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Media and technology are omnipresent in adolescent lives, with implications for digital privacy. Extant literature has yet to quantitatively explore adolescent cognitions about digital privacy in interpersonal, commercial, and institutional settings, precluding a comprehensive understanding of their motivation to engage in certain online behaviours (e.g. using privacy settings, sharing personal data). Compromised privacy may result in adverse outcomes (e.g. identity theft, cyberbullying, sexual solicitation, stalking), thus, the present study aims to fill this gap through the development and validation of a theoretically grounded measurement model of adolescent privacy-related cognitions (Adolescent Cognitions about Online Privacy; ACOP), utilising confirmatory factor analysis within a structural equation framework. Study participants (n = 960, 10–14 years old) completed a digital survey on technology use and attitudes, including items on digital privacy-related attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. A three-factor model of adolescent privacy-related cognitions demonstrated adequate model fit. Invariance was established between all groups tested and latent mean differences emerged based on gender, race, and online risk level. This study is an important first step in quantitative understanding of adolescent privacy-related cognitions based on strong theoretical rationale. Further validation of this model is needed to inform on digital literacy interventions or apply in predictive analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide disproportionately affects the military and veteran population, yet the task of identifying those at an increased risk of suicidal behavior remains challenging. In the face of this complex issue, novel machine learning methods have been applied to study the relationship between suicide and potential risk factors, but are often not generalizable to new and unseen samples. Herein, we examine the problem of prediction on unknown environments, commonly known as environment-wise domain adaptation, as it relates to the prediction of suicidal beliefs, measured with items from the Suicide Cognitions Scale (SCS). We adapt several recently invariance-based models trained using a sample consisting of people without any prior suicidal ideation (SI) to the prediction of suicidal beliefs of those with prior SI. In addition, we examine the possible causal relations regarding the SCS. Using a prospective sample of 2744 primary care patients with 17 risk and protective factors, we show that, to some extent, these methods are able to generalize to a new environment, namely, a sample with prior SI. Additionally, our results indicate suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior are likely to be causal children of SCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfectionism measures developed in English-speaking populations have become frequently used in many non-English contexts, including in Italy. Establishing structural and measurement equivalence of instruments between Canadian and Italian samples is therefore important in establishing the validity of these concepts and instruments in Italian contexts, and to allow for direct cross-cultural comparisons. The current study investigated the measurement equivalence between a Canadian and an Italian sample for the commonly used measures of perfectionism constructs based on the Comprehensive Model of Perfectionistic Behavior. The Hewitt & Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale, and the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory were examined for configural, metric, and scalar invariance via equivalence testing of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis models. The results showed some evidence for configural and metric equivalence for the three measures, thus facilitating cross-cultural interpretation of pattern of associations. However, there was no consistent evidence for scalar invariance, thus suggesting that direct comparisons of perfectionism levels between the two contexts cannot be meaningfully interpreted. This highlights the need for research in both Canadian and Italian contexts to understand cross-cultural differences and similarities in perfectionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical scales are frequently developed using common item nonequivalent group linking. In this design, one can use upper‐grade, lower‐grade, or mixed‐grade common items to estimate the linking constants that underlie the absolute measurement of growth. Using the Rasch model and a dataset from Curriculum Associates’ i‐Ready Diagnostic in math in grades 3–7, we demonstrate how grade‐to‐grade mean differences in mathematics proficiency appear much larger when upper‐grade linking items are used instead of lower‐grade items, with linkings based on a mixture of items falling in between. We then consider salient properties of the three calibrated scales including invariance of the different sets of common items to student grade and item difficulty reversals. These exploratory analyses suggest that upper‐grade common items in vertical scaling are more subject to threats to score comparability across grades, even though these items also tend to imply the most growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the work was to achieve the Italian validation of the Succession, Identity, and Consumption Scale of Prescriptive Ageism (SIC) developed by North and Fiske. SIC is a measure of prescriptive ageism, which incorporates intergenerational tensions over practical and symbolic resources. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the scale, two studies were conducted. Study 1 included 931 Italian participants (mean age: 30.94; range: 18–67 years; 50.5% female) and was conducted to test the scale's structure and construct validity. Study 2 comprised 1015 Italian participants (mean age: 30.73 years; age range: 18–67; 53.5% female) and investigated the scale's structure, construct validity, and invariance by gender and age. Confirmatory factorial analyses confirmed the three-factor solution to be invariant across sex and age groups. The scale also demonstrated high internal reliability. SIC scores correlated positively with traditional measures for detecting prejudice and stereotypes towards older people. The results of the present work show that the SIC scale of Prescriptive Ageism is a valid tool for measuring prescriptive beliefs about older adults that are the basis of intergenerational tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested the assumption that the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition (Bayley-4) functions similarly for boys and girls and for four age groups. The Bayley-4 American norming sample of 1,700 children ages 0–42 months (3.5 years) was used, which included 50% boys and girls. Fifty-three percent of the children identified as White, 22.1% as Hispanic, 12.5% as Black, 8.5% as other, and 4.0% as Asian. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated the three-factor structure of cognitive, language, and motor abilities fit the data well (comparative fit index =.99, root-mean-square of error of approximation =.08, standardized root-mean-square residual =.02) and fit significantly better than the two- and one-factor models. The correlations between the latent factors were moderate (r =.73) to large sized (r =.81). Measurement and structural invariance were tested for boys and girls and four age groups (0–5, 6–13, 14–25, and 26–42 months). Residual invariance was supported for girls and boys, and intercept invariance was supported for the four age groups. The measurement invariance results suggest the Bayley-4 is not biased toward these gender and age groups, and group comparisons and decision making can be made with the Bayley-4 scores. Structural invariance findings suggested some differences for gender and age groups. The relations between the cognitive, language, and motor factors and factor variances were equal across girls and boys but differed significantly across the four age groups. Girls scored significantly higher on the three latent means, but these differences were small to negligible. Public Significance Statement: Young children's test scores on the Bayley-4, an early childhood test of cognitive, language, and motor functioning, had the same meaning for girls and boys and infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Girls' and boys' and infants', toddlers', and preschoolers' Bayley-4 scores can be compared and used for decision making across these groups. Girls' language, motor, and cognitive abilities were significantly higher than boys, but differences were small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamics is an essential ingredient of fine‐grain and coarse‐grain models of oceanic and atmospheric flows. Thermodynamic functions and conservative variables, for a given set of observable quantities such as pressure, temperature, and composition, may be defined up to a certain degree of arbitrariness, in the sense that the predictions of the fine‐grain model are insensitive to, for example, some reference enthalpies, entropies, or pressures. Since the compressible Navier–Stokes model, regarded as a "mother" fine‐grain model, is invariant with respect to arbitrary changes in reference enthalpies and entropies, restricted only by phase change, any coarse‐grain model obtained from it, even conceptually, must be invariant at least to the same extent. A framework is devised that enables the systematic examination of this invariance. It is found that the dependence of usual conservative variables on a reference pressure propagates to their fluxes and gradients, and to downgradient closures based on them. To resolve this issue, it is shown how to construct invariant "reduced" gradients and fluxes of enthalpy and entropy. Closure relationships between such "reduced" fluxes and gradients are then guaranteed to be invariant. More work is required to address the invariance of more sophisticated closures, especially shallow and deep convective closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deaths from COVID-19 have exceeded 6.5 million people globally. Although many people are mourning the loss of loved ones to this deadly disease, little is known about the validity of measuring coronavirus-related anxiety with this particular group of people. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine if the coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) measures the coronaphobia construct the same way for mourners with and without dysfunctional levels of grief. The results indicated that the four-item version of the CAS has acceptable fit indices and is partially invariant between people with dysfunctional and non-dysfunctional grief. Moreover, the CAS demonstrated adequate criterion validity and reliability with this group of bereaved adults. In conclusion, the CAS can be used to measure anxiety due to COVID-19 in people who are going through dysfunctional and non-dysfunctional grieving processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) is one of the most commonly used questionnaires for assessing adolescents’ levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA). Although a Chinese version of the PAQ-A (comprising nine items) exists, it has been assessed for only internal consistency coefficients, test–retest reliability, and correlations with the GT3X + accelerometer. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the PAQ-A among Chinese adolescents. Methods This study included three samples of 1,101 secondary school students (12–19 years old). The first sample consisted of 518 participants (50.4% males, 49.6% females) for correlation tests and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The second sample consisted of 227 participants (55.75% males, 44.24% females) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and sample size invariance tests. The third sample consisted of 356 participants (54.50% male, 45.50% female) for the internal consistency reliability test, invariance test (cross sample size, education level and gender), and t-test. Results Pearson correlation analysis of the PAQ-A indicated that all the total-item correlations exceeded 0.2, indicating good consistency across the items. Subsequent EFA of the Chinese version of the PAQ-A revealed a two-factor structure. CFA subsequently validated this structure. One of the items exhibited a standardized loading below 0.4 and was excluded. The exclusion of this item resulted in increased standardized loadings for the remaining items, ranging from 0.40 to 0.82, which indicates improved fit indices. This adjustment underscores the questionnaire’s satisfactory convergent validity and robust discriminant validity. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.821, with the values for the first and second factors being 0.757 and 0.716, respectively. The questionnaire demonstrated stable invariance across sample sizes and education levels and additionally showed partial scalar invariance across genders. A t-test revealed a significant difference between males and females, which aligns with previous findings. These findings supported the construct validity of the questionnaire. Conclusion This study validated the Chinese version of the PAQ-A for assessing adolescent PA in China, with a two-factor structure improved by removing one item.

Abstract Background The stress experienced by parents in fulfilling their parental role has consequences for couple dynamics, parent–child interactions, and the mental health of parents. However, studies on the psychometric properties of the PSI-SF, particularly among Latin American parents, are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). Methods The participants were Peruvian mothers and fathers with children in early childhood and primary education, with a mean age of 34.4 years (SD = 6.8). The sample was obtained in two phases: 130 participants for the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 791 participants for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Results The study results show a modified three-factor structure of the PSI-SF scale, with adequate fit indices (GFI = .99, AGFI = .99, SRMR = .024, CFI = .98, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .074) and loadings above 0.40. Additionally, the three factors of the scale demonstrated high reliability, with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega values for Parental Distress (α = .94; ω = .95), Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction (α = .97; ω = .97), and Difficult Child (α = .94; ω = .94). The scale was also found to be invariant with respect to gender. Conclusion In conclusion, the study results suggest that the modified PSI-SF has adequate psychometric properties and is invariant for assessing parental stress in Peruvian fathers and mothers with children in early childhood and primary education.

