Background Information: There is substantial evidence demonstrating the significant benefits of regular physical activity (PA) and the burden of morbidity and mortality associated with inactivity. In Australia however, approximately 40% of the adult population is not meeting recommended levels of PA, the rates of inactivity may be increasing, and improving population levels of PA has been identified as a public health priority. Research is needed therefore, to develop a better understanding of the variables that limit and facilitate PA levels within the population, so as to guide the development of population-based PA promotion. Although a range of psychological, social and environmental variables have been associated with PA, few studies have integrated correlates across these domains and compared their relative contribution. The current evidence base is also limited by too few population-based studies, insufficient assessment of the measurement properties of correlate scales, minimal information on PA item non-response, and a lack of specificity among PA domains. Aims: This research program aimed to develop measures and examine the relative contributions of self-reported psychological, social, and environmental variables to explain variation in leisure-time PA (LTPA) among adults in the general population. Methods: This research program comprised three studies that utilised a crosssectional design and a mail survey methodology with a population-based random sample drawn from Brisbane, Australia (N=5000). Study one involved development and assessment of the measurement properties of a battery of scales to measure correlates of LTPA, using principal components and internal reliability analyses. Study two assessed the magnitude of and sociodemographic variables associated with LTPA item non-response on the mail survey, using logistic regression. Study three examined the independent contributions of self-reported psychological, social, and environmental variables to variation in walking, moderate- and vigorousintensity LTPA, using logistic regression adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. Results: Study one produced a battery of 28 scales to assess self-reported psychological, social and environmental correlates of LTPA. The scales used a total of 123 items to measure activity history (habit, mastery, exposure), health (physical, psychological), activity-related cognitions (self schemata, activity schemata, demand, need, knowledge), self-efficacy, anticipated benefits (psychological, health, challenge, improved appearance, social, weight management), perceived barriers (expense/low access, poor skill, poor personal functioning, time organization, disinterest, family obligations), social support (encouragement, discouragement) and neighborhood environment (available facilities, physical characteristics, aesthetic features, traffic). Of the 28 scales that were factorially derived, 25 had acceptable or marginal levels of internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.65 to 0.89. Study two indicated that 28% of the mail survey respondents had incomplete LTPA data with 8% of respondents missing the walking item, and 18% and 23% missing the vigorous-intensity and moderate-intensity LTPA items respectively. Respondents who missed all three LTPA items were more likely than those with complete LTPA data to be female, less educated, from low-income households, in poor health, and a current smoker. Respondents who missed the walking item were significantly more likely to be a current smoker, and to have limited education and low household income. Incomplete moderate-intensity LTPA data was associated with single parenthood and vocational education. Those who missed the vigorousintensity LTPA item were more likely to be 35-54 years old, in fair or poor health, and obese. Respondents with incomplete LTPA data were also more likely to miss sociodemographic items assessing education, household composition, and household income. In study three, the sociodemographic and correlate variables collectively accounted for 43% of the variation in total LTPA, 45% of vigorous-intensity LTPA, 26%of walking, and 22% of moderate-intensity LTPA (Nagelkerke R square). The individual correlates accounted for 0.0 - 4.0% of unique variation across the different domains of LTPA. Habit, self-efficacy, and social encouragement tended to contribute more unique variation for each LTPA domain. Physical health, discouragement, competition, and time management barriers contributed more unique variation to vigorous-intensity LTPA. Anticipated benefits of social interactions and weight management contributed more unique variation to moderate-intensity LTPA. Neighbourhood aesthetics contributed more unique variation to walking variation. Conclusions. This research program demonstrates the importance of integrating psychological, social, and environmental variables to explain PA, and that the relative importance of these correlates is likely to differ among PA domains. More research is needed to enhance the conceptualisation and measurement of correlate variables, in particular PA opportunities across the lifecourse, the anticipated benefit of a balanced lifestyle, the barriers of an unpredictable lifestyle and family obligations, social discouragement, and environmental variables. Population-based mail surveys of LTPA may under-represent population subgroups that are insufficiently active for health, and proactive strategies are needed to maximise their full participation in research and obtain complete survey data, in particular among individuals of low socioeconomic position and for the assessment of moderateintensity LTPA. Generic promotion to increase overall levels of LTPA in the population could focus on promoting self-efficacy for PA and habitual LTPA, as well as enhancing social encouragement. Tailored promotion for vigorous-intensity LTPA could reduce barriers associated with physical health, discouragement, competitiveness, and time management. Tailored promotion for moderate-intensity LTPA and walking should focus on supportive local neighbourhoods and promote the benefits of weight management and social interactions. In time, the successful implementation of such policy and promotion may arrest the decline of PA levels in the population, reduce preventable morbidity and mortality and economic burden associated with inactivity, and facilitate improved health for all Australians.

