There are substantial data exploring the link between religiosity and health, yet there is no consensus regarding the appropriate measurement tool for assessing religiosity in health psychology settings. The purpose of this study was to identify a set of items that could serve as a reliable and valid proxy measure of religiosity. Participants included 251 (M=19.02; range = 17-25) young adults who completed self-report measures of religiosity (Intrinsic-Extrinsic/Revised, Quest Scale, Faith Maturity Scale), psychological distress (SCL-90-R), and personality (NEOPI-R). Individual item pools for religiosity were developed by identifying significant correlations between each of the religiosity measures and the SCL-90-R items. Exploratory factor analyses and item-level analyses were conducted and convergent and discriminant validity were examined for each proposed measure. A group of items were identified that were associated with previously validated measures of religiosity. These religiosity measures were also associated with the personality domains of Openness to Experience and Agreeableness but were not associated with Neuroticism. There was insufficient evidence, however, to conclude that the proposed measures could serve as true proxy measures of religiosity as they were more strongly associated with Neuroticism than the religiosity measures from which they were derived. The results of this study underscore the importance of the religiosity construct to health-related outcomes, yet much work remains to delineate the optimal means of measuring the construct and the specific pathways by which religiosity may exert its influence on both mental and physical health.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Eating disorders are alarmingly prevalent and potentially lethal. The proper assessment of eating disorder symptoms is therefore crucial for the early identification and treatment of those suffering from these serious illnesses. Current measures of eating disorder symptoms are either very narrow in scope (e.g., assess only one aspect of disordered eating, such as bingeing) and/or have one or more serious limitations, such as inconsistent factor structures and/or poor discriminant validity. Because several of the existing measures of eating disorders were created over 20 years ago, many of these limitations are the direct result of out-dated scale development methods and testing.The goal this study was to determine the structure underlying the symptoms of eating disorders and develop a multidimensional measure of eating pathology based on this structure. To accomplish this goal, an initial item pool was developed to assess 20 dimensions of eating pathology. The initial item pool of 160 items was administered to a student sample (N=433) and community sample(N=407) to determine the preliminary structure of the measure using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The revised measure was then administered to independent samples of psychiatric patients (N=190) and students (N=227). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 7-factor structure that showed excellent convergent and discriminant validity. The final measure was also internally consistent (median coefficient alphas ranged from .84-.89) and reliable over a two- to four-week period (r's ranged from .70-.84). The current study represents one of, perhaps, the most comprehensive scale development project ever conducted in the field of eating disorders and is expected to improve future basic and treatment research focused on eating disorders.

This thesis is the first attempt to construct a standardized measure of literacy for the medium of video games, filling a gap in the literature by synthesizing various items of skills, behaviors, and affective components from existent studies and determining their correlations through analyzation of survey data. The five categories that were derived from conceptual review and factor analysis have high measures of internal consistency: Information and Systems Management; Exploration and Enjoyment; Teamwork; Design; and Socialization. To test for external consistency and reliability, the proposed gaming literacy model was compared to the Novak and Hoffman (1997) construction of flow, using the three primary components of Challenge, Skill, and Play. Flow is the ultimate level of optimal experience possible with any activity, so it was assumed that high levels of self-reported literacy would coincide with similarly elevated scores in concern with the flow phenomenon. The data shows that, indeed, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between the two constructs. Nomological validity tests between males and females were conducted post-hoc, using the available data. The intended use for this scale is to establish a baseline measurement system for self-report methods of assessing literacy with video games. Future research should attempt to correlate the scale to actual gaming activity, test the importance of each component in an experimental setting, and determine the discriminate validity by comparing it to scales that have been established for other forms of digital literacy.

This research sought to clarify the construct of life meaning by creating a new, multidimensional measure of life meaning. In an initial study, 392 university undergraduates (317 women, 75 men) completed several existing life meaning measures. Exploratory factor analytic procedures undertaken on the item responses supported the extraction of 10 factors: Achievement, Framework/Purpose, Religion, Death Acceptance, Interpersonal Satisfaction, Fulfillment/Excitement, Giving to the World, Existential Vacuum, Intimacy, and Control. Of the original 170 items, the 64 items with the highest factor loadings were retained, and together comprise the Multidimensional Life Meaning Scale (MLMS). Higher-order exploratory factor analyses yielded three factors: Personal Efficacy, Self-Transcendence, and Fulfillment. A second study, conducted with an independent sample of undergraduate students (N = 262; 200 women, 62 men), provided mixed support for the factor structure of the MLMS at the item level, but replicated the higher-order factor structure revealed in the initial study. The criterion-related (concurrent and discriminant) validity was also examined in the second study, by factor analyzing the MLMS factors along with criterion subscales thought to be related to life meaning, and support was found for 7 of the 10 first-order factors. In a final study, support was found for the existence of group differences that were hypothesized on the basis of rational links to interpreted higher-order dimensions of life meaning. In accordance with predictions, Theology students (n = 28) reported higher levels of Self-Transcendence and depressed students (n = 31) indicated lower levels of Fulfillment compared to a baseline group of undergraduate students (n = 262). Contrary to expectations, Law/Business students (n =35) were not significantly different from the baseline group on Personal Efficacy. Based on the results of these three studies, it is concluded that the life meaning construct is multidimensional. The Multidimensional Life Meaning Scale is a promising measure of the construct, and the inclusion of both lower-order and higher-order factors is a new way of conceptualizing life meaning. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2007-08-14 13:59:44.903