This entry provides a review of economic models of professional sports leagues with and without revenue sharing. These include models that assume profit-maximizing and win-maximizing (sportsmen) club owners. Both approaches predict that revenue sharing will reduce the demand for player talent, depress player salaries, and transfer revenue from large-market to small-market clubs, but they differ on league parity effects. Empirical work has been sparse due to financial data limitations and has not yielded definitive results on the parity issue. Despite the growing awareness of sports economics in the sports industry, the lack of consensus from theoretical models has resulted in sports leagues searching for an optimal revenue sharing policy. The difficulty in providing consistent policy prescriptions in models that incorporate revenue sharing, salary caps, and other league policies has made economic modeling of sports leagues very difficult and complex. While revenue sharing remains an interesting theoretical modeling issue, it has not bridged the gap to real-world league policies.

Understanding teachers’ conceptions of assessment is a key objective in supporting assessment practices that lead to improved learning outcomes. Thus, inventories capable of identifying teachers’ assessment conceptions are important. The Teachers Conceptions of Assessment (TCoA) inventory was an early and influential measure of teacher assessment conceptions, but replication studies have shown that the model may be affected by policy and practice context. In the present study, a Swedish adaptation of the TCoA was administered twice, 18 months apart. A sample of 249 teachers were matched across the 2 time-points and their self-reported scores were analysed with confirmatory factor analysis and invariance testing. With good correspondence to the data, six of the nine factors in the TCoA were completely replicated and one factor was partially replicated. The model had sufficient similarity between time points to permit mean score comparisons, which were largely equivalent between times. The study indicates that the Swedish Teacher Conceptions of Assessment adaptation can be used reliably in Swedish primary and lower secondary schools as measure of teacher conceptions of the uses of assessment.

Background: The stress experienced by parents in fulfilling their parental role has consequences for couple dynamics, parent–child interactions, and the mental health of parents. However, studies on the psychometric properties of the PSI-SF, particularly among Latin American parents, are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). Methods: The participants were Peruvian mothers and fathers with children in early childhood and primary education, with a mean age of 34.4 years (SD = 6.8). The sample was obtained in two phases: 130 participants for the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 791 participants for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Results: The study results show a modified three-factor structure of the PSI-SF scale, with adequate fit indices (GFI =.99, AGFI =.99, SRMR =.024, CFI =.98, TLI =.98, RMSEA =.074) and loadings above 0.40. Additionally, the three factors of the scale demonstrated high reliability, with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega values for Parental Distress (α =.94; ω =.95), Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction (α =.97; ω =.97), and Difficult Child (α =.94; ω =.94). The scale was also found to be invariant with respect to gender. Conclusion: In conclusion, the study results suggest that the modified PSI-SF has adequate psychometric properties and is invariant for assessing parental stress in Peruvian fathers and mothers with children in early childhood and primary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social interactions are often analyzed by scoring segments of predefined behavior and then statistically assessing numerical and sequential patterns to identify the structure of the encounters. However, this approach can miss the dynamics of the animals' relationship over the course of the encounter, one that often involves invariant bonds, say a nose-to-nose orientation, with many different movements performed by both partners acting to counteract each other's attempts to break or maintain the relationship. Moreover, these invariant bonds can switch from one configuration to another during an interaction, leading from one stable configuration to another. It is this stepwise sequence of configurational stabilities that lead to functional outcomes, such as mating, aggression, or predation. By focusing on the sequence of invariant relational configurations, the deep structure of interactions can be discerned. This deep structure can then be used to differentiate between compensatory movements, no matter how seemingly stereotyped they may appear, from movement patterns which are restricted to a particular form when more than one option is available. A dynamic perspective requires suitable tools for analysis, and such tools are highlighted as needed in describing particular interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Definition: This entry provides a review of economic models of professional sports leagues with and without revenue sharing. These include models that assume profit-maximizing and win-maximizing (sportsmen) club owners. Both approaches predict that revenue sharing will reduce the demand for player talent, depress player salaries, and transfer revenue from large-market to small-market clubs, but they differ on league parity effects. Empirical work has been sparse due to financial data limitations and has not yielded definitive results on the parity issue. Despite the growing awareness of sports economics in the sports industry, the lack of consensus from theoretical models has resulted in sports leagues searching for an optimal revenue sharing policy. The difficulty in providing consistent policy prescriptions in models that incorporate revenue sharing, salary caps, and other league policies has made economic modeling of sports leagues very difficult and complex. While revenue sharing remains an interesting theoretical modeling issue, it has not bridged the gap to real-world league policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen increasing interest in interventionist analyses of metaphysical explanation. One area where interventionism traditionally shines, is in providing an account of explanatory depth; the sense in which explanation comes in degrees. However, the literature on metaphysical explanation has left the notion depth almost entirely unexplored. In this paper I shall attempt to rectify this oversight by motivating an interventionist analysis of metaphysical explanatory depth (MED), in terms of the range of interventions under which a metaphysically explanatory generalization remains invariant. After elucidating the notion through a toy-example, I demonstrate the important work which MED can perform in characterizing debate within contemporary metaphysics. Focusing upon rival approaches to explaining the identity and distinctness of concrete objects, I argue that the progress achieved in this debate can be characterized in terms of increasing explanatory depth. Having made an initial case for the utility of MED, I then turn this analysis to the metaphysics of explanation itself. By adopting an interventionist framework with respect to MED, I will show that we can assess the depth of competing theories of explanation. This application has two interesting results: first, it suggests that an interventionist analysis of explanation provides deeper explanations of the connection between explanans and explanandum than rival accounts; and second, it suggests that explanations provided by interventionism become deeper still, if one accepts that this methodology ranges over metaphysical, as well as causal, instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attributional processes about why outcomes occur constitute an important mediating mechanism that can explain different reactions of both the targets of harassment and their peers. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of attributions for victimization among adolescents, using Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and to examine differences among roles (i.e., not involved, bullies, victims, bully-victims) in self-blame attributions, by means of testing invariance. The sample consisted of 1,207 adolescents (54% females; Mage = 14.89; SD = 1.39). The results showed a multidimensional structure of the scale with three factors (Characterological self-blame, Behavioral self-blame, and External Attribution). Partial invariance was found across different roles, highlighting a difference in the latent means of Characterological Self-Blame, higher in the victim group than in the other roles. The findings suggested how victims showed biases in their interpretations of social situations attributing the negative experience to internal, stable, and uncontrollable causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new framework for corotational shell elements. The traditional corotational formulation uses local element frames, which greatly facilitates the calculation of elastic forces. However, all force vectors eventually need to be transformed into the global frame, resulting in the loss of invariance. The special Euclidean group SE(3) is introduced to describe the kinematics of the corotational shell element in the local frame. The equations of motion are established, in which the internal forces, inertial forces and tangent matrices are systematically derived in the SE(3) framework. The force vectors and their derivative matrices under the SE(3) description eliminate the effect of the rigid body motion, which is only related to the local deformation of the elements. Some examples are used to verify the validity and efficiency of the presented corotational shell element based on SE(3) to handle geometrically nonlinear problems. The results demonstrate that the SE(3) framework has higher computational efficiency with larger step size compared to the Lie group R3 × SO(3). According to the framework invariance brought by SE(3), a constant mass matrix during iterations is adopted to deal with the nonlinear problems with large rotation and small strain, which can significantly reduce the computational time. In summary, the results of the study show that the SE(3) framework has better characteristics and broader application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intensive longitudinal studies, in which participants complete questionnaires multiple times a day over an extended period, are increasingly popular in the social sciences in general and quality-of-life research in particular. The intensive longitudinal methods allow for studying the dynamics of constructs (e.g., how much patient-reported outcomes vary across time). These methods promise higher ecological validity and lower recall bias than traditional methods that question participants only once, since the high frequency means that participants complete questionnaires in their everyday lives and do not have to retrospectively report about a large time interval. However, to ensure the validity of the results obtained from analyzing the intensive longitudinal data (ILD), greater awareness and understanding of appropriate measurement practices are needed. Method: We surveyed 42 researchers experienced with ILD regarding their measurement practices and reasons for suboptimal practices. Results: Results showed that researchers typically do not use measures validated specifically for ILD. Participants assessing the psychometric properties and invariance of measures in their current studies was even less common, as was accounting for these properties when analyzing dynamics. This was mainly because participants did not have the necessary knowledge to conduct these assessments or were unaware of their importance for drawing valid inferences. Open science practices, in contrast, appear reasonably well ingrained in ILD studies. Conclusion: Measurement practices in ILD still need improvement in some key areas; we provide recommendations in order to create a solid foundation for measuring and analyzing psychological constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our primary objectives in this study were to translate and provide psychometric support for the Coach Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) Portuguese version, assess its invariance across sex, and explore its nomological validity in relation to enjoyment. Our sample participants were 470 athletes (226 females, 244 males) aged between 16 to 39 years from various individual and team sports. We found that the translated Portuguese version of the CART-Q exhibited satisfactory test-retest reliability and can serve as a reliable tool for evaluating the core constructs of the coach-athlete relationship – closeness, commitment, and complementarity. Moreover, this instrument showed evidence of nomological validity through significant positive correlations between its underlying factors and athletes' enjoyment with their sport. The proposed model for explaining item variance was also found to be invariant between male and female respondents. We recommend further use of this instrument in research and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Loot boxes (LBs) are virtual items embedded within video games that contain randomly generated in-game prizes. LB use can become risky, so it is important to have good measurement instruments, especially among adolescents, who are particularly involved in video gaming and LB purchasing. The present study analyses the adequacy of the Risky Loot Box Index (RLI; Brooks & Clark, 2019) by applying item response theory (IRT). Method: Participants were 2,443 (59% males, mean age = 16.48, SD = 1.22) Italian high school students. Results: The 2PL logistic model was applied. Item properties (i.e., severity and discrimination) were consistent with the aim of efficiently measuring risky LB use. The test information function indicated that the instrument was adequately informative. The RLI appeared to be invariant across gender, with male adolescents more at-risk than female adolescents. LB engagement was also found to explain latent trait of risky LB use over and beyond video gaming and gambling frequency and severity when controlling for gender. Conclusions: The RLI is an efficient screening tool that can specifically measure risky LB use among youth. It can profitably be used for research and intervention purposes. The promising usefulness of the IRT score for clinical purposes is also discussed. Public Health Significance Statement: Engagement with loot boxes (LBs)—that is, virtual items embedded within video games that contain randomly generated in-game prizes—is increasing, especially among youth. Although we know that this behavior can be risky, little psychometric research has focused on measurement instruments to assess risky use of LB engagement. The present study applied item response theory to verify the psychometric adequacy of the Risky Loot Box Index (RLI) among adolescents. Findings attest that this instrument can relieve symptoms of risky use of LBs among youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of non-cognitive skills for academic achievement and future success has been emphasized but the invariance among the relationships of these constructs across different groups and countries is rarely studied. In this study, we used a novel approach, psychometric network analysis, to analyze the invariance of connections between non-cognitive skills measured in an international large-scale assessment—the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). We focused on four different countries in terms of immigration contexts (Australia, Canada, and Germany) and analyzed the invariance of connections among non-cognitive skills for immigrant and native students within these countries. While Australia and Canada were the examples of traditional immigration countries, Belgium and Germany represented the post-war immigration countries with less selective immigration policy. We found significant differences in the network structure among countries and immigrant status (i.e., native vs. first-generation immigrant). Interestingly, we found that the primary split occurred between countries with different immigration policies. That is, the network tree structures of Canada and Australia were