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Self-regulation and self-control are motivational constructs involved in the process of goal pursuit (Karoly, 1993). Although investigators within and across various fields of psychology have used the terms interchangeably (e.g., Hofmann, Rauch, & Gawronski, 2007; Lord, Diefendorff, Schmidt, & Hall, 2009; Wood, 2005), theoretical work stemming from the clinical field suggests that they are distinct yet related constructs (e.g., F. Kanfer, 1970, 1977; F. Kanfer & Karoly, 1972). However, until now, the relationship between self-regulation and self-control had not been investigated empirically. In the current program of research, I delineated their relationship in two ways. First, I developed and evaluated new self-report measures that better match theoretical models of self-regulation and self-control. Participants (N = 199) completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding personality, motivation, self-regulation, and self-control. The new measures had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities, and displayed relationships expected for convergent and discriminant validity. Modeling techniques indicated that self-control and self-regulation are not strongly enough associated to fall under one higher-order factor, and that the relationship between the two constructs was best represented by a model in which self-control was associated with the self-regulatory stage of goal striving. Second, I evaluated the efficacy of a training session that included self-control techniques in addition to self-regulation skills, and compared outcomes to those from a self-regulation only training group, and a control group. One sample of undergraduate students (N = 49) and one sample of day-shift employees (N=41) were included. Participants completed questionnaires twice daily for a period of three weeks to report sleep-wake behavior, fatigue, affect, and productivity. Objective sleep measures also were obtained through the use of actigraphs, which monitor sleep-wake activity. The self-regulation training groups showed better goal adherence following the intervention compared to the control group, and the combined training groups had even better goal adherence than the self-regulation group. Positive affective changes were also reported among the training groups following the study period. The development of new measurement and training techniques, which better align with the theoretical formulations of self-regulation and self-control, will help to advance the theoretical work concerning these constructs, and could lead to improvement in workplace outcomes.

Religion and spirituality are vital aspects of many people’s lives both in the United States and across the globe. Although many constructs and measures exist to describe and assess the experience of pursuing the sacred, the complexity of religious and spiritual experience leads to mixed results in relation to well-being and psychopathological traits. However, in broad terms, the relationship appears positive. Over the past 30 years the need for more refined and useful approaches to the study of religious and spiritual behavior has been repeatedly acknowledged. Although authors wisely caution development of further measures without due cause, extant constructs and measures do not provide clear and consistent results for understanding the influence of one’s relationships to religion and spirituality upon behaviors of clinical interest. The present project drew from the functional contextual concept of psychological flexibility, which provides clarity to understanding the encouragement and maintenance of psychological well-being. A new construct of religious and psychological flexibility is explicated as a functional approach to understanding religious and spiritual behavior in a manner that is useful in research and clinical settings alike. The development and evaluation of the Measure of Religious and Spiritual Flexibility (MRSF) is described. The MRSF evidenced adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis results were positive, but indicate further refinement. Analyses suggested good construct validity of the MRSF in relation to psychological well-being and psychopathology; construct validity in relation to extant constructs in the psychology of religion was varied. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to investigate special educators’ problem solving approaches through the lens of adaptive expertise. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used with participants of varying experience levels and teaching contexts from one Mid-Atlantic state. Participants responded to a researcher-developed survey about their orientations to problem solving (N = 162), then a purposive sample completed semi-structured interviews (N = 8). Following survey measure refinement and validation, quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, z-scores, correlation, and chi-square test of independence. Subsequently, qualitative data were analyzed through iterative cycles of hypothesis and open coding. Finally, quantitative and qualitative data were linked through mixed methods analysis. Results of exploratory factor analysis identified an 18-item, two-factor structure within the survey measure. Survey results indicated most special educators had more adaptive than routine expertise orientations to problem solving; for some these orientations were balanced, while others had a much stronger orientation to adaptive expertise. Though no statistical relationship was found between teaching experience and participants’ degree of adaptive or routine tendencies when problem solving, teachers interviewed spoke of the role of experience in shaping their problem solving approaches. Many also noted that the application of particular approaches were dependent upon characteristics of their teaching contexts. Literature-based indicators of adaptive expertise were evident across examples of problem solving in special educators’ narrative data. Together, survey and interview data captured a more comprehensive and nuanced picture of special educators’ problem solving in practice than either approach could have alone.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a commonly used instrument in neuropsychological assessment; however, it lacks a symptom validity test (SVT) that is sensitive to cognitive response bias (also referred to as non-credible responding), as defined by performance on cognitive performance validity tests (PVT). Therefore the purpose of the present study was to derive from the PAI item pool a new SVT, named the Cognitive Response Bias Scale (CRBS), that is sensitive to non-credible responding, and to provide initial validation evidence supporting the use of the CRBS in a clinical setting. The current study utilized an existing neuropsychological outpatient clinical database consisting of 306 consecutive participants who completed the PAI and PVTs and met inclusion criteria. The CRBS was empirically derived from this database utilizing primarily an Item Response Theory (IRT) framework. Out of 40 items initially examined, 10 items were ultimately retained based on their empirical properties to form the CRBS. An examination of the internal structure of the CRBS indicated that 8 items on the CRBS demonstrated good fit to the graded response IRT model. Overall scale reliability was good (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77) and commensurate with other SVTs. Examination of item content revealed the CRBS consisted of items related to somatic complaints, psychological distress, and denial of fault. Items endorsed by participants exhibiting lower levels of non-credible responding consisted of vague and non-specific complaints, while participants with high levels of non-credible responding endorsed items indicating ongoing active pain and distress. The CRBS displayed expected relationships with other measures, including high positive correlations with negative impression management (r = 0.73), depression (r = 0.78), anxiety (r = 0.78), and schizophrenia (r = 0.71). Moderate negative correlations were observed with positive impression management (r = -0.31), and treatment rejection (r = -0.42). Two hierarchical logistic regression models showed the CRBS has significant predictive power above and beyond existing PAI SVTs and clinical scales in accurately predicting PVT failure. The overall classification accuracy of the CRBS in detecting failure on multiple PVTs was comparable to other SVTs (area under the curve = 0.72), and it displayed moderate sensitivity (i.e., 0.31) when specificity was high (i.e., 0.96). These operating characteristics suggest that the CRBS is effective at ruling in the possibility of non-credible responding, but not for ruling it out. The conservative recommended cut score was robust to effects of differential prediction due to gender and education. Given the extremely small sample subsets of forensic-only and non-Caucasian participants, future validation is required to establish reliable cut-offs when inferences based on comparisons to similar populations are desired. Results of the current study indicate the CRBS has comparable psychometric properties and clinical utility to analogous SVTs in similar personality inventories to the PAI. Furthermore, item content of the CRBS is consistent with and corroborates existing theory on non-credible responding and cognitive response bias. This study also demonstrated that a graded response IRT model can be useful in deriving and validating SVTs in the PAI, and that the graded response model provides unique and novel information into the nature of non-credible responding.

