Development of a self-report measure of capability wellbeing for adults: the ICECAP-A

Purpose The benefits of health and social care are not confined to patient health alone and therefore broader measures of wellbeing may be useful for economic evaluation.\ud This paper reports the development of a simple measure of capability wellbeing for adults (ICECAP-A).\ud Methods In-depth, informant-led, interviews to identify the attributes of capability wellbeing were conducted with 36 adults in the UK. Eighteen semi-structured, repeat interviews were carried out to develop a capability-based descriptive system for the measure. Informants were purposively selected to ensure variation in socio-economic status, age, sex, ethnicity and health. Data analysis was carried out inductively and iteratively alongside interviews, and findings were used to shape the questions in later interviews.\ud Results Five over-arching attributes of capability wellbeing were identified for the measure: ‘‘stability’’,‘‘attachment’’, ‘‘achievement’’, ‘‘autonomy’’ and ‘‘enjoyment’’. One item, with four response categories, was developed for each attribute for the ICECAP-A descriptive system.\ud Conclusions The ICECAP-A capability measure represents a departure from traditional health economics outcome measures, by treating health status as an influence over broader attributes of capability wellbeing. Further work is required to value and validate the attributes and test the sensitivity of the ICECAP-A to healthcare interventions

Distractibility in daily life is reflected in the structure and function of human parietal cortex

We all appreciate that some of our friends and colleagues are more distractible than others. This variability can be captured by pencil and paper questionnaires in which individuals report such cognitive failures in their everyday life. Surprisingly, these self-report measures have high heritability, leading to the hypothesis that distractibility might have a basis in brain structure. In a large sample of healthy adults, we demonstrated that a simple self-report measure of everyday distractibility accurately predicted gray matter volume in a remarkably focal region of left superior parietal cortex. This region must play a causal role in reducing distractibility, because we found that disrupting its function with transcranial magnetic stimulation increased susceptibility to distraction. Finally, we showed that the self-report measure of distractibility reliably predicted our laboratory-based measure of attentional capture. Our findings distinguish a critical mechanism in the human brain causally involved in avoiding distractibility, which, importantly, bridges self-report judgments of cognitive failures in everyday life and a commonly used laboratory measure of distractibility to the structure of the human brai

Applicant versus employee scores on self-report emotional intelligence measures

There exists growing interest to assess applicants' emotional intelligence (EI) via self-report trait-based measures of EI as part of the selection process. However, some studies that experimentally manipulated applicant conditions have cautioned that in these conditions use of self-report measures for assessing EI might lead to considerably higher scores than current norm scores suggest. So far, no studies have scrutinized self-reported EI scores among a sample of actual job applicants. Therefore, this study compares the scores of actual applicants at a large ICT organization (n = 109) on a well-known self-report measure of EI to the scores of employees already working in the organization (n = 239). The current study is the first to show that applicants' scores on a self-report measure of EI during the selection process are indeed higher (d = 1.12) and have less variance (SD ratio = 0.86/1) than incumbents' scores. Finally, a meta-analytic combination of our results with those of earlier research showed that a score increase of about 1 SD in applicant conditions seems to be the rule, regardless of the type of setting, self-report EI measure, and within-versus between-subjects design employed

The Development of the Self-Injury Self-Report Measure.

Despite the amount of research that has been conducted on self-injury there is a lack of empirically validated instruments with which to measure self-injurious behavior. The present study developed a measure to examine self-injury and the associated features. Undergraduate students (n = 184) were administered a set of surveys to assess demographics, self-injurious behavior, suicidal ideation, Axis I and Axis II disorders, and impulsivity. Results indicated that a reliable measure, able to assess the extent of self-injury as well as associated features, was developed. Such a measure will enable clinicians to better assess self-injury and enable researchers to more fully examine self-injury and its relationship to other disorders