more similar to one another while the network tree structures of Germany and Belgium resembled each other. The results provided empirical evidence that non-cognitive constructs are not universal across countries selected, immigrants, and native students. The findings also underscored the importance of considering within-country and cross-country differences in order to design effective educational interventions relying on non-cognitive skills for targeting distinct cultural groups of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) is a widely used instrument to measure symptoms of depression and anxiety in general, but not much is known about its cross-cultural utility in Latin America. The present study evaluated the measurement invariance of the PHQ-4 in adult samples (N = 5441) from 12 Latin American countries (Paraguay, El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Argentina, and Bolivia). The two-factor structure presented a superior fit to the one-factor structure. This provides evidence to support a two-dimensional model of anxious and depressive symptomatology of the PHQ-4, with a good estimate of reliability. The configural, metric, scalar and strict invariance of the PHQ-4 was supported, suggesting that participants from all countries attribute the same meaning to the latent constructs anxiety and depression and their scores can be compared. Additionally, support was provided for the hypothesis that the presence of depressive symptoms significantly predicts subjective well-being. However, the presence of anxiety symptoms fails to significantly predict participants well-being. It is concluded that the PHQ-4 provides a largely comparable measure of anxiety and depression symptoms in a large sample of Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractScientific research is vital for student’s education, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and deepening subject knowledge. To assess students’ attitudes towards research, the attitude towards research scale was developed (EACIN). This study addresses three gaps regarding this instrument: inconsistent latent structure, lack of comparison between available versions, and absence of gender invariance analysis given previously found gender differences. We analyzed data from 358 Chilean undergraduates, assessing the different version’s dimensionality, reliability. Results revealed inadequate fit indices for all EACIN available versions. Consequently, we proposed a new solution through exploratory structural equation modeling, EACIN-23 (or the Attitude toward Research Scale, ATRS-23), with a three-factor latent structure (replicating a previously found latent structure by the scale authors) and acceptable to good goodness-of-fit. The ATRS-23 demonstrated adequate to optimal factor loadings and good reliability. Moreover, it achieved scalar invariance across genders and demonstrated excellent criterion validity. This study provides a reliable and valid psychometric version of the EACIN, capable of accurately measuring and predicting attitudes towards research, including discriminating between students with and without intentions for postgraduate studies and research careers. Given that the ATRS-23 is only available in Spanish, we provide its English version. These findings have significant implications for undergraduate education and scientific research training.

Suicide disproportionately affects the military and veteran population, yet the task of identifying those at an increased risk of suicidal behavior remains challenging. In the face of this complex issue, novel machine learning methods have been applied to study the relationship between suicide and potential risk factors, but are often not generalizable to new and unseen samples. Herein, we examine the problem of prediction on unknown environments, commonly known as environment-wise domain adaptation, as it relates to the prediction of suicidal beliefs, measured with items from the Suicide Cognitions Scale (SCS). We adapt several recently invariance-based models trained using a sample consisting of people without any prior suicidal ideation (SI) to the prediction of suicidal beliefs of those with prior SI. In addition, we examine the possible causal relations regarding the SCS. Using a prospective sample of 2744 primary care patients with 17 risk and protective factors, we show that, to some extent, these methods are able to generalize to a new environment, namely, a sample with prior SI. Additionally, our results indicate suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior are likely to be causal children of SCS.

The aim of the current research was to study the adaptability and invariance of the Partner Phubbing Scale in Iranian society, as well as its factor structure. The current research method was implemented in terms of the purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of data acquisition, as well as correlational analysis process. The statistical population of this research consisted of all married teachers in Zanjan province in 2022. The total number of participants was 841. Of these, 481 were female, 238 were male, and 122 had not designated their gender. The Partner Phubbing scale was the primary instrument utilized in this investigation.Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics indicators, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the dataset. The Lavaan package, EGAnet package, and SPSS26 software were employed to conduct the data analysis in R software. The findings showed that the Partner Phubbing Scale had a single-factor structure. With the exception of item 7, all items demonstrated a satisfactory fit with the graded response model. The fit indices were satisfactory and appropriate. The outputs indicated that this scale had proper reliability. Although the tool’s discriminant validity was minimal; however, it was preserved at the construct level. This measure was verified to be gender-invariant. All items, with the exception of item 7, exhibited significant factor loading. Additionally, this scale exhibited appropriate divergent and convergent validity. The Partner Phubbing Scale exhibited optimized psychometric properties for future research research applications, as indicated by the results. Yet, future research should evaluate the discriminant validity of this tool and the psychometric indices of item 7 in various samples with different demographic and cultural characteristics.

Abstract Background The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is used to measure posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms, and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory-9 (PTCI-9) is used to measure posttraumatic cognitions. Both tools have been translated for use in Brazil. However, the psychometric properties of the Brazilian versions were not investigated, and no study has verified the invariance of these tools for many traumatic event types. Objective This study examined the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Brazilian versions of the ITQ and the PTCI-9 for trauma type, gender, race, age group, education level, and geographical region. Methods A total of 2,111 people (67.74% women) participated in an online survey. The scale models were tested via confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance through multigroup analyses. Pearson’s correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships between PTSD, CPTSD, posttraumatic cognitions, and depressive symptoms. Results Except for the affective dysregulation factor, the reliabilities of the ITQ and PTCI-9 dimensions were adequate. Models with six correlated dimensions for the ITQ and three correlated dimensions for the PTCI-9 showed adequate fit to the data. The ITQ and PTCI-9 exhibited scalar invariance for gender, race, age group, education level, and geographical region. The ITQ also demonstrated full invariance for trauma type. The factors of both instruments were related to each other and to depressive symptoms, with higher effect sizes for posttraumatic cognitions and complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Conclusion We recommend using the Brazilian versions of the ITQ and PTCI-9, which are crucial tools for assessing and treating trauma-related disorders.

