International well-being index : the Austrian version

The International Well-being Index (IWI) measures both personal and national well-being. It comprises two subscales: the Personal Well-being Index (PWI) and the National Well-being Index (NWI). The aim of this paper is to test the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the translated scale in Austria. Convergent validity is assessed using the Scales of Psychological Well-Being, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. In addition, a Visual&ndash;Analog Scales capturing &ldquo;satisfaction with life as a whole&rdquo; was applied. The participants were 581 students of the Medical University Innsbruck (female: 47.7%; age: 23.2 &plusmn; 3.7). Internal consistency (Cronbach&rsquo;s &alpha;) of the IWI was for both scales &gt; .70 (PWI: .85; NWI: .83). The exploratory factor analysis of the IWI identified a 2-factor-structure identical with the two scales of the IWI explaining 54.2% of the variance. The convergent validity hypotheses were confirmed, construct validity was partly confirmed for the PWI being a deconstruction of a first factor called &ldquo;satisfaction with life&rdquo; (38.1% explained variance). Happy participants scored higher on the PWI (84.3 &plusmn; 7.9 vs. 68.7 &plusmn; 13.7; p &lt; .001) and NWI (64.3 &plusmn; 15.8 vs. 57.9 &plusmn; 15.1; p &lt; .001) scores than unhappy participants. It is concluded that the Austrian version of the IWI is a reliable and valid instrument to assess personal and national well-being. Further studies including a representative sample should be carried out on a recurring basis to use the IWI as an indicator for social science research in Austria.<br /

Positive and Negative Structures and Processes Underlying Academic Performance: A Chained Mediation Model

This study proposed and tested a comprehensive, chained mediation model of university students’ academic performance. The hypothesized model included adaptive-positive and maladaptive-negative submodels. The structures and processes in the adaptive-positive submodel were hypothesized to facilitate students’ academic performance, whereas the structures and processes in the maladaptive-negative submodel were hypothesized to undermine it. A sample of 373 university students completed a set of questionnaires measuring their approaches to studying, positive and negative affect, evaluation anxiety, use of creative cognition, motivational orientations, and adaptive and maladaptive metacognitