Confirmatory factor and measurement invariance analyses of the emotion regulation questionnaire

Emotion regulation is widely studied in many areas of psychology and the number of publications on emotion regulation has increased exponentially over the past few decades. Additionally, interest in the relationships between emotion dysregulation processes and psychopathology has drastically increased in recent years. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was developed to measure two specific constructs related to emotion control: reappraisal and suppression (Gross & John, 2003). In its initial validation study and subsequent analyses, the instrument was shown to possess sound psychometric properties, but, to date, inquiry regarding the measure's characteristics has been limited. Factor analytic examinations of commonly used instruments are recommended to validate the properties of a given measure and increase researchers understanding of the measured constructs. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the ERQ in a sample of 1,188 undergraduates through confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, tests of measurement invariance were employed in order to examine potential structural differences based on gender and ethnicity. The current study supported the original structure of the measure with all demographic groups and exceptional fit was demonstrated. Additional normative data for gender and ethnic groups are included. Results support the use of the instrument in future research.     

The Patient-Professional Interaction Questionnaire (PPIQ) to assess patient centered care from the patient’s perspective

Objective

To investigate how patients evaluate the provision of patient-centered care (PCC) by healthcare professionals and psychometrically test a questionnaire to assess it. A tool previously developed for self-assessment of professionals’ provision of PCC was adapted into a patient-rated form, named Patient-Professional Interaction Questionnaire (PPIQ).

The Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire: Assessment of its Construct Validity in a Community Sample of French Adolescents

Background

Among the few instruments used to measure the behavioral component of body image disturbances, the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) is the most widely used. Despite the wide utilization of this instrument, it is currently unknown whether it is appropriate for male and female adolescents from middle and junior high schools.

Purpose

The main objective of the present series of studies was to test the construct validity of the BIAQ in a community sample of French adolescents.

Method

The content, factor, and convergent validity of the BIAQ were verified in the context of four independent studies conducted on a total sample of 945 adolescents.

Results

The first study showed that the content and formulation of the French BIAQ items were adequate for children and adolescents. The following three studies provided support for the factor validity, measurement invariance (across sex), reliability, and convergent validity of the French BIAQ. Regarding the measurement invariance tests, the results revealed that the models were invariant up to the levels of the latent means structures. Post hoc probing of these differences showed a significant higher latent mean score of the global BIAQ scale in females (in samples 2 and 3).

Discussion

The present results provide preliminary evidence regarding the construct validity of the BIAQ in a community sample of French adolescents.     

Factorial invariance of child self-report across socioeconomic status groups: a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis utilizing the PedsQL<Superscript>TM</Superscript> 4.0 Generic Core Scales

The measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric medicine and health services research has grown significantly over the past decade. Socioeconomic status (SES) differences in health outcomes have been extensively documented in adult and child populations. In order for HRQOL comparisons to be meaningful across different socioeconomic status (SES) groups, items on a HRQOL measure must have equivalent meaning across the SES subpopulations being compared. That is, they must demonstrate factorial invariance. This study examined factorial invariance of child self-report for ages 5–18 across SES groups in 453 children utilizing the PedsQL^TM 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed specifying a five-factor model across two SES groups. SES groupings were assigned according to the Hollingshead Index of Social Status. Factorial invariance across socioeconomic status groups was demonstrated based on stability of the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) between the models, and several additional indices of practical fit including the Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA), the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI), and the Parsimony Normed Fit Index (PNFI). The findings support an equivalent five-factor structure of child self-report on the PedsQL^TM across the two SES groups studied. Based on these data, it can be concluded that children across SES groups interpreted items on the PedsQL^TM in a similar manner.     

The brief sense of community scale: Testing dimensionality and measurement invariance by gender among Hispanic/Latinx youth

Psychological sense of community is defined as feelings of belongingness and a shared belief that community members will meet one another's needs. Psychological sense of community has four dimensions: membership, influence, needs fulfillment, and emotional connection. In this study, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the first and second-order factor structure of the brief sense of community scale (BSCS) between male and female Hispanic/Latinx adolescents from an urban community (N = 947). To help validate the BSCS model, the second-order factor model was tested with regression to predict the measures of intrapersonal psychological empowerment and ethnic identity, as constructs conceptually related to psychological sense of community. Findings support that: (1) psychological sense of community can be measured through the BSCS and as a four-factor model among Hispanic/Latinx youth, supporting McMillan and Chavis's (1986) original theoretical discussions; (2) while no differences between genders were present at the model-level, there was path-specific variation; and (3) intrapersonal psychological empowerment and ethnic identity were associated with psychological sense of community.     