The present study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Work Hope scale. The research method was descriptive and correlational. The research sample comprised the enrolled students of Isfahan University in the year 2021. Composed of 292 pupils (188 female and 104 male), the sample was compiled using a proportional stratified sampling method. For data collection, the Work Hope Scale and the General Self-Efficacy Questionnaire were used. AMOS-25 software was utilized to assess convergent validity and one-group and multi-group confirmatory factor analyses in order to ascertain the validity. The estimation of internal consistency was performed using SPSS-19 as a reliability indicator. The results of a one-group confirmatory factor analysis validated the measurement model in which objectives, agency, and pathway were considered as first-order factors and work optimism as a second-order factor. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis examining the relationship between gender and measurement weights, structural covariance, and measurement residuals revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. A statistically significant correlation (r = 0.47, p < 0.01) was observed between overall self-efficacy and work aspiration. Furthermore, the estimated Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the objectives, agency, and pathway subscales were 0.90, 0.71, and 0.74, respectively, for the entire scale. The results of the measurement invariance tests indicated that the conceptual paradigm for comprehending the work hope constructs is identical among males and females, suggesting that this scale may be suitable for use with both genders.

Abstract Background The Functionality Appreciation Scale is a 7-item measure of an individual’s appreciation of his or her body for what it can do and is capable of doing. While this instrument has been increasingly used in intervention-based research, its psychometric properties have not been extensively studied in non-English-speaking populations. The psychometric properties of a novel Spanish translation of the FAS were examined. Methods An online sample of 838 Spanish adults (mean age = 31.79 ± 11.95 years, 50.48% men) completed the Spanish FAS and validated measures of body appreciation, eating disorder symptomatology, intuitive eating, and life satisfaction. Results Exploratory factor analysis supported a 1-dimensional factor structure of the FAS, which was further supported by confirmatory factor analysis (SBχ²(14) = 83.82, SBχ²normed = 1.48, robust RMSEA = 0.094 (90% CI = 0.074, 0.115), SRMR = 0.040, robust CFI = 0.946, robust TLI = 0.924). Invariance across genders was shown, and there were no significant differences according to gender (t (417) = 0.77, p =.444, d = 0.07). Construct validity was also supported through significant associations with the other measures of the study. Incremental validity was established in women. Thus, appreciation of functionality predicted life satisfaction over and above the variance accounted for by other body image and eating disorder-related measures (F (4, 399) = 18.86, p

Suicide worldwide is an issue that needs to be addressed, and adolescents are an at-risk group. Assessing suicidal ideation is central to tackling the issue of suicide. The Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation inventory is a widely validated measure of suicidal ideation, and yet, very little is known about its invariance across various groups. The present study aimed to adapt and test the PANSI’s structure in a Portuguese sample while testing its gender invariance. A total of 750 middle and high school students were recruited for the study, and data were collected on various suicide risk and protective factors, including the Portuguese-translated PANSI. Data were put through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Kaiser’s criterion and scree plot both extracted two factors (64.10% variance explained). Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the PANSI’s structure (TLI = 0.943). The PANSI showed good reliability (α ≥ 0.83) and good construct and discriminative validity. The PANSI also exhibited scalar, but not strict, invariance. Overall, these results were similar to previous versions of this scale. The PANSI is a reliable measure of suicide risk among Portuguese adolescents. Future studies should further replicate these results in other cultures and expand on them by testing for invariance across other demographic variables.

Abstract Background Depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders worldwide, both in the general population and in outpatient clinical settings. Objective This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) based on network analysis metrics. Methods A total of 911 Paraguayans (23.71% women and 76.29% men; mean age 31.25 years, SD = 10.63), selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, participated in the study. Network analysis was used to evaluate the internal structure, reliability, and measurement invariance between men and women. Results The results revealed that the PHQ-4 is a unidimensional measure through Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA). Reliability, through structural consistency, identified that 100% of the time, only a single dimension was obtained, and all items remained stable, as they were always replicated within the empirical dimension. The unidimensional structure has shown evidence of configural invariance; therefore, the network structure functioned equally among the different sex groups. Conclusion The PHQ-4 presented optimal preliminary evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability, and invariance between sexes. Therefore, it may be useful as an accurate and brief measure of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the Paraguayan context.

