Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-08-07T12:36:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 pmdgi - dennys eduardo rosseto.pdf: 3115617 bytes, checksum: 0ec6576303ae5b79113054ce0a87be46 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-08-07T12:37:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pmdgi - dennys eduardo rosseto.pdf: 3115617 bytes, checksum: 0ec6576303ae5b79113054ce0a87be46 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2018-08-07T16:19:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pmdgi - dennys eduardo rosseto.pdf: 3115617 bytes, checksum: 0ec6576303ae5b79113054ce0a87be46 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2018-08-07T16:19:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pmdgi - dennys eduardo rosseto.pdf: 3115617 bytes, checksum: 0ec6576303ae5b79113054ce0a87be46 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T16:19:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pmdgi - dennys eduardo rosseto.pdf: 3115617 bytes, checksum: 0ec6576303ae5b79113054ce0a87be46 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-22 / In both the academy and the press, Frugal Innovation has gained more space and attention from researchers and managers, mainly as an alternative to competitiveness in times of crisis and increasingly scarce resources. Despite the growing number of published articles on frugal innovation, there is still a lack of tools that allow mediation and quantification of this phenomenon to allow more precise and quantifiable studies to be carried out. In addition, due to the broad concepts of Frugal Innovation still in the process of consolidation, it would be very useful for managers and entrepreneurs an instrument that allows identifying and guiding companies that want guidelines for the development of frugal offers, besides constituting a significant theoretical contribution . In this thesis, we propose a scale to identify and measure frugal innovation, presenting the results of five data collection in three different countries (Brazil, USA and India), with the whole development process, the refinement of items through an Exploratory EFA), Confirmation Factor Analysis (CFA) and final validation of the scale based on the company's 1130 data. A broad review of the literature is presented with the retrieval of the main published articles, as well as an analysis of the dimensionality of the construction, all the definitions found in the literature. In addition, an improvement in the definition of frugal innovation is proposed through the creation of a frugal ecosystem. All procedures follow the steps based on the Churchill paradigm (Churchill 1979) which was updated by Mackenzie, Podsakoff and Podsakoff (2011). In the first stage, 66 items were generated based on a broad literature review. Content validation was performed through personal interviews with 12 experts (academics and managers), resulting in 20 items retained. Afterwards, the face validation was performed with 22 managers aiming to improve the clarity and understanding of the items, resulting in 12 items retained. With the 12 items, a survey was performed composed of 191 Brazilian companies, where a Factorial Exploratory Analysis (EFA) was carried out as a first purification process, in which all the statistical indices were adjusted. As a result three dimensions were obtained (1) Focus on core functionality and performance; (2) Substantial cost reduction; and (3) Creation of a Frugal Ecosystem, all composed of 9 items, three items in each dimension. A second round of research was conducted with 247 Brazilian companies, and with these data a Confirmation Factor Analysis (CFA) and internal consistency verification were performed, where all adjustments were obtained again. The questionnaire was subjected to subsequent translation procedures to reach the validity of the translation and then two more surveys were conducted with 250 American companies and 300 Indian companies for final validation purposes. As a result, other validations were obtained, such as convergent viability, discriminant validity, reliability verification and nomological validity (through the application of other scales). The scale was applied to Indian companies in order to obtain results from another emerging country. Contributing to the discussion about frugal innovation is not only appropriate for emerging countries or is also a phenomenon that may occur in developed countries, this scale has also been applied with US companies. With this scale validated, this study contributes to other researches, allowing results from other countries, developed or in the process of development, for comparative research and for a better understanding of the relationships of Frugal innovation with other phenomena. / Tanto na academia quanto na imprensa, a Frugal Innovation ganhou mais espaço e atenção de pesquisadores e gerentes, principalmente por se mostrar como uma alternativa para a competitividade em tempos de crise e recursos cada vez mais escassos. Apesar do número crescente de artigos publicados sobre a inovação frugal, ainda há uma falta de instrumentos que permitem mediação e quantificação deste fenômeno para permitir a realização de estudos mais precisos e quantificáveis. Além disso, devido aos amplos conceitos de Inovação Frugal ainda no processo de consolidação, seria muito útil para gestores e empresários um instrumento que permita identificar e orientar as empresas que desejam orientações para o desenvolvimento de ofertas frugais, além de constituir um teor teórico significativo contribuição. Nesta tese, propomos uma escala para identificar e medir a inovação frugal, apresentando os resultados de cinco coleta de dados em três países diferentes (Brasil, EUA e Índia), com todo o processo de desenvolvimento, o refinamento dos itens através de um Exploratório (EFA), Análise de Fator de Confirmação (CFA) e validação final da escala com base nos 1130 dados da empresa. Uma ampla revisão da literatura é apresentada com o resgate dos principais artigos publicados, bem como uma análise da dimensionalidade da construção, todas as definições encontradas na literatura. Além disso, uma melhoria na definição de inovação frugal é proposta através da criação de um ecossistema frugal. Todos os procedimentos seguem as etapas baseadas no paradigma de Churchill (Churchill 1979) que foi atualizado por Mackenzie, Podsakoff e Podsakoff (2011). No primeiro estágio foram gerados 66 itens com base em uma ampla revisão da literatura. A validação do conteúdo foi realizada através de entrevistas pessoais com 12 especialistas (acadêmicos e gerentes), resultando em 20 itens retidos. Na sequência, a validação do rosto foi realizada com 22 gestores visando melhorar a clareza e a compreensão dos itens, resultando em 12 itens retidos. Com os 12 itens, uma pesquisa foi realizada composta por 191 empresas brasileiras, onde se realizou uma Análise Exploratória Factorial (EFA) como um primeiro processo de purificação, no qual foi obtido o ajuste de todos os índices estatísticos. Como resultado foram obtidas três dimensões (1) Foco na funcionalidade e desempenho do núcleo; (2) Redução substancial de custos; e (3) Criação de um Ecossistema Frugal, todos compostos por 9 itens, três itens em cada dimensão. Uma segunda rodada de pesquisa foi realizada com 247 empresas brasileiras, e com esses dados foi realizada uma Análise de fator de Confirmação (CFA) e verificação de consistência interna, onde todos os ajustes foram obtidos novamente. O questionário foi submetido a procedimentos de tradução posterior para alcançar a validade da tradução e, em seguida, realizaram-se mais duas pesquisas, com 250 empresas americanas e com 300 empresas indianas para fins de validação final. Como resultado, foram obtidas outras validações, como a viabilidade convergente, a validade discriminante, a verificação da confiabilidade e a validade nomológica (através da aplicação de outras escalas). A escala foi aplicada às empresas indianas com o objetivo de obter resultados de outro país emergente. Contribuir para a discussão sobre a inovação frugal é ou não apropriado apenas para países emergentes ou, também, é um fenômeno que pode ocorrer em países desenvolvidos, essa escala também foi aplicada com empresas dos EUA. Com está escala valida, este estudo contribui para a realização de outras pesquisas, permitindo obter resultados de outros países, desenvolvidos ou em processo de desenvolvimento, para pesquisas comparativas e para uma melhor compreensão das relações da inovação Frugal com outros fenômenos.