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Researchers have taken the adult attachment instruments established in the western countries into other cultural settings. Taiwan is one of the many countries to which cross-cultural adult attachment research has been extended to, and where translated attachment survey instruments were applied. The problem with these translated measurements in Taiwan, however, is that the commonly-used instruments were not peer-reviewed, and often no reliability tests were even done, and the cultural appropriateness of these translated measurements was not evaluated. The usage and results of these instruments may therefore be questionable. The purpose of this current study is to present a Mandarin Chinese version of the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ) that was translated following common protocols, administered to 320 native Taiwanese participants, and evaluated for measurement invariance. Various statistical analyses (including reliability test, confirmatory factor analysis, , and measurement invariance test) were conducted, and results from the Taiwanese college students who responded to the Chinese AAQ were compared with the results of the same instrument written and administered in its original English format and delivered to 330 participants in the United States. CFA revealed that a revision of the original AAQ was necessary. Measurement invariance test further indicated that while configural invariance was established, the findings on metric invariance were mixed, and the scalar invariance was partially established. These findings suggested a potential lack of equivalence between the Chinese and English adult attachment measurement. Specifically, some items of the scales were less invariant than others, indicating specific possible cultural differences between the two ethnic groups.

abstract: Adolescent and young adult alcohol use is a major public health concern given that it is the most widely used substance by teenagers. This is particularly concerning given the important biological and environmental changes that occur during this developmental period. Therefore, it is not surprising that alcohol use in adolescence is associated with a variety of negative outcomes including alcohol-related consequences, poor academic performance, aggression, and difficulty transitioning to adulthood. Because of this, it is imperative to better understand alcohol use during this time. While there are numerous measures that aim to capture adolescent alcohol use, there is not currently a measure that gathers comprehensive information on alcohol use across adolescence and into early adulthood. Therefore, we developed the Comprehensive Adolescent Drinking History Form (CADHF). The CADHF gathers detailed drinking information for each year since the onset of first regular use, including quantity and frequency of both regular use and periods of heaviest drinking. Additionally, the CADHF collects information on the participants' aggregate drinking experiences between their age of onset and age of first regular use. Using a sample of young adults who completed an alcohol challenge study, we sought to examine (1) whether route of administration of the measure impacts results, (2) which CADHF are most useful, and (3) whether the CADHF shows concurrent, convergent, and incremental validity. Results showed that, the CADHF can be administered online or over the phone and all eight indices provide valuable information depending on the research question. Additionally, strong significant correlations between the CADHF with the Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) and the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) suggest convergent and concurrent validity. Finally, the CADHF predicted concurrent and future alcohol-related problems over and above the gold standards of alcohol consumption measures; age of onset, age of first intoxication, and the TLFB. This is the first study to retrospectively assess participant's comprehensive alcohol consumption and fills a major gap in the literature. The CADHF has the potential to inform the timing of prevention and intervention efforts and provides unique information from the current gold standards of alcohol consumption measures. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2017

Using two independent samples of parents with a shared minor child but not currently in a relationship, this study explores the development and validation of a new 12-item short form for the Multidimensional Co-Parenting Scale for Dissolved Relationships (MCS-DR12). Confirmatory factor analysis will be used to assess the four-factor structure of the MCS-DR12 and then internal reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity will be assessed. The development of this short form provides a 12-item assessment of four impactful areas of co-parenting which is invaluable, especially for those working with court-mandated parenting programs who are in need of brief instruments to assess program efficacy.