The stigma of social networks may be more noticeable in collectivist societies like China, but research in this area has largely been overlooked due to a lack of reliable measurement. To address this gap, this study tested the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH) scale in the Chinese general population, and tested its invariance across gender and prior therapy experience. In a national online survey, 640 adults completed the PSOSH and conceptually related scales: Selfstigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH), Stigma of Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (SSPPH, i.e., public stigma) and Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the original PSOSH. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.84 and the 3-week test-retest reliability of was 0.77. The PSOSH showed moderate correlations with the three conceptually related scales, supporting its concurrent validity. Importantly, the PSOSH significantly predicted self-stigma scores, even when considering demographic variables and public stigma, supporting its incremental validity. The scale also demonstrated scalar invariance across gender and across subgroups who had vs. did not have previous therapy experience, supporting comparisons of latent means across these groups. The PSOSH is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing social network stigmatization of professional help-seeking in Chinese community samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) may be the biggest non-drug addiction of the twenty-first century. This requires that sound – and possibly brief – measurement instruments are available, especially for adolescents, who are particularly at risk of PMPU. One of the most widely used short instruments to assess PMPU is the brief version of the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS-10). However, its dimensional structure is unclear, and the growth of PMPU among youth requires deeply testing the MPPUS-10 psychometric functioning with adolescents. The goal of this study was to investigate the psychometric proprieties of the MPPUS-10 in Italian adolescents, by particularly focusing on dimensionality, and analysing reliability and validity. Participants were 678 adolescents attending high school. Through exploratory factor analyses, the bidimensionality of the MPPUS-10 was supported, and it was corroborated by a multi-group cross-validation analysis. The internal consistency of the scale was good. As regards validity, the MPPUS-10 total and subscale scores resulted to be significantly correlated with time spent on the mobile phone and craving for mobile phone, self-esteem, and with symptoms of problem gaming and Internet addiction. Overall, the findings provide support for the adequacy of using the MPPUS-10 to assess PMPU among Italian adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychometric properties of the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS) are evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and its invariance is tested using multigroup procedures. Four hundred and thirty-one Italian physicians (44.5% women; Mage = 50.1) completed the Italian version of N-GAMS: 311 were primary care physicians and 120 were medical students specializing in primary care. The CFA revealed that the N-GAMS consisted of three factors: gender sensitivity (GS), gender role ideology toward patients (GRI-P), and gender role ideology toward doctors (GRI-D). Removal of two items (1 and 13) from the GS factor improved the fit, so that the final version of the Italian scale consists of 30 items. Multigroup analysis showed that N-GAMS was metric invariant between women and men, whereas it achieved scalar invariance between in-service physicians and postgraduate medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide sufficient conditions on the primitives of a class of discontinuous Bayesian games such that all games in the class share equilibria. If a Bayesian game in the class also satisfies a weak efficiency condition, then we show its normal form is better-reply secure. The invariance property then provides an existence result for all Bayesian games in the class. Results are shown for both pure strategy and behavioral strategy equilibrium. We illustrate the application of the results with an example of a class of contests with bid caps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation models based on heterogeneous Wiener processes are commonly used to assess information on the lifetime of highly reliable products. An optimal test plan given limited resources is generally obtained using numerical methods for heterogeneous Wiener processes. However, numerical searches for optimal test plans have the disadvantage of being time‐consuming and may provide unclear explanations for the findings. To overcome these difficulties, we derive an explicit expression for decision variables (such as the termination time, number of measurements, and sample size) of D$$ D $$‐ and V$$ V $$‐optimal test plans with cost constraints. The theoretical results not only ensure that the optimal test plan is found, but also provide clear insights into the decision variables affected by model parameters and experimental costs. Some numerical examples are presented to support the efficiency and applicability of the optimal test plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Pandemic Fatigue Scale (PFS) in five South American countries, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. A total of 1448 people selected through convenience sampling (295 Argentines, 294 Bolivians, 279 Uruguayans, 277 Peruvians, and 303 Paraguayans) participated. The two-dimensional structure of the PFS fitted well with the data from each country. Invariance analysis showed that PFS was completely invariant across countries, thus providing a solid basis for comparisons between groups. Adequate discrimination and difficulty were reported for all items. Adequate discrimination parameters would indicate that the PFS items would allow people to differentiate the choice of response alternatives based on the presence of PF. In addition, the difficulty parameters indicate that people require a greater presence of the latent trait to respond to the higher response alternatives of PFS. It was also observed that the boredom and neglect dimensions have a significant and negative impact on protective behaviors, providing evidence of validity based on their relationship with other constructs. In conclusion, the PFS presents evidence of validity and MI for the measurement of PF in the five South American countries included in this study. Thus, PFS can contribute to future empirical research that compares FP in different South American populations and cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is used to measure posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms, and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory-9 (PTCI-9) is used to measure posttraumatic cognitions. Both tools have been translated for use in Brazil. However, the psychometric properties of the Brazilian versions were not investigated, and no study has verified the invariance of these tools for many traumatic event types. Objective: This study examined the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Brazilian versions of the ITQ and the PTCI-9 for trauma type, gender, race, age group, education level, and geographical region. Methods: A total of 2,111 people (67.74% women) participated in an online survey. The scale models were tested via confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance through multigroup analyses. Pearson's correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships between PTSD, CPTSD, posttraumatic cognitions, and depressive symptoms. Results: Except for the affective dysregulation factor, the reliabilities of the ITQ and PTCI-9 dimensions were adequate. Models with six correlated dimensions for the ITQ and three correlated dimensions for the PTCI-9 showed adequate fit to the data. The ITQ and PTCI-9 exhibited scalar invariance for gender, race, age group, education level, and geographical region. The ITQ also demonstrated full invariance for trauma type. The factors of both instruments were related to each other and to depressive symptoms, with higher effect sizes for posttraumatic