Guide to the Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory v. 1.2

This document introduces the Networked\ud Minds Social Presence Inventory. The\ud inventory is a self-report measure of social\ud presence, which is commonly defined as the\ud sense of being together with another in a\ud mediated environment. The guidelines\ud provide background on the use of the social\ud presence scales in studies of users’ social\ud communication and interaction with other\ud humans or with artificially intelligent agents\ud in virtual environments

The role of a self-report measure in athlete preparation

Athlete self-report measures (ASRM) are a common and cost-effective method of athlete monitoring. It is purported that ASRM be used to detect athletes at risk of overtraining, injury or illness, allowing intervention through training modification. However it is not known whether ASRM are actually being used for or are achieving these objectives in the applied sport setting. Therefore the aim of this study was to better understand how ASRM are being used in elite sports and their role in athletic preparation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted one-on-one with athletes, coaches and sports science and medicine staff (n=30) at a national sporting institute. Interview recordings were transcribed and analysed for emergent themes. Twelve day-to-day and seven longer-term practices were identified which contributed to a four-step process of ASRM use (record data, review data, contextualize, act). In addition to the purported uses, ASRM facilitated information disclosure and communication amongst athletes and staff and between staff, and improved the understanding and management of athlete preparation. These roles of ASRM are best achieved through engagement of athletes, coaches and support staff in the systematic, cyclic process

Developing a self-report measure to assess disclosure strategies in adult male prisoners and its association with personality

Purpose – The current study aims to report on the development of a self-report measure of disclosure strategies in adult male prisoners (violent and acquisitive offences) and its association with personality and self-esteem. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed an adapted version of the Delphi technique to develop initial items for inclusion in the new disclosure measure (Disclosure Management Questionnaire: DMQ). This element of the study utilised an “expert sample” of forensic psychologists. A total of 94 prisoners then completed the developed measure. Factor analysis was utilised to explore the structure of the measure, which subsequently allowed associations between disclosure strategies, personality and self-esteem to be identified. Findings – Analysis revealed a measure of disclosure (the DMQ) comprising four subscales: Exploratory Engagement, Placatory/Evasive Engagement, Passive Resistance and Active Resistance. Significant correlations were identified between the personality trait Neuroticism and higher levels of Placatory/Evasive Engagement and Active Resistance of forensic clients during the disclosure process. Self-esteem was also found to correlate with disclosure, in that high trait self-esteem was found to be associated with higher exploratory engagement, whereas low trait self-esteem was associated with higher levels of active resistance of the disclosure process. Originality/value – Developing an understanding of the nature and function of disclosure and how these relate to individual factors such as personality (including trait self-esteem) provides valuable knowledge and alternative ways of supporting forensic clients in discussing difficult issues related to their offending

A Viable Model and Self-Report Measure of Spiritual Intelligence

A four-factor model of spiritual intelligence is first proposed. Supportive evidence is reviewed for the capacities of critical existential thinking, personal meaning production, transcendental awareness, and conscious state expansion. Based on this model, a 24-item self-report measure was developed and modified across two consecutive studies (N = 619 and N = 304, respectively). The final version of the scale, the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24), displayed excellent internal reliability and good fit to the proposed model. Correlational analyses with additional measures of meaning, metapersonal self-construal, mysticism, religiosity, and social desirability offer support for construct and criterion-related validity. According to both intelligence criteria and current psychometric standards, findings validate the proposed model and measure of spiritual intelligence. Future directions are discussed