With the onset of COVID-19 and the anti-Asian bias that has followed, there is growing importance in creating empirically valid measures of racial prejudice. In general, there has been limited research on workplace experiences for Asian Americans, despite this group being one of the fastest-growing racial minorities in the United States. Existing measures of prejudice can be susceptible to social desirability response biases, as they tend to focus on more cognitive and affective components of attitudes, rather than behavioral expectations. The goal of this study was to develop and provide initial validation for a behavior-based measure of racial prejudice called the East Asian American Situational Judgment Test (EAA-SJT). SJTs are designed to test behavioral judgments through context-based, realistic scenarios and close-ended plausible response options (Weekley & Ployhart, 2013; Whetzel et al., 2020). There has been some evidence that SJTs measuring latent constructs may produce stronger predictive accuracy of criteria compared to traditionally used, context-independent Likert scale measures (Peus et al., 2013; Teng et al., 2020). These traditional measures, often in the form of cognitive/affective survey questions around racial attitudes, can often lead to higher instances of social desirability response bias (Huddy & Feldman, 2009; Weber et al., 2014), in which participants may not answer questions truthfully due to social concerns. The themes for the EAA-SJT scenarios and response options were based on microaggression research on Asian Americans from Sue et al., (2007a), and the proposed factor structure was predicated on research from Hauenstein et al., (2014), who were the first to develop SJTs measuring latent prejudicial attitudes toward African Americans and women. To provide initial evidence for the validity of the EAA-SJT, 400 participants from a Qualtrics survey panel completed a 20-minute online survey consisting of demographics, the initial 35-item EAA-SJT, the Asian American Stereotypes scale to test for convergent validity, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale to test for discriminant validity, and two locally developed criterion measures to test for criterion-related validity. Results from the exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) provided evidence for a three-factor solution of Challenging, Ambivalence, and Reinforcing microaggressions. There was promising initial validity evidence for the EAA-SJT and evidence towards the incremental validity of the EAA-SJT over existing cognitive/affective measures. Next steps include building off the EFA results from this study and conducting a confirmatory factor analysis to finalize the EAA-SJT. Overall, microaggressions and other forms of racial biases in the workplace can have implications on employee well-being, as well as mental and physical health outcomes. The availability of different types of measurement tools such as the EAA-SJT may allow researchers to better understand prejudicial attitudes towards Asian Americans. / M.S. / Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was a noted rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and instances of discrimination against Asian Americans (Jeung et al., 2021, Levin, 2021, Ruiz et al., 2020). This study aims to develop and provide initial validation for a measure of racial prejudice against East Asian Americans. This measure, the East Asian American Situational Judgement Test (EAA-SJT), provided scenarios of microaggressions against East Asian Americans along with four response options of behavioral expectations in reaction to those scenarios. The EAA-SJT can be taken by a member of any racial group and reframes the focus on the attitudes of those who potentially engage in microaggressions rather than only those who are affected by it. Preliminary evidence was found in support of the validity of the EAA-SJT.

Adolescents with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) show symptoms of slowness, mental confusion, excessive daydreaming, low motivation, and drowsiness/sleepiness. Although many symptoms of SCT reflect internalizing states, no study has evaluated the utility of self-report of SCT in an ADHD sample. Further, it remains unclear whether SCT is best conceptualized as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct. In a sample of 262 adolescents comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD, the present study evaluated the dimensionality of a SCT scale and compared CFA and bifactor model fits for parent- and self-report versions. Analyses revealed the three-factor bifactor model to be the best fitting model. In addition, SCT factors predicted social and academic impairment and internalizing symptoms. Therefore, SCT as a multidimensional construct appears to have clinical utility in predicting impairment. Also, multiple reporters should be used, as they predicted different areas of functioning and were not invariant, suggesting that each rater adds unique information.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Kinesiology & Health, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-81).

INTRODUCTION. Assessing the participation experiences of young people with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities (SIDD) in recreational activities is imperative to ensure these activities provide youth with optimal opportunities to develop skills needed for adulthood. Currently, no instrument accessible to youth with SIDD is available to asses these experiences. The Participatory Experience Survey (PES) and the Setting Affordances Survey (SAS) were developed to meet this need. METHOD. The PES was developed with input from a panel of youth with SIDD while they were participating in a summer program. A draft was then presented to three groups of stakeholders: parents of youth with SIDD, service providers, and experts in intellectual disability and/or program planning. After making revisions based on stakeholder feedback, cognitive interviewing was conducted with eight youth ages 14 – 22 with SIDD. Next, to examine feasibility of the PES, the survey was given to 10 youth with SIDD. After finalizing a draft of the PES based on youth feedback, questions for the SAS were written to align with topics on the PES. Finally, a program evaluation was conducted that provided an additional feasibility evaluation of the PES and SAS. RESULTS. Of the 24 initial questions on the PES, stakeholder groups identified 15 questions needing revision and suggested 7 additional questions. Youth feedback during cognitive interviewing identified 13 questions needing revisions and 4 needing removal. Changes were made to address three issues: word choice, understanding of concept, and questions relating to others. Administering the PES directly following an activity was found to be feasible, however, the length was shortened from 31 to 15 questions to provide an appropriate administration time (<5 minutes). CONCLUSION. The PES and the SAS proved to be relevant, accessible and feasible ways to assess the individual experiences of youth with SIDD in recreational settings and the affordances, measured objectively, of those settings. Use of these two measures may help programs to include young people with SIDD during program evaluations, resulting in better-structured, more supportive programs.

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