The adverse consequences of posttraumatic stress on quality of life have been well documented. It is, however, possible that it is not the intrusive re-experiencing and hyperarousal posttraumatic stress symptoms that have an impact on quality of life per se, but the inflexible efforts to avoid internal experiences and emotions related to the traumatic event, and the way these emotions are expressed and experienced. Previous research shows that both experiential avoidance and emotion regulation have been found to be etiologically central to the development and maintenance of psychological problems in trauma survivors. The degree to which experiential avoidance and emotion regulation act together as toxic underlying mechanisms to explain the relationship between posttraumatic stress and quality of life is, however, yet to be examined. Quality of life is now regarded as an important outcome variable across a broad range of conditions and problem areas. The quality of life concept has generated a large body of research and yet its assessment has been a challenge for researchers. The WHOQOL-BREF is considered to be one of the few genuine quality of life measures but it has received much criticism, especially regarding the poor psychometric performance of its social relationships domain. The aim of the current thesis was twofold. The first aim involved the revision of the WHOQOL-BREF through the enhancement of the social relationships domain. In Study I 986 ill and healthy individuals from five countries worldwide completed the Pilot Revised WHOQOL-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF-R) along with measures of life satisfaction, anxiety, and depression for the detailed psychometric analysis of the scale. Study I confirmed the limitations of the social relationships domain, and despite its improvement, the performance of the overall scale was found to be poor. In fact, findings from modern and robust techniques challenged the 4-factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF. Instead, results supported the performance of a 3-factor solution, which led to the development of a psychometrically sound measure. Study II is preceded by a systematic review of the literature investigating experiential avoidance as a mediator in trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress. Ten studies were identified and organised in two categories assessing experiential avoidance as a mediator between: 1) trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress, and 2) posttraumatic stress and maladaptive behaviours. Findings suggest that the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms and maladaptive behaviours in the aftermath of trauma can be explained through the use of experiential avoidance. Methodological limitations and future directions for research are discussed. The WHOQOL-BREF-R was then used in Study II, which explored an integrative mediation model whereby experiential avoidance and emotion regulation were tested as mediators in the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptomatology and quality of life in trauma exposed adults. The two mediators were also explored for their overlapping relationship. A total of 360 participants from the community completed self-report measures of posttraumatic stress, experiential avoidance, emotion regulation, and quality of life. With the use of path analysis Study II found experiential avoidance and emotion regulation to be two distinct constructs that together act as an underlying mechanism explaining the impact of posttraumatic stress on quality of life. Alternative mediating models were explored. The current study makes an important contribution in the area of trauma and in the conceptualisation and assessment of quality of life. Findings can be considered as a first step towards an integrative mediation model of toxic mechanisms in trauma and quality of life. Additionally, the favourable psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF-R make it a powerful tool for use in quality of life research.

Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2017-02-14T17:01:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JESSICA PARTICELLI GOBBO.pdf: 2562281 bytes, checksum: 302381e747c99a8330edc758a1d60030 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-14T17:01:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JESSICA PARTICELLI GOBBO.pdf: 2562281 bytes, checksum: 302381e747c99a8330edc758a1d60030 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-16 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Considering the importance of life projects for adolescents and the lack of national instruments in the Brazilian scenario, the present research aimed to develop a scale to evaluate life projects in Brazilian adolescents. To achieve this goal, three studies were carried out: (1) scale development, (2) validity evidence based on content analysis, and (3) focus groups to verify the suitability of items for the selected age group. Initially, a national and international literature review was carried out, through which it was possible to define the first dimensions in which adolescents more commonly construct their life projects. After this step, three studies were performed. In the first study, seven dimensions including 116 items were constructed. Data from a previous study in which 113 adolescents completed the following: "Think about who you are today. Imagine yourself in 10 years. Describe how you wish your life was", was also used for item development. In the second study, five psychologists, interested in life projects construct and / or experts in scale development, participated as evaluators for content validity. The results of this study pointed to positive evidence for most of the items created, although some items were excluded and others were reworded. The scale version in this phase of the study contained 91 items. Finally, the third study aimed to verify the suitability of the scale items to the target age group. For that, 18 male and female adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17, were divided into five focal groups in which they were asked to comment on each of the items of the scale, informing the researcher what they understood in each item, indicating difficult words or even suggesting they be excluded or rewritten. Results showed that 22 items were reworded and 4 items were excluded, totaling 87 items distributed in seven dimensions. In conclusion, items of the present scale are adequate for the studied age groups. / Considerando-se a import?ncia do projeto de vida para o adolescente e a aus?ncia de instrumentos nacionais para acess?