Validity and measurement invariance of the Unified Multidimensional Calling Scale (UMCS): A three-wave survey study

The accumulation of scientific knowledge on calling is limited by the absence of a common theoretical and measurement framework. Many different models of calling have been proposed, and we do not know how much research results that refer to a specific model are generalizable to different theoretical accounts of calling. In this article, we investigate whether two leading models of calling tackle the same construct. The two models were merged into a comprehensive framework that measures calling across seven facets: Passion, Purposefulness, Sacrifice, Pervasiveness, Prosocial Orientation, Transcendent Summons, and Identity. We then developed the Unified Multidimensional Calling Scale (UMCS) drawing from previous published items. Across two surveys involving college students (N = 5886) and adult employees (N = 205) the UMCS was proved to be valid and reliable. We also observed that the UMCS is invariant across time and calling domains. Finally, we found that facets of calling have very different relationships with outcomes and concurrent measures, suggesting that results obtained with a smaller set of facets are not generalizable to the higher-order construct of calling or to a different model that does not share the same facets. \ua9 2018 Vianello et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Measurement of change in health status with Rasch models

Background: The traditional approach to the measurement of change presents important drawbacks (no information at individual level, ordinal scores, variance of the measurement instrument across time points), which Rasch models overcome. The article aims to illustrate the features of the measurement of change with Rasch models. Methods: To illustrate the measurement of change using Rasch models, the quantitative data of a longitudinal study of heart-surgery patients (N=98) were used. The scale "Perception of Positive Change" was used as an example of measurement instrument. All patients underwent cardiac rehabilitation, individual psychological intervention, and educational intervention. Nineteen patients also attended progressive muscle relaxation group trainings. The scale was administered before and after the interventions. Three Rasch approaches were used. Two separate analyses were run on the data from the two time points to test the invariance of the instrument. An analysis was run on the stacked data from both time points to measure change in a common frame of reference. Results of the latter analysis were compared with those of an analysis that removed the influence of local dependency on patient measures. Statistics t, \u3a72 and F were used for comparing the patient and item measures estimated in the Rasch analyses (a-priori \u3b1=.05). Infit, Outfit, R and item Strata were used for investigating Rasch model fit, reliability, and validity of the instrument. Results: Data of all 98 patients were included in the analyses. The instrument was reliable, valid, and substantively unidimensional (Infit, Outfit<2 for all items, R=.84, item Strata range=3.93-6.07). Changes in the functioning of the instrument occurred across the two time, which prevented the use of the two separate analyses to unambiguously measure change. Local dependency had a negligible effect on patient measures (p 65.8674). Thirteen patients improved, whereas 3 worsened. The patients who attended the relaxation group trainings did not report greater improvement than those who did not (p=.1007). Conclusions: Rasch models represent a valid framework for the measurement of change and a useful complement to traditional approaches. \ua9 Anselmi et al

Chapter Measuring content validity of academic psychological capital and locus of control in fresh graduates

Positive psychological capital (PsyCap; hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism) and locus of control (LoC; internal and external) denote psychological dimensions which have been identified as crucial resources for occupational satisfaction and success. These dimensions could impact fresh graduates’ ability to stand the labour market in times of crisis. Two instruments, called Academic PsyCap and Academic LoC, have been specifically developed to evaluate these dimensions among fresh graduates. The two instruments consist of 34 and 10 items respectively, which have been selected, through factor analyses, from a large initial pool of items administered to fresh graduated at the University of Padova. Results suggested adequate psychometric properties for both Academic PsyCap and Academic LoC. The factor structure of the two instruments was confirmed (CFI = .92, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .07 for Academic PsyCap; CFI = .96, RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .05 for Academic LoC), and internal consistency was satisfactory for all the subscales. The two instruments are presented, and their psychometric properties are described

Chapter Psychometric properties of a new scale for measuring academic positive psychological capital

Positive psychological capital (PsyCap) is the name given to a set of psychological dimensions (hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism) that may support students in their effort to achieve better academic results and even improve the employability of graduates. These dimensions could help students to achieve better academic results and impact fresh graduates’ ability to stand the labour market in times of crisis. A scale, called Academic PsyCap, was specifically developed to evaluate the four PsyCap dimensions among students and fresh graduates. To deeply investigate the structural validity of the scale, three alternative models (one-factor model, correlated four-factor model, bifactor model) were run on the responses provided by about 1,600 fresh graduates at the University of Padua. The results indicated that the bifactor model fit the data better than the other two models. In this model, all items significantly loaded on both their own domain specific factor and on the general factor. The values of Percentage of Uncontaminated Correlations (PUC), Explained Common Variance (ECV), and Hierarchical Omega suggested that multidimensionality in the scale was not severe enough to disqualify the use of a total PsyCap score. The scale was found to be invariant across gender and academic degree (bachelor’s and master’s degree). Internal consistency indices were satisfactory for the four dimensions and the total scale

The Developmental Trajectories of Calling: Predictors and Outcomes:

