of the UPACS. Both scales showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The UPACS and DACS showed the expected correlations with related constructs, indicating acceptable construct validity, with some limitations for women with eating disorders.
DISCUSSION
Overall, this study indicates that the German versions of the UPACS and DACS are psychometrically suitable for assessing upward and downward physical appearance comparisons in women and men without eating disorders and women with eating disorders in research and clinical practice.
PubMed: 38899131
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1390063 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024This study explores the stability of scores on psychometrically validated trait questionnaires over time. We illustrate potential pitfalls through a larger study that...
INTRODUCTION
This study explores the stability of scores on psychometrically validated trait questionnaires over time. We illustrate potential pitfalls through a larger study that used the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) to categorize participants prior to study inclusion into two groups based on their habitual tendency to ruminate. Surprisingly, when we re-administered the RRS at the start of an experimental session, significant score changes occurred, resulting in participants shifting between the two groups.
METHODS
To address this, we modified our recruitment process, aiming to reduce careless responses, including an online RRS assessment a week before the lab appointment. We analyzed the different samples prior to and after changing the recruitment procedure, as well as the total sample regarding the psychometric properties of the RRS. We also explored various indices to identify and predict score changes due to careless responding; however, only a subgroup of participants was successfully identified.
RESULTS
Our findings suggest that Mahalanobis distances are effective for identifying substantial score changes, with baseline state rumination emerging as a marginally significant predictor.
DISCUSSION
We discuss the importance of conducting manipulation checks and offer practical implications for research involving psychometrically validated trait questionnaires.
PubMed: 38899126
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1368390 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024
PubMed: 38899044
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1416556 -
Health Psychology Open 2024The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) is a widely used self-report measure of eating styles, i.e., emotional, restrained, and external. A short and reliable...
Italian validation of a short version of the Dutch eating behavior questionnaire: Psychometric properties and relationships with self-esteem, eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits in university students.
The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) is a widely used self-report measure of eating styles, i.e., emotional, restrained, and external. A short and reliable version is useful for screening, routine assessments, and multipurpose surveys. The short version of the DEBQ by Bailly et al. (2012) was validated in the Italian context in two studies. Concurrent criterion validity was tested by considering gender, body mass index, self-esteem, eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits. Data were collected via online questionnaires administered to two convenience samples of university students ( = 613, = 856). The three-factor structure of the short version of the DEBQ was supported and was invariant across genders. Correlations among the three eating styles, gender, body mass index, self-esteem, eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits followed the expected pattern. The short form of the DEBQ is psychometrically sound and can be used to investigate eating styles among Italian university students.
PubMed: 38898885
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241262665 -
Journal of Attention Disorders Jun 2024Assessing functional impairment is one of the essential components in the clinical evaluation of ADHD in adulthood, serving both diagnostic and outcome evaluation...
OBJECTIVES
Assessing functional impairment is one of the essential components in the clinical evaluation of ADHD in adulthood, serving both diagnostic and outcome evaluation purposes. However, clinicians and researchers may face challenges in selecting suitable instruments due to variations in accessibility and quality of instruments.
METHODS
We conducted an online survey involving an international group of 92 respondents engaged in clinical practice and/or research on ADHD. The survey aimed to evaluate current practices in assessing impairment in adult ADHD and related disorders, while also identifying areas requiring adaptation or potential new developments.
RESULTS
Our findings revealed that clinicians and researchers utilize a diverse range of instruments for assessing impairment in adults with ADHD, including some that may lack adequate properties for this purpose. Notably, dissatisfaction with current practice standards was expressed, underscoring the need for novel assessment approaches and improved psychometric properties.
CONCLUSION
It is evident that research endeavors are warranted to either refine existing measures or devise new ones for assessing functional impairment in adult ADHD. Emphasis should be placed on disseminating instruments that enhance accessibility in both research and clinical settings, and facilitate streamlined administration and interpretation.
PubMed: 38898706
DOI: 10.1177/10870547241261598 -
BMC Nursing Jun 2024Given the lack of valid and reliable instruments for evaluating the quality of communication between physicians and cancer patients and their family caregivers in China,...