-lo, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo a constru??o de uma escala para avaliar projetos de vida de adolescentes brasileiros. Para atingir esse objetivo, foram realizados tr?s estudos: (1) Constru??o do instrumento, (2) Busca por evid?ncias de validade baseadas na an?lise de conte?do e (3) Grupos focais para verifica??o da adequa??o dos itens para a faixa et?ria selecionada. Inicialmente, realizou-se uma revis?o da literatura nacional e internacional, por meio da qual foi poss?vel definir as primeiras dimens?es nas quais os adolescentes mais comumente constroem seus projetos de vida. Ap?s esta etapa, tr?s estudos foram realizados. No primeiro estudo, foram constru?das as sete dimens?es do construto e a vers?o inicial do instrumento, composta por 116 itens. Para a constru??o dos itens, foram tamb?m utilizados dados de um estudo anterior no qual 113 adolescentes responderam ? quest?o: ?Pense na pessoa que voc? ? hoje. Imagine voc? mesmo daqui a 10 anos. Descreva como voc? desejaria que estivesse sua vida?. O segundo estudo buscou evid?ncias de validade de conte?do por meio da an?lise de ju?zes. Participaram desse estudo cinco psic?logos interessados no construto projeto de vida e/ou peritos em constru??o de instrumento. Os resultados desse estudo apontaram para evid?ncias positivas para a maioria dos itens criados, embora alguns itens tenham sido exclu?dos e outros tenham sido reformulados. A vers?o da escala nessa fase do estudo continha 91 itens. Por fim, o terceiro estudo teve como objetivo verificar a adequa??o dos itens da escala ? faixa et?ria alvo. Para isso, 18 adolescentes com idades de 14 a 17 anos de idade, de ambos os sexos, foram divididos em cinco grupos focais nos quais se solicitou que comentassem cada um dos itens da escala, informando ? pesquisadora o que entendiam em cada item, indicando palavras dif?ceis ou mesmo dando sugest?es sobre a exclus?o ou reda??o dos mesmos. Os resultados mostraram que 22 itens foram reformulados e 4 itens foram exclu?dos, totalizando 87 itens espalhados nas sete dimens?es. De maneira geral, concluiu-se que os itens da presente escala encontram-se adequados ?s faixas et?rias estudadas, alcan?ando os objetivos dos estudos realizados.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently one of the most researched of all childhood developmental disorders and is receiving attention in many domains including popular media, social sciences, education, and medicine. The purpose of this dissertation was to design and provide initial psychometric evidence for a scale that measures police officer self-efficacy for working with individuals with ASD. Psychometric properties of a scale designed to measure knowledge of ASD were also explored. Data from 620 police officers actively serving in the United States were collected in two separate phases. A 13-item scale was created to measure police officer self-efficacy for working with individuals with ASD. Results from both phases indicated that the scale represented a unidimensional construct. Police officer knowledge of ASD was significantly and positively related to self-efficacy. Knowing more about officers’ knowledge and beliefs in their own capabilities to work with individuals with ASD can help inform future police education and training efforts.

The following study examines the impact that perceptions of organizational continuity (POC) have on organizational identification (OI) and organizational outcomes, including organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and turnover intentions. It was proposed that POC would be an important factor in determining OI, OCBs, and turnover intentions. In order to test this proposition, a scale was developed that measured an individual’s POC within their organization with regards to the organization’s culture and history. A survey was distributed among working individuals that contained the new measure of POC and other established measures of an organization’s culture and values. The sample consisted of 394 participants. The results showed that the construct of POC consisted of perceiving the organization’s culture and values as continuous over time. Additionally, the measure predicted OCBs and turnover intentions. POC did not, however, predict these outcomes over and above OI. Mediation analyses showed that OI mediated the relationship between POC and OCBs/turnover, thus, providing evidence to show that POC is a contributing factor in the development of an individual’s identification with an organization. This investigation extends research in the area of OI from the social identity perspective by providing the basis for understanding and measuring one of the components that leads to identification with an organization.

The purpose of this study is to construct a valid and reliable mathematics related beliefs scale for determining preservice elementary mathematics teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs in Turkey and investigating the impact of the gender and year level on the preservice mathematics teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs. For the first purpose, the &ldquo / Mathematics Related Belief Scale (MRBS)&rdquo / was developed based on the combination of the belief frameworks in the literature. Data were collected from ten different universities from Ankara, Balikesir, Burdur, Bolu, Gaziantep, Izmir, Van, and Samsun in the spring semester of 2009-2010 academic year. A total of 584 third and fourth year preservice mathematics teachers participated in this study. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that MRBS was a valid and reliable scale which measured Turkish preservice teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs. MRBS had two components &ldquo / constructivist beliefs&rdquo / and &ldquo / traditional beliefs&rdquo / of mathematics and teaching mathematics. There was a significant effect of gender on preservice teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs. No significant difference in preservice teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs was detected in terms of year level in the teacher education program. The MRBS could be used for investigating preservice teachers&rsquo / mathematics related beliefs in order to determine effective teacher education program experiences.