cognitions and complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Conclusion: We recommend using the Brazilian versions of the ITQ and PTCI-9, which are crucial tools for assessing and treating trauma-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Climate Change Scepticism Questionnaire (CCS-Q) has been used in numerous studies. However, we found no studies in the literature review that analyse its psychometric properties. The aim of this study is to confirm the one-dimensional factorial structure of the Climate Change Scepticism Questionnaire, verify its reliability and analyse factorial invariance with respect to gender. To do this, we conducted instrumental, quantitative research, analysing the factorial structure and reliability of the questionnaire in a sample of 426 Spanish participants. The results show a single factor structure comprising 12 items with satisfactory fit indices for metric, scalar and strict invariance with respect to gender. Therefore, we present this tool as a test with good psychometric properties and equivalence of measurement by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we derive conditions for the existence of solutions to state-constrained continuity inclusions in Wasserstein spaces whose right-hand sides may be discontinuous in time. These latter are based on a fine investigation of the infinitesimal behavior of the underlying reachable sets, through which we show that up to a negligible set of times, every admissible velocity of a continuity inclusion can be approximately realized as the metric derivative of a solution of the dynamics, and vice versa. Building upon these results, we are able to establish necessary and sufficient geometric conditions for the viability and invariance of stationary and time-dependent constraint sets which involve a suitable notion of contingent cones in Wasserstein spaces, and presented in ascending order of generality. We then close the article by exhibiting two prototypical examples of constraint sets appearing in applications for which one can compute relevant subfamilies of contingent directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders worldwide, both in the general population and in outpatient clinical settings. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) based on network analysis metrics. Methods: A total of 911 Paraguayans (23.71% women and 76.29% men; mean age 31.25 years, SD = 10.63), selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, participated in the study. Network analysis was used to evaluate the internal structure, reliability, and measurement invariance between men and women. Results: The results revealed that the PHQ-4 is a unidimensional measure through Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA). Reliability, through structural consistency, identified that 100% of the time, only a single dimension was obtained, and all items remained stable, as they were always replicated within the empirical dimension. The unidimensional structure has shown evidence of configural invariance; therefore, the network structure functioned equally among the different sex groups. Conclusion: The PHQ-4 presented optimal preliminary evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability, and invariance between sexes. Therefore, it may be useful as an accurate and brief measure of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the Paraguayan context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide worldwide is an issue that needs to be addressed, and adolescents are an at-risk group. Assessing suicidal ideation is central to tackling the issue of suicide. The Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation inventory is a widely validated measure of suicidal ideation, and yet, very little is known about its invariance across various groups. The present study aimed to adapt and test the PANSI's structure in a Portuguese sample while testing its gender invariance. A total of 750 middle and high school students were recruited for the study, and data were collected on various suicide risk and protective factors, including the Portuguese-translated PANSI. Data were put through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Kaiser's criterion and scree plot both extracted two factors (64.10% variance explained). Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the PANSI's structure (TLI = 0.943). The PANSI showed good reliability (α ≥ 0.83) and good construct and discriminative validity. The PANSI also exhibited scalar, but not strict, invariance. Overall, these results were similar to previous versions of this scale. The PANSI is a reliable measure of suicide risk among Portuguese adolescents. Future studies should further replicate these results in other cultures and expand on them by testing for invariance across other demographic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a meaningful impact on several areas of human activity. With respect to psychological assessment, the requirements to study the fear of vaccination as a means to diminish negative behaviour towards vaccination had been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the factorial invariance of the six-item Vaccination Fear Scale (VFS-6) across individuals and cultures. To achieve this goal, a sample of university students was recruited (n = 2535; mean age = 20.59, SD = 2.04; males: 26.75%, females: 73.25%) from Spain (n = 388; 15.3%), Italy (n = 376; 14.83%), Lebanon (n = 487; 19.21%), Nigeria (n = 561; 22.13%), Turkey (n = 410; 16.17%), and Ukraine (n = 313; 12.34%). The results showed that the most appropriate factorial structure, exhibiting excellent fit indices, was a model with two correlated factors (cognitive symptoms: items 1, 2, and 4; somatic symptoms: items 3, 5, and 6) for both the total sample and individual samples from each country and language (Spanish, Italian, Arabic, English, Turkish, and Ukrainian). Notably, the VFS-6 demonstrated configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across sex. Regarding countries and languages, configural invariance was observed between them. Also, metric invariance was observed between Spain, Italy, and Ukraine and between Lebanon, Nigeria, and Turkey, which indicates the presence of two well-differentiated groups of countries and the possibility of inferential analysis between them. Item Response Theory analysis suggested an appropriate level of discrimination and difficulty of the test. These significant findings lay the groundwork for future investigations into vaccination fear across diverse cultural backgrounds, providing valuable insights for addressing vaccination-related concerns worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to develop a Persian version of the Perception of Educational and Career-Related Barriers Scale and examine its psychometric properties, including factor structure, validity, and reliability among students. Method: A sample of 453 undergraduate students from the University of Isfahan (287 females, 166 males) was randomly divided into two groups (n1 = 227, n2 = 226). The factor structure was examined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). To assess divergent validity, the Career Path Competencies Questionnaire was utilized. Reliability was evaluated based on internal consistency and stability. Results: EFA identified three factors--career barriers, academic barriers, and environmental barriers. CFA indicated that a single second-order factor structure provided a better fit compared to the three first-order factors in the Iranian student sample. Invariance analysis showed no significant differences between male and female students concerning factor loadings, covariances, and residuals, supporting the model's measurement invariance across gender. The correlation with the Career Path Competencies Questionnaire supported divergent validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.93 for the entire scale and 0.90, 0.90, and 0.88 for the subscales of career barriers, academic barriers, and environmental barriers, respectively. Conclusion: The Persian version of the Perception of Educational and Career-Related Barriers Scale is a valid and reliable tool for research in career guidance and counseling, demonstrating acceptable psychometric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]