The use of rating scales in the evaluation of secondary teacher performance has been called into question and widely criticized. Of particular concern has been the use of student ratings of teacher performance. A review of instruments and practices used in the rating process reveals serious design flaws that account for the criticisms leveled against the use of rating scales. This study sought to address the limitations evident in previous rating efforts by utilizing a combination of design methodologies and measurement models including elements of Classical Test Theory (CTT), factor analysis, and Item Response Theory (IRT). The IRT model employed was the one-parameter logistic model also known as the Rasch model. Twelve scales were developed consisting of a total of ninety-two items. These scales were developed to facilitate student ratings of secondary level teachers of religion in the Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). In addition to exploring rating scale design methodology and scale performance, this study also examined a potential threat to the validity of decisions based on ratings referred to as halo effect. Using a variety of approaches to operationally define and estimate halo error, the extent to which male and female students exhibit differing degrees of halo in their ratings of teachers was examined. The results of the study revealed that of the twelve teacher traits hypothesized in the design of the rating scales, only three met defensible criteria based on CTT and Rasch model standards: the Student-Teacher Rapport Scale (STRS), the Scripture Mastery Expectation Scale (SMES), and the Spiritual Learning Environment Scale (SLES). Secondary students were unable to meaningfully discriminate between all twelve traits. Traditional approaches to halo effect estimation suggest that males exhibited halo to a greater degree than females, whereas Rasch model approaches to halo effect estimation were less consistent. Considered together, however, the evidence suggests differential halo error by gender, with males exhibiting halo to a greater degree than females. The implications of these findings for teacher evaluation, instructional design, and future research efforts are also addressed.

Although prosocial behavior has been moving in directions that highlight complexity over the past few years, little research has assessed the cost of this behavior. This study created a scale assessing the tendency to perceive costs of prosocial behavior. This was validated via focus groups, content and discriminant validity. In six focus groups, 29 13- to 25-year olds described specific prosocial acts and the costs that they experienced from the act. A questionnaire was then given to 391 emerging adults. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Results suggest a four-factor solution with adequate model fit, suggesting cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social costs. Convergent and discriminant validity add support to the scale. Discussion focuses on the implications of this measure for the prosocial behavior literature and important future directions.

Optimization of time and cost in construction projects has been subject to extensive research since the development of the Critical Path Method (CPM). Many researchers have investigated various versions of the well-known Time-Cost Trade-off (TCT) problem including linear, convex, concave, and also the discrete (DTCT) version. Traditional methods in the literature for optimizing time and cost of construction projects range from mathematical methods to evolutionary-based ones, such as genetic algorithms, particle swarm, ant-colony, and leap frog optimization. However, none of the existing research studies has dealt with the optimization of large-scale projects in which any small saving would be significant. Traditional approaches have all been applied to projects of less than 100 activities which are far less than what exists in real-world construction projects. The objective of this study is to utilize recent developments in computation technology and novel optimization techniques such as Constraint Programming (CP) to improve the current limitations in solving large-scale DTCT problems. Throughout the first part of this research, an Excel-based TCT model has been developed to investigate the performance of traditional optimization methods, such as mathematical programming and genetic algorithms, for solving large TCT problems. The result of several experimentations confirms the inefficiency of traditional methods for optimizing large TCT problems. Subsequently, a TCT model has been developed using Optimization Programming Language (OPL) to implement the Constraint Programming (CP) technique. CP Optimizer of IBM ILOG Optimization Studio has been used to solve the model and to successfully optimize several projects ranging from a small project of 18 activities to very large projects consisting of more than 10,000 activities. Constraint programming proved to be very efficient in solving large-scale TCT problems, generating substantially better results in terms of solution quality and processing speed. While traditional optimization methods have been used to optimize projects consisting of less than one hundred activities, constraint programming demonstrated its capability of solving TCT problems comprising of thousands of activities. As such, the developed model represents a significant improvement in optimization of time and cost of large-scale construction projects and can greatly enhance the level of planning and control in such projects.

This study introduces cultural knowledge as a central element to conceptualizing and measuring Black consciousness beliefs. Through the development and initial validation of a new measure, the Scale of Black Consciousness (SBC), the structural nature of Black consciousness as a function of cultural knowledge was determined using exploratory factor analyses. Relations between Black consciousness, self-esteem, cultural socialization and knowledge, African cultural consciousness, group-based racial identity, and impression management were also assessed to determine validity evidence for the SBC. Further, known-groups validity was determined by examining SBC score means between participants who endorsed taking Black Studies courses as compared to participants who did not endorse taking such courses. This study also provided an analysis of sources of cultural knowledge among participants. Previous research provides support for the relationship between Black consciousness and cultural knowledge. The Africentric Theory of Black Personality theoretically highlights the value of culture-centered knowledge (Baldwin, 1981, 1984; Baldwin & Bell, 1985) and the group-based theory of stratum consciousness (Gurin & Epps, 1975; Gurin, Miller, & Gurin, 1980) provides a model for examining group consciousness among historically marginalized groups. Accordingly, cultural knowledge supports the development of Black consciousness through an awareness of and connection to African descent cultural history (King, 2004; Lewis et al., 2006; Shockley, 2007). Despite theory suggesting a conceptual link between cultural knowledge and Black consciousness (Adams, 2005; Banks, 2004; King, 2004), there is limited research examining cultural knowledge in relation to Black consciousness beliefs. Results revealed the SBC as a reliable and valid measure of Black consciousness. For construct and predictive validity, the SBC exhibited significant correlations in the expected directions with African cultural consciousness, group-based Black identity, self-esteem, cultural socialization, Black history knowledge, and impression management. A comparison of SBC score means demonstrated that participants taking Black Studies courses exhibited higher consciousness beliefs as measured by the SBC than participants not taking Black Studies courses, providing evidence for known-groups validity. Additionally, the results for sources of cultural learning, revealed parents and teachers/professors as the most frequently cited sources. These findings further the literature on cultural consciousness among African descent people. / text