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Adequate Internal Consistency (adequate + internal_consistency)
Selected AbstractsMeasuring Children's Self-Efficacy and Proxy Efficacy Related to Fruit and Vegetable ConsumptionJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2009Karly S. Geller MEd ABSTRACT BACKGROUND:, Social cognitive theory describes self-efficacy and proxy efficacy as influences on fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). Proxy efficacy was defined as a child's confidence in his or her skills and abilities to get others to act in one's interests to provide fruit and vegetable (FV) opportunities. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale assessing children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for FVC at after-school programs and at home. METHODS:, Elementary-aged children (n = 184) attending 7 after-school programs completed a self-efficacy questionnaire relevant to FVC. Questionnaire validity was investigated with exploratory factor analysis and mixed-model analysis of covariance. Internal consistency reliability and readability were also assessed. RESULTS:, The questionnaire assessed 4 constructs: self-efficacy expectations for fruit consumption, self-efficacy expectations for vegetable consumption, proxy efficacy to influence parents to make FV available, and proxy efficacy to influence after-school staff to make FV available. Children perceiving FV opportunities in after-school had greater self-efficacy expectations for FVC and greater proxy efficacy to influence after-school staff compared to students who did not perceive FV opportunities. Children attending schools of higher socioeconomic status (SES) and less diversity were more confident they could influence their parents to make FV available than students attending lower SES and less diverse schools. Adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities were established. CONCLUSIONS:, Self-efficacy is a multicomponent construct that can be assessed in children using the reliable and valid instrument evaluated by the current study. [source] Psychometric evaluation of the Spanish version of the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and Preferences for Activities of ChildrenOCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2008Wanda I. Colón Abstract Culturally sensitive and valid assessments of participation in occupations are needed for Spanish-speaking children to enhance services offered to this population. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the newly developed Spanish version of the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and Preferences for Activities of Children, the Evaluación de Participacion y Disfrute de los Niños y Preferencias de las Actividades de los Niños (EPDN/PAN). The sample included 249 children with and without disabilities, aged 6 to 15 years. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the participation of children with disabilities and children without disabilities, and between younger and older children were found. No statistical significant differences were found between males and females in the dimensions of participation assessed. Adequate internal consistency (0.70,0.92) was found for the PAN scale and the Overall and Informal domain scores of the EPDN-Intensity scale. Further study is needed to evaluate the formal domain scale and gender differences by activity types. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Quality of life in functional dyspepsia: responsiveness of the Nepean Dyspepsia Index and development of a new 10-item short formALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 2 2001N. J. Talley Background: The Nepean Dyspepsia Index is a reliable and valid measure of quality of life in functional dyspepsia, but responsiveness has been little studied. The Nepean Dyspepsia Index originally contained 42 items designed to measure impairment of a subject's ability to engage in relevant aspects of their life because of dyspepsia, and their enjoyment of these aspects; in addition, the individual importance of areas was assessed. It was subsequently shortened to 25 items, yielding five sub-scales. Aim: To test the Nepean Dyspepsia Index's responsiveness and develop a responsive, very short form. Methods: A randomized, double-blind controlled trial was performed in 589 patients with documented functional dyspepsia. Symptoms and quality of life were measured at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks. Responsiveness of the Nepean Dyspepsia Index quality-of-life section was evaluated by correlation with symptom scores and calculation of standardized changes in scores. Two items from each sub-scale which best represented the area of life (by factor loadings) were selected to create the 10-item short form (SF; short form-Nepean Dyspepsia Index). Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha and responsiveness was assessed as above. Results: The Nepean Dyspepsia Index quality-of-life scales demonstrated excellent responsiveness to change in both the active and placebo arms (standardized response means all > 1.0). The Nepean Dyspepsia Index accounted for only 8% of the variance in percentage change in symptoms (by visual analogue scales), indicating that it was evaluating areas of life not covered by symptoms. The 10-item short form had adequate internal consistency (all scales , 0.70) and all strongly (and significantly) correlated with the long form sub-scales; it was also highly responsive. Conclusion: The Nepean Dyspepsia Index is a responsive disease-specific quality-of-life measure; the 10-item short form can be applied in clinical trials of functional dyspepsia. [source] Relational victimization: The association between recalled adolescent social experiences and emotional adjustment in early adulthoodPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2008Allison G. Dempsey Although the relationship between relational victimization and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence has been established, it is unknown whether it extends into early adulthood. The current retrospective study investigated the relationship between recall of adolescent relational victimization and symptoms of depression, social anxiety, and loneliness in 205 undergraduate students. The effects of gender and perceived social support on these relationships were assessed, as were the psychometric qualities of the Relational Victimization Questionnaire (RVQ). Recalled adolescent relational victimization was related to increased symptoms of depression and social anxiety; neither gender nor perceived social support affected the strength of these relationships. Results indicated that the RVQ has adequate internal consistency and a single factor structure. Implications for psychologists working with adolescents are highlighted. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A social support and social strain measure for minority adolescent mothers: a confirmatory factor analytic studyCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2008C. B. Gee Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the validity and structure of the Social Support Network Questionnaire (SSNQ), an interview for identifying the positive and negative aspects of individuals' social networks. Methods The sample consisted of 536 pregnant and parenting, African-American and Latina adolescents. Participants were recruited from an alternative school for pregnant and parenting adolescents in a large Midwestern city. Results Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed the presence of three factors: perceived availability, satisfaction and social strain. All three factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Perceived availability and social strain were uncorrelated, implying that they are distinct dimensions. Social strain was the most consistent predictor of psychological well-being. Further, strain in relationships with the young women's male partners added unique variance to the prediction of both anxiety and depression. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the SSNQ may be a useful tool in assessing both positive and negative aspects of pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers' social support networks. [source] Exploring therapeutic alliance in brief inpatient psychotherapy: a preliminary studyCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 5 2010Mark A. Blais Abstract Background: Therapeutic alliance is one of the most widely investigated variables in psychotherapy research but few studies have explored its role in inpatient psychotherapy. Many factors likely contribute to the lack of inpatient alliance research including the short length of hospital stays, complexity of patient psychopathology and the burdensome quality of most alliance scales. This paper reports on the development and initial application of two comparable brief scales designed to capture patient and therapist alliance ratings. Method: Participants were 20 patients receiving supportive,expressive inpatient psychotherapy. The patients were predominantly depressed women. Baseline measures of distress, symptom severity and functioning were obtained at the first and third sessions. Measures of alliance were obtained at the second session. Results: The brief alliance scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency and the individual items had good adjusted item-to-scale correlations. Consistent with the broad alliance literature, we found that patients rated alliance higher than therapists, patient and therapist alliance ratings were not significantly correlated, and level of functioning was significantly associated with both patients and therapists' alliance ratings. The perceived depth of psychotherapy was also significantly associated with alliance. Unexpectedly, alliance ratings were also negatively associated with improvement during hospitalization. Conclusions: Overall, the study demonstrates both the feasibility and potential benefit of conducting inpatient psychotherapy research.,Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: This paper shows that inpatient psychotherapy can be studied and potentially improved through the application of brief targeted instruments. [source] | |||||||||||||