For older adults, engaging in prosocial behaviours such as volunteering, caregiving, and informal helping, may contribute to self-perceptions of social usefulness. Limitations of past research on social usefulness include lack of a clear operationalization of the construct and lack of a psychometrically sound measure. To address these issues, study one was conducted to explore the construct of social usefulness through qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 20 older adults, with varying degrees of prosocial engagement. A thematic analysis illustrated various themes that were associated with perceptions of social usefulness that includes: (a) values and beliefs about social usefulness, (b) the personal need and motivation to be socially useful, (c) the amount of perceived personal social usefulness, (d) the perceived quality of personal social usefulness, and (e) the personal outcomes of social usefulness. These themes were used in study 2 as basis for item development for a scale of social usefulness. In study 2, social usefulness items were developed from the data extracts (i.e., quotes) and themes from study one. The items were administered to 408 older adults, along with preliminary validation measures. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor solution that includes: (a) personal motivation to be socially useful, (b) psychological rewards of social usefulness, and (c) perceived network reliance on special social usefulness. The Older Adult Social Usefulness Scale demonstrated good construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency. The scale offers an empirically developed measure of social usefulness. The conceptual, theoretical, and practical implications of these findings, along with limitations and future research directions, are discussed.

Extending prior alcohol expectancy measurement research, this researcher (McMurray, 2013) recently developed the Pharmacological and Social Alcohol Expectancy Scale (PSAES). The PSAES is the only alcohol expectancy measure to date that provides adequate coverage of both social expectancies and the anticipated positive pharmacological effects resulting from alcohol consumption, and was developed and validated in a sample of young adults (aged 18-23). Research has shown that adolescents at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) hold higher expectations of reward from alcohol, suggesting that expectancy patterns may help distinguish at-risk youth. Building upon the previous PSAES validation study, the primary purpose of the current study was to examine whether a version of the PSAES adapted for adolescents (the PSAES-A) provided a valid measure of pharmacological and social alcohol expectancies in adolescents. Results demonstrated that a respecified model of the PSAES-A adequately fit the proposed two-dimensional factor structure and provided justification for the items representing two distinguishable domains: social and pharmacological. The PSAES-A was then used to 1) examine patterns of alcohol expectancies and drinking behaviors in adolescents and 2) investigate whether risk (e.g., sensation seeking personality) was differentially associated with pharmacological and social expectancies in adolescents. Results indicated that pharmacological and social expectancies were differentially associated with various drinking behaviors (e.g., quantity, frequency) and that sensation seeking was significantly associated with both social and pharmacological expectancies in adolescents. The fact that alcohol expectancies differentially predicted quantity and frequency of drinking suggests that different expectancy processes affect adolescent’s decisions about how often they drink versus how much alcohol they consume on a given occasion. Implications and limitations are discussed.

INTRODUCTION: Initial examination of treatment worries suggest they may represent an important construct; however, previously used measures were limited by their specificity, scale format, and lack of parent report. Therefore the present study sought to examine the initial outcomes and psychometrics of newly developed corresponding measures of treatment worries in youth (Treatment Worries Questionnaire – Child; TWQ-C) and their parents (Treatment Worries Questionnaire – Parent; TWQ-P). METHODS: Participants were 94 youth (7-17-years old) and parent dyads presenting for psychosocial treatment of an anxiety disorder. Prior to initiation of treatment, dyads completed the TWQ-C and TWQ-P along with a host of additional child and parent report measures, and three clinician-rated measures. RESULTS: Treatment worries were endorsed in the mild-moderate range by youth and the TWQ-C demonstrated good-excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, a strong three-factor structure, and consistent convergent and divergent relationships. Treatment worries were endorsed in the low mild range by parents and the TWQ-P demonstrated fair-good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, a less empirically, but theoretically, supported four-factor structure, and consistent divergent relationships, but variable (by factor) convergent relationships. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study provide information on the concept of treatment worries and support the use of the TWQ-C and TWQ-P as broad assessments of the concept in a variety of populations. Low endorsement of worries among parents likely relates to the nature of the present sample (treatment-seeking) and may have contributed significantly to the less ideal psychometrics of the TWQ-P in comparison to the TWQ-C. Future investigation of treatment worries using the TWQ-C and TWQ-P in a variety of samples is warranted.

The overarching goal of this dissertation is to inform evidence-based supports for diverse parents. Past meta-analyses (e.g., Dimitrova, Chasiotis, & van de Vijver, 2016; Porter & Haslam, 2005) have examined adjustment in migrant children, adolescents, and adults. To date, reviews have often examined only immigrants or refugees, with few quantitative comparisons between groups. Further, few include information on parenting or parental adjustment (e.g., van Os, Kalverboer, Zijlstra, Post, & Knorth, 2016). To fill this gap, I conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that used psychometrically strong measures of adjustment and parenting with newcomer immigrant and refugee families to update the literature and to provide a quantitative comparison between migrant groups. Database searches yielded 18,139 abstracts for screening; 4,626 full text articles were reviewed; 31 independent samples 25 of which have not been included in previous reviews met inclusion criteria. Results highlight important differences between migrant groups and informants: parent reports of youth adjustment generally reported greater problems among both immigrant and refugee youth compared to normative samples, whereas youth self-reports varied by migrant group (with refugee youth reporting greater problems than immigrant youth) and adjustment construct. In my second study, I developed and evaluated a self-report measure of adherence to an evidence-based parenting program that is used with diverse families. This tool, the Practitioner Session Reflection Tool (PSRT; Sheshko, Lee, & Gagné, 2015), was designed to support practitioners’ adherence to both the session content and to the primary process of self-regulation theorized to underpin the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program (Sanders, 1999, 2012). Fifty-two practitioners from 12 community agencies submitted 361 self-reports; a subset of 23 practitioners submitted 63 audio-recordings to permit additional ratings by a coding team providing a multi-informant and multimethod evaluation of adherence. Results provided preliminary evidence of good levels of reliability and validity for scores on the adherence measures. Consistent with previous research there were low correlations between informants: practitioners reported both higher content (84.6% compared to 49.9%) and process (80.0 – 95.0% compared to 30 – 55%) adherence than that rated by coders. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. Taken together, the results of these two studies highlight both the importance of offering supports that can be delivered flexibly to suit the needs of diverse families, and the need to support practitioners’ self-reflection on adherence to program content and underlying processes in delivering those supports.

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