Interpersonal conflict in organizations has been recognized as a leading social stressor across occupations with detrimental effects on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. However, reliable and valid measures of conflict are scarce and even the most widely used scales are limited by weaknesses in construct definition. In order to address the need for an improved measurement tool, the 63-item Interpersonal Conflict in Organizations Scale (ICOS) was developed. The ICOS was based on a comprehensive conceptualization of conflict that defines the construct on the basis of three definitional components: disagreement, interference, and negative emotion (Barki & Hartwick, 2004). In addition, the ICOS reliably measures four conflict types, including task outcome, task process, relationship, and non-task organizational conflict. Data were collected in two phases. The phase I sample included 126 participants from a variety of occupations whose data were used for the purpose of refining the scale. The scale validation (phase II) sample consisted of 260 full-time employees, who were also representative of various occupations. Initial validity results supported significant relationships with various organizational and personal outcome variables, including depression, job satisfaction, somatic symptoms, negative emotions, turnover intentions, counterproductive work behaviors, and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Factor analytic results for the four subscales, as well as, evidence for convergent validity are reported. Overall, the ICOS is a promising new measure of conflict that offers researchers the flexibility of assessing various types of conflict while addressing the conceptual limitations of existing scales.

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

Interpersonal conflict in organizations has been recognized as a leading social stressor across occupations with detrimental effects on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. However, reliable and valid measures of conflict are scarce and even the most widely used scales are limited by weaknesses in construct definition. In order to address the need for an improved measurement tool, the 63-item Interpersonal Conflict in Organizations Scale (ICOS) was developed. The ICOS was based on a comprehensive conceptualization of conflict that defines the construct on the basis of three definitional components: disagreement, interference, and negative emotion (Barki & Hartwick, 2004). In addition, the ICOS reliably measures four conflict types, including task outcome, task process, relationship, and non-task organizational conflict. Data were collected in two phases. The phase I sample included 126 participants from a variety of occupations whose data were used for the purpose of refining the scale. The scale validation (phase II) sample consisted of 260 full-time employees, who were also representative of various occupations. Initial validity results supported significant relationships with various organizational and personal outcome variables, including depression, job satisfaction, somatic symptoms, negative emotions, turnover intentions, counterproductive work behaviors, and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Factor analytic results for the four subscales, as well as, evidence for convergent validity are reported. Overall, the ICOS is a promising new measure of conflict that offers researchers the flexibility of assessing various types of conflict while addressing the conceptual limitations of existing scales.

Although the debate regarding the nature and structure of psychological well-being is ongoing (see Compton, 2001; Forgeard, Jayawickreme, Kern & Seligman, 2011; Kashdan, Biswas-Diener & King, 2008; Keyes, 2002; Kopperud & Vitterso, 2008; Lent, 2004; Linley, Maltby, Wood, Osborne & Hurling, 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff & Singer, 1998; Wissing & Temane, 2008; Wissing & Van Eeden, 2002), there has been sufficient support for more holistic, complex and inclusive models to explain and measure psychological well-being. The intertwined experience of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being as well as overlapping intrapersonal and interpersonal well-being experience (Keyes, 2002; Wissing & Temane, 2008) is captured by some contemporary models. The General Psychological Well-being (GPW; Wissing & Temane, 2008; Wissing & Van Eeden, 2002) and the Mental Health Continuum (MHC; Keyes, 2002, 2005a, 2005b, 2007; Keyes et al., 2008) models are of particular interest in this study especially as they both represent the essence of holistic psychological well-being. Previous research has seen the proliferation of multiple constructs and sub-constructs in the study of psychological well-being in the field of positive psychology. However, little is known about the manifestation and measurement of holistic psychological well-being particularly in an African context. The present thesis intended to explore the GPW and MHC models and their measures namely, the General Psychological Well-being Scale (GPWS) and the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2002, 2005a) in an African Setswana-speaking group. Through this effort, research issues pertaining to theoretical conceptualisation, measurement and socio-demographic interaction were