Toward an understanding of challenge and threat in athletes

The aims of this research programme were to a. Further examine and develop an existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat within a sport context, b. Examine Challenge and Threat self-report with performance in a sport context, c. Further examine the Biopsychosocial Model (BPSM) proposed in relation to Challenge and Threat and sport performance, d. Examine the associations between Challenge, Threat, cortisol response and sport performance, e. Examine self-report of emotions direction and intensity experienced during a sport performance in regard to Challenge and Threat and f. Examine Challenge and Threat in combination with each other in regard to sport performance. These 6 aims were addressed in 3 different empirical studies. Study 1 used a cross sectional study design to explore the validity and reliability of an existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat. Participants were gym users (n=200, Mage=24.91) and asked to complete the self-report measure before a dart-throwing competition. Study 2 comprised of three different stages. Stage 1; a cross sectional study design to examine the content validity of a pool of existing self-report items to measure Challenge and Threat in a range of athletes (n=25, Mage=22.00). Participants comprised of male and female athletes engaged in various sports (football, n=6, cricket, n=2, swimming, n=5, tennis, n=1, rugby, n=6, netball, n=3, basketball, n=2.). Stage 2, used a cross sectional study design to further examine the construct validity of the remaining items from stage 1. This stage used principle components analysis (PCA) to determine whether Challenge and Threat self-report items were grouped in a particular way (Kline, 1994). Participants were competitive runners (n=197, Mage=37.11) and asked to complete the self-report measure regarding Challenge and Threat before competition. Stage 3 used a cross sectional study design to explore the validity and reliability of the self-report measure of Challenge and Threat developed in stages 1-2 in competitive runners (n=147, Mage =30.06), using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine how well the data total fitted the proposed hypothetical model. Finally a quasi-experimental study (study 3) examined the association between Challenge and Threat and shooting performance. This study explored the Challenge and Threat self-report measure and its relationship with performance, emotions and physiological responses. Participants in this study comprised of university student and staff members (n=102, Mage =27.11). Results from study 1 suggested that the existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat utilised was not suitable for use within a sport context. Results from study 2, stage 1, revealed a pool of self-report items that athletes described as applicable and relevant to their sports performance. Results from study 2, stage 2, suggested that items identified in study 2, stage 1 represented a two component solution, one associated with Threat and the other Challenge. Results from study 2, stage 3 suggested that a 12 item self-report measure was suitable for use within a sport context and that Challenge has a positive association with sport performance. Finally, study 3, suggested that the self-report measure of Challenge and Threat developed in study 2 (stages 1-3) was suitable for use within a sport context. Results from study 3 also suggest that a mixture of Challenge and Threat can have implications for performance outcome. Emotions reported were shown to have associations with Challenge and Threat self-report, as suggested by The Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA). The study findings showed that physiological associations with Challenge and Threat were equivocal. Limitations to the present research programme and directions for future research are discussed

Development and validation of a self-report measure of epistemic trust

Epistemic trust (ET) refers to trust in communicated knowledge. This paper describes the development and validation of a new self-report questionnaire, the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ). We report on two studies (Study 1, n = 500; Study 2, n = 705) examining the psychometric properties of the ETMCQ and the relationship between EMTCQ scores (i.e., an individual’s epistemic stance) and exposure to adverse childhood experiences, mental health symptoms, attachment, mentalizing and general self-efficacy. The factor structure of the ETMCQ was examined using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and its reliability and test-retest reliability were tested. Both studies yielded three correlated yet distinct factors – Trust, Mistrust and Credulity – and confirmed the reliability and validity of the ETMCQ. Preregistered hypotheses were confirmed and replicated across both studies. Main findings suggest intriguing links between the ETMCQ and developmental psychopathology constructs and are consistent with thinking on the role of epistemic stance in undermining adaptation and increasing the developmental risk of mental health problems. Mistrust and Credulity scores were associated with childhood adversity and higher scores on the global psychopathology severity index and both factors partially mediated the link between early adversity and mental health symptoms. Mistrust and Credulity were positively associated with difficulties in understanding mental states and insecure attachment styles. Post-hoc analysis identified that different attachment styles were associated with differences in epistemic stance. In addition, Trust was not associated with reduced levels of mental health symptoms and did not moderate the impact of childhood adversity – findings are congruent with the suggestion that the reduction of mistrust and credulity may be crucial common factors in promoting resilience and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. This investigation and the ETMCQ provide an empirical measure of what until now has been largely a theoretical concept and open new avenues for future research