Effects of gender, age, and body parameters on the ventricular volume of Korean people

The purpose of this study was to measure the average ventricular volume of normal Koreans (aged in their 20s or 40s) and to analyze the effects of gender, age, and body parameters, such as height and weight on ventricle size. Magnetic resonance brain images were recorded for 118 people in their 20s (58 men, 60 women) and 100 in their 40s (41 men, 59 women). Using automatic and manual segmentation techniques, the volumes of the lateral and the third and fourth ventricles were calculated. To investigate the different and interactive effects of gender and age on ventricular volume, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with gender and age as independent variables was carried out. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of body parameters, such as height and weight according to gender on changes in ventricular volume. The average ventricular volume for people in their 20s was 16.2 cm3, and that for people in their 40s was 24.9 cm3. The average ventricular volume for men and women was 22.9 and 18.1 cm3, respectively. The average ventricular volume for men was greater than that for women, and that for people in their 40s was greater than that in their 20s. Enlargement of the ventricles on aging was more markedly observed in men than in women. There was a positive relationship between the body height and ventricular volume for men but not for women. There was no relationship between weight and ventricular volume for either men or women.     

Effects of age and gender on the propelling efficiency of the arm stroke

The propelling efficiency of the arm stroke (η _P) was estimated in a group of 63 male and female subjects (9–59 years of age) of good technical skill, swimming the front crawl at sub-maximal speeds. η _P was calculated on the basis of values of speed (v), stroke frequency (SF) and shoulder-to-hand distance (l, calculated from measures of arm length and elbow angle during the in-sweep) as proposed by Zamparo et al. (Eur J Appl Physiol 94:134–144, 2005). In both genders, the distance covered per stroke (Ds = v/SF) is similar before puberty, reaches its maximum at about 20 years of age and then steadily declines. l is significantly larger in males than in females and this difference tended to offset the differences in Ds so that η _P is almost the same in male and female swimmers of the same age group and swimming ability: about 0.31 before puberty, 0.38–0.40 at about 20 years of age and about 0.25 in swimmers older than 40 years of age. The development of η _P and Ds during the life span is similar to the changes in muscle strength and power reported in the literature suggesting that these parameters are related to the ability to exert forceful (and hence effective) strokes in water. Since the energy cost of swimming (C) depends essentially on η _P and the hydrodynamic resistance (W _d), these data further suggest that differences in C between genders are mainly to be attributed to differences in W _d, whereas differences across ages can be attributed also to changes in η _P.     

A life-course and time perspective on the construct validity of psychological distress in women and men. Measurement invariance of the K6 across gender

Background  

Psychological distress is a widespread indicator of mental health and mental illness in research and clinical settings. A recurrent finding from epidemiological studies and population surveys is that women report a higher mean level and a higher prevalence of psychological distress than men. These differences may reflect, to some extent, cultural norms associated with the expression of distress in women and men. Assuming that these norms differ across age groups and that they evolve over time, one would expect gender differences in psychological distress to vary over the life-course and over time. The objective of this study was to investigate the construct validity of a psychological distress scale, the K6, across gender in different age groups and over a twelve-year period.     

Influence of age and gender on the jaw-stretch and blink reflexes

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of age and gender on jaw-stretch and blink reflexes (BR). Thirty “young” (26.5±0.7 years) and thirty “old” (47.8±1.8 years) healthy adults were included. Short-latency stretch reflex responses were evoked in the masseter and temporalis muscles by fast jaw-stretches, and BR in orbicularis oculi muscle were evoked by painful electrical pulses (0.5 ms duration), delivered by a concentric electrode placed on the left lower forehead close to the supraorbital foramen. For the jaw-stretch reflex, the pre-stimulus EMG activity in the old subjects was significantly lower than that of the young subjects in the right and left masseter and temporalis muscles (P<0.006), whereas there was no difference in the results between males and females. The normalized peak-to-peak amplitude of the EMG in the left masseter and left and right temporalis muscles was significantly lower in the old subjects compared with the young subjects (P<0.02). Females had significantly higher normalized peak-to-peak EMG amplitudes compared with males in the right masseter and left temporalis muscles (P<0.05). The old subjects had significantly lower root mean square (RMS) (P=0.01) and average (P<0.02) BR values in the right and left orbicularis oculi muscles, and lower area under the curve (AUC) (P=0.02) values in the left orbicularis oculi muscle compared with the young subjects. Female subjects had significantly lower AUC (P=0.02) in the left orbicularis oculi muscle compared with males. The old subjects had significantly later offset (P<0.003) and longer duration (P<0.001) in the left orbicularis oculi compared with the young subjects. The results of the present study demonstrated a significant effect of both age and gender on stretch and BR and suggested that these variables should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of brainstem reflexes in basic and clinical studies.     