BACKGROUND
Given the lack of valid and reliable instruments for evaluating the quality of communication between physicians and cancer patients and their family caregivers in China, this study translated and culturally adapted the Quality of Communication questionnaires for cancer patients (QOC-P) and their family caregivers (QOC-F) for use in the Chinese context and evaluated their psychometric properties.
METHODS
The QOC-P and QOC-F were translated following an adapted version of Brislin's translation model and culturally adapted according to a Delphi expert panel. We pretested and refined the Chinese versions of the QOC-P and QOC-F among 16 dyads of patients and their family caregivers. Subsequently, we administered the questionnaires to 228 dyads of patients and their family caregivers who were recruited from six tertiary hospitals. The content validity, construct validity, convergent validity, and reliability of the QOC-P and QOC-F were examined.
RESULTS
Through exploratory factor analysis, The QOC-P and QOC-F were divided into two dimensions: general communication and end-of-life communication. The Cronbach's coefficients ranged from 0.905 to 0.907 for the two subscales of the QOC-P and from 0.908 to 0.953 for the two subscales of the QOC-F. The two-week test-retest reliability was acceptable for both the QOC-P and QOC-F, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.993 and 0.991, respectively. The scale content validity index (QOC-P: 0.857, QOC-F: 1.0) and split-half reliability (QOC-P: 0.833, QOC-F: 0.935) were satisfactory. There was a negative correlation with anxiety and depression for both the QOC-P (r = -0.233 & -0.241, p < 0.001) and QOC-F (r = -0.464 & -0.420, p<0.001). The QOC-P showed a negative correlation with decision regret (r = -0.445, p<0.001) and a positive correlation with shared decision-making (r = 0.525, p<0.001), as hypothesized.
CONCLUSION
The QOC-P and QOC-F show acceptable psychometric properties for evaluating the quality of communication between physicians and cancer patients and their family caregivers in both clinical and research contexts. Future studies should use more diverse and inclusive samples to test the structure of the Chinese version of the QOC-P and QOC-F with confirmatory factor analysis.
PubMed: 38898521
DOI: 10.1186/s12912-024-02071-z -
BMC Public Health Jun 2024The Thriving from Work questionnaire is a comprehensive indicator of positive well-being for employees, applicable in both research and practical contexts. Current...
BACKGROUND
The Thriving from Work questionnaire is a comprehensive indicator of positive well-being for employees, applicable in both research and practical contexts. Current discussions underline the crucial impact that employment should have in enriching workers' lives positively and meaningfully, along with the necessity for accurate and dependable tools to assess employee well-being. This study investigated the reliability, validity, and dimensionality of the translated German adaptation of the Thriving from Work questionnaire developed by Peters and colleagues [1, 2]. The questionnaire assesses work-related well-being with 30 items clustered in six domains: emotional and psychological well-being, social well-being, work-life integration, physical and mental well-being, basic needs for thriving, and experiences of work.
METHODS
This study aimed to convert the Thriving at Work Questionnaire from English into German. We assessed the psychometric characteristics of the German version of the questionnaire by using item response theory with a sample of 567 German employees and examined its criterion validity.
RESULTS
We found that the long and short German Thriving from Work questionnaire versions are reliable with good construct validity. Criterion validity was demonstrated by relationships with important work and life outcomes, such as life satisfaction, trust in the organizations' management, general well-being, work-related fatigue, and work stress.
CONCLUSIONS
The current study demonstrated that the German language version of the questionnaire is both a reliable and valid measure of employee well-being. We discuss recommendations for further adaptation and future research.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Surveys and Questionnaires; Female; Male; Germany; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Middle Aged; Translations; Job Satisfaction; Young Adult; Employment
PubMed: 38898482
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19037-0 -
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and... Jun 2024Depression and anxiety are significant contributors to the global burden of disease among young people. Accurate data on the prevalence of these conditions are crucial...
BACKGROUND
Depression and anxiety are significant contributors to the global burden of disease among young people. Accurate data on the prevalence of these conditions are crucial for the equitable distribution of resources for planning and implementing effective programs. This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate data collection tools for measuring depression and anxiety at the population level.