explored. The thesis comprises three sub-studies reported in three manuscripts. All data were collected in cross-sectional surveys. The scale development phase of the first sub-study utilised secondary data analyses, while primary data were collected and analysed by the researcher for the second and third sub-studies. The aim of the first manuscript was to develop and validate a self-report instrument to measure general psychological well-being within an African context. This study took place over three phases and comprised data sets with a cumulative sample of 2760 participants. The phases were 1) scale development (n=2005), 2) pilot study (n=296), and 3) scale validation (n=459). The intention was that the scale should be shorter than the previous batteries of scales used in the initial identification of the General Psychological Well-being factor (GPW) by Wissing and Van Eeden (2002). The results yielded a reliable and valid 20 item scale. A Cronbach alpha of .89 among this sample attests to its reliability. Construct and criterion-related validity were supported by confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and inter-scale correlations. According to Noar (2003), the development of reliable and valid measures contributes to the advancement of quality research. It is envisaged that the GPWS will be of value in epidemiological and multi-disciplinary studies as well as in evaluation of the impact of interventions to enhance positive health (cf. Seligman, 2008). The aim of the second study was to explore the influence of socio-demographic variables, namely gender, age, marital status, employment status, educational level and environmental setting on holistic psychological well-being in an African sample. Keyes and Waterman (2003) included these factors among the determinants of well-being and mental health. A community sample (n=459) consisting of male (n=141) and female (n=318) Setswana-speaking adults from rural (n=210) and urban (n=249) settings participated in the study. Findings indicate that whether a person lives in an urban or rural area has the most robust influence on their psychological well-being. Furthermore, psychological well-being was found to be positively influenced by being married, having a higher educational status and being employed. Gender and age did not have any differential influence on well-being. The insights gained from these findings could help enhance understanding of the various patterns in the manifestation of psychological well-being in a (South) African context. This will allow for better targeted interventions towards the enhancement of general psychological well-being in African communities. In this case, it is apparent that rural communities are in particular need of positive development intervention. According to Farid and Lazarus (2008) intervention efforts towards the improvement of lives need to be encouraged from the level of policy development. Government and business should take interest in people’s levels of well-being in guiding policy decisions (Diener, Kesebir & Lucas, 2008). The aim of the third study was to undertake a psychometric comparison of the General Psychological Well-being Scale (GPWS) and Mental Health Continuum Short-Form (MHC-SF) in an African context. The study comprised 459 Setswana-speaking participants. The study employed three main statistical approaches, namely, classical test theory (CTT) (cf. Clark & Watson, 1995; John & Benet-Martínez, 2000; Panounen & Ashton, 1998) structural equation modelling (SEM) (Byrne, 2001; Kline, 2011), and the Rasch model (De Bruin, 2004; Linacre, 2002, 2003; Rasch, 1960) of item response theory (IRT) in comparing the two scales. Firstly the theoretical basis of the scales and their development routes were explored. Secondly results from CTT (descriptive statistics, reliability, construct and criterion-related validity), SEM (measurement model fit indices) and IRT (item fit statistics, difficulty parameters, and response scale thresholds) analyses are reported. The main finding is that the GPWS and the MHC-SF are comparable measures of holistic psychological well-being in an African context. Although the MHC-SF appeared to be marginally superior, no model and measure emerged as clearly better than the other. The findings of the three sub-studies in this thesis contribute to the study of well-being and the field of positive psychology in at least three ways. Firstly, a new self-report instrument to measure general psychological well-being was developed and validated for use in an African context. Secondly, the study highlighted the significant influence of socio-demographic variables on individuals’ psychological well-being. Thirdly, in psychometrically comparing two scales, the study not only employed CTT and SEM methods as has been previously done, but has also reported IRT’s Rasch model’s results. The thesis is a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of the two holistic psychological well-being models and their measures in an African context. Qualitative studies towards the further clarification and contextualisation of the understanding of well-being in an African context are suggested. This may serve to triangulate, contradict or pose further hypotheses regarding the findings of the present study. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011