A meta-analytic review of the relationship between adolescent risky sexual behavior and impulsivity across gender,age, and race

Background

Impulsivity is frequently included as a risk factor in models of adolescent sexual risk-taking; however, findings on the magnitude of association between impulsivity and risky sexual behavior are variable across studies. The aims of the current meta-analysis were to examine (1) how specific impulsivity traits relate to specific risky sexual behaviors in adolescents, and (2) how the impulsivity–risky sex relationship might differ across gender, age, and race.

Method

Eighty-one studies were meta-analyzed using a random effects model to examine the overall impulsivity–risky sex relationship and relationships among specific impulsivity traits and risky sexual behaviors.

Results

Overall, results revealed a significant, yet small, association between impulsivity and adolescent risky sexual behavior (r = 0.19, p < 0.001) that did not differ across impulsivity trait. A pattern of stronger effects was associated with risky sexual behaviors as compared to negative outcomes related to these behaviors. Gender moderated the overall relationship (β = 0.22, p = 0.04), such that effect sizes were significantly larger in samples with more females. Age, race, study design, and sample type did not moderate the relationship, although there was a pattern suggesting smaller effects for adolescents in juvenile detention settings.

Conclusions

Adolescent samples with more females showed a larger impulsivity–risky sex relationship, suggesting that impulsivity may be a more important risk factor for risky sex among adolescent females. Research and treatment should consider gender differences when investigating the role of impulsivity in adolescent sexual risk-taking.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the posttraumatic growth inventory with a sample of soldiers previously deployed in support of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Research has documented the impact of combat trauma on psychological functioning but less is known about the measurement of positive changes after military deployments. This study examined the factor structure of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996 ) on a sample of active duty soldiers (n = 3537) exposed to combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to test a 5‐factor model and a single higher‐order factor model. CFA results indicated that both models fit the data equally well and provide support for using both the whole scale and a multidimensional scale. The use of the PTGI in military research and the limitations of the current study are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: 66:1–7, 2010.     

大学生社会适应行为方式问卷编制及信效度检验

目的:编制大学生社会适应性问卷,以此作为大学生心理健康教育以及相关干预评估的测量工具。方法:通过文献研究和行为访谈法,以适应性行为特质为观测指标,选取来自北京6所高校中文、理、工、医、体5种学科专业的1~4年级大学生作为被试,被试共有596人。其中,男生291人,女生305人,对收集的问卷条目进行项目检验,形成初步问卷,随机抽取了北京两所高校4个年级的500名本科生进行初步问卷施测,经过采用探索性因素分析形成正式问卷,使用正式问卷再次随机抽取800名大学生进行验证性因素分析。结果:1问卷由开放自信、客观现实、自尊自主、压力应对、情境调控、豁达宽容6个分量表构成,累计方差贡献率为58.089%;2验证性因素分析结果表明6个因子构建的模型(χ~2/df=4.307,GFI=0.836,CFI=0.842,IFI=0.842,RMSEA=0.06)拟合较好;3总体问卷及分量表的系数α分别为0.968,0.892,0.893,0.878,0.809,0.834,0.742。结论:问卷的各个维度具有较好的效度和信度,可以用于大学生社会适应性的测量。     

Hemodynamic responses to laboratory stressors in children and adolescents: The influences of age, race, and gender

The objectives of the present study were threefold: (a) to compare the patterns of hemodynamic responding of children and adolescents during behavioral challenges, (b) to examine whether previously reported cardiovascular reactivity differences between Black and White children are dependent on pubertal status, and (c) to assess whether gender differences in hemodynamic response reported for adults is similar in children. One hundred fifty-nine children (ages 8–10 years) and adolescents (ages 15–17 years), equally divided along gender and racial lines, participated in a laboratory protocol consisting of a reaction time task, a mirror tracing task, a cold forehead challenge, and a stress interview. Results indicated that adolescents responded with greater β-adrenergic activation than did children and that gender differences in reactivity often reported for adults emerged more clearly in the adolescents than in the children. This study failed to replicate prior findings of greater vasoconstrictive responses in Black children as compared with White children.