METHODS
The study was conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal, a diverse city with multiple ethnicities, languages, and cultures. Ten focus group discussions with 56 participants and 25 cognitive interviews were conducted to inform adaptations of the Patient Health Questionnaire adapted for Adolescents (PHQ-A) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7). To validate the tools, a cross-sectional survey of 413 adolescents (aged 12-19) was conducted in three municipalities of Kathmandu district. Trained clinical psychologists administered the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-DSM 5 version) to survey participants.
RESULTS
A number of cultural adaptations were required, such as changing statements into questions, using a visual scale (glass scale) to maintain uniformity in responses, and including a time frame at the beginning of each item. For younger adolescents aged 12 to 14 years, a PHQ-A cut-off of > = 13 had a sensitivity of 0.93, specificity of 0.80, positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.33, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.99. For older adolescents aged 15-19, a cut-off of > = 11 had a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.70, PPV of 0.32, and NPV of 0.97. For GAD-7, a cut-off of > = 8 had a sensitivity of 0.70 and specificity of 0.67 for younger adolescents and 0.71 for older adolescents, with a PPV of 0.39 and NPV of 0.89. The individual symptom means of both PHQ-A and GAD-7 items showed moderate ability to discriminate between adolescents with and without depression and anxiety.
CONCLUSION
The PHQ-A and GAD-7 demonstrate fair psychometric properties for screening depression but performed poorly for anxiety, with high rates of false positives. Even when using clinically validated cut-offs, population prevalence rates would be inflated by 2-4 fold with these tools, requiring adjustment when interpreting epidemiological findings.
PubMed: 38898474
DOI: 10.1186/s13034-024-00763-7 -
BMC Public Health Jun 2024Social desirability can negatively affect the validity of self-reported measures, including underreporting of stigmatized behaviors like alcohol consumption. The...
BACKGROUND
Social desirability can negatively affect the validity of self-reported measures, including underreporting of stigmatized behaviors like alcohol consumption. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS) is widely implemented and comprised of Denial and Attribution Domains (i.e., tendencies to deny undesirable traits or attribute socially desirable traits to oneself, respectively). Yet, limited psychometric research has been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, where the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol consumption is high as well as religiosity and hierarchical social norms. To address this gap, we (a) conducted an exploratory study assessing certain psychometric properties of the 28-item SDS (Runyankole-translated) among persons with HIV (PWH) in Uganda, and (b) examined the relationship between social desirability and self-reported alcohol use.
METHODS
We pooled baseline data (N = 1153) from three studies of PWH engaged in alcohol use from 2017 to 2021. We assessed the translated scale's construct validity (via confirmatory factor analysis), internal consistency, item performance, differential item functioning by gender, concurrent validity with the DUREL religiosity index domains, and the association between social desirability and self-reported alcohol use.
RESULTS
Participants had a mean age of 40.42 years, 63% were men, and 91% had an undetectable HIV viral load. The 28-item SDS had satisfactory construct validity (Model fit indices: RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.84, TLI = 0.82) and internal consistency (Denial Domain Ω = 0.82, Attribution Domain Ω = 0.69). We excluded Item 14 ("I never hesitate to help someone in trouble") from the Attribution Domain, which mitigated differential measurement error by gender and slightly improved the construct validity (Model fit indices: RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.86, TLI = 0.85) and reliability (Attribution Domain Ω = 0.72) of the 27-item modified SDS. Using the 27-item SDS, we found that social desirability was weakly correlated with religiosity and inversely associated with self-reported alcohol use after adjusting for biomarker-measured alcohol use and other confounders (β = -0.05, 95% confidence interval: -0.09 to -0.01, p-value = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS
We detected and mitigated measurement error in the 28-item Runyankole-translated SDS, and found that the modified 27-item scale had satisfactory construct validity and internal consistency in our sample. Future studies should continue to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Runyankole-translated SDS, including retranslating Item 14 and reevaluating its performance.
Topics: Humans; Psychometrics; Male; Female; Social Desirability; HIV Infections; Adult; Uganda; Middle Aged; Self Report; Alcohol Drinking; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 38898463
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18886-z