There are many open questions concerning the development of calling, and longitudinal empirical evidence is limited. We know that a calling is associated with many beneficial outcomes, but we do not know how it changes through time and what predicts these changes. Previous studies have shown that calling is relatively stable at the sample level. We show that, at the individual level, calling shows huge variations through time. We identified nine developmental trajectories that are typical across facets of calling, and we found evidence that the development of a calling is fostered by the extent to which individuals have lived it out. We also observed that the more a calling has grown over a 2-year period, the more it is lived out during the third year. These results provide support for a developmental model of calling according to which having a calling and living it out reciprocally influence each other. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed

The Developmental Trajectories of Calling: Predictors and Outcomes

There are many open questions concerning the development of calling, and longitudinal empirical evidence is limited. We know that a calling is associated with many beneficial outcomes, but we do not know how it changes through time and what predicts these changes. Previous studies have shown that calling is relatively stable at the sample level. We show that, at the individual level, calling shows huge variations through time. We identified nine developmental trajectories that are typical across facets of calling, and we found evidence that the development of a calling is fostered by the extent to which individuals have lived it out. We also observed that the more a calling has grown over a 2-year period, the more it is lived out during the third year. These results provide support for a developmental model of calling according to which having a calling and living it out reciprocally influence each other. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed

Coping Strategies and Distress in Patients and Caregivers Dealing with Neurocognitive Disorders

Background and Aims: Quality of life (QoL) is described as the individual’s perception of life in relation to the cultural context and value system in which they live, and their objectives, expectations and interests. The aim of the present study is to investigate the perceptions of QoL on the part of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or mild dementia and on the part of their caregivers, by examining how they are influenced by factors such as anosognosia, coping strategies, perceived stress and caregiver burden. Methods: QoL was assessed in a sample of 30 patients with MCI or mild dementia and their caregivers using the QoL-AD. Other variables were measured with the AQ-D, PSS-10, COPE-NVI-25 and CBI instruments. We also assessed patients’ levels of cognitive impairment with the MMSE. Results: Patients’ QoL ratings were significantly higher than those of their respective caregivers. Patients’ perceptions of QoL were predicted by their caregiver’s avoidance coping strategy (β = -0.591, p &lt; 0.01), whereas the caregivers’ perceptions of QoL were predicted by their perceived stress levels (β = -0.567, p &lt; 0.01), the patient’s transcendent orientation (β = -0.369, p &lt; 0.05) and the caregiver’s positive attitude coping strategy (β = 0.312, p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: This study shows that perception of QoL is mostly influenced by coping strategies and perceived stress, and that caregivers’ dysfunctional coping strategies can affect patients’ perceptions of QoL. Our data also highlight the crucial role of the caregiver in the treatment of neurocognitive disorders

Seismic emergency in Molise (2018). Preliminary report of the SISMIKO task force.

Il 16 agosto 2018 alle ore 18:19:04 UTC un terremoto di magnitudo ML 5.2 (Mw 5.1) è stato ben risentito in un’ampia area che comprende molte regioni del Centro Sud Italia. I sismologi in turno presso la sala di monitoraggio e sorveglianza sismica dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) hanno localizzato l’evento in provincia di Campobasso, a 4 km a Sud-Est di Montecilfone e ad una profondità inizialmente calcolata di 9 km. Nella stessa area si era verificato due giorni prima, il 14 agosto alle ore 23.48 italiane un terremoto di Mw 4.6 anch’esso ben risentito (i dettagli dell’evento sono reperibili alla pagina [http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/event/20375681]). A seguito dell’evento di magnitudo Mw 5.1 e della sequenza ad esso associata, come in ogni emergenza di questo tipo, è stato attivato il Gruppo Operativo SISMIKO [Moretti et al., 2012; 2016; Pondrelli et al., 2016] per l’installazione di alcune stazioni sismiche temporanee ad integrazione di quelle permanenti della Rete Sismica Nazionale (RSN [Michelini et al., 2016]) presenti nella regione.Il 16 agosto 2018 alle ore 18:19:04 UTC un terremoto di magnitudo ML 5.2 (Mw 5.1) è stato ben risentito in un’ampia area che comprende molte regioni del Centro Sud Italia [http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/event/20375681]. I sismologi, in turno presso la sala di monitoraggio e sorveglianza sismica dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), hanno localizzato l’evento in provincia di Campobasso, a 4 km a Sud-Est di Montecilfone. Nella stessa area si era verificato due giorni prima, il 14 agosto alle ore 21.48 UTC un terremoto di Mw 4.6 [http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/event/20362671]. A seguito dell’evento di magnitudo Mw 5.1 e della sequenza ad esso associata, come avviene in questi casi, si è attivato il Gruppo Operativo SISMIKO [Moretti et al., 2012; 2016; Pondrelli et al., 2016] per l’installazione di stazioni sismiche temporanee ad integrazione di quelle permanenti della Rete Sismica Nazionale (RSN [Michelini et al., 2016; http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/instruments/network/IV]) presenti nella regione.Published1SR. TERREMOTI - Servizi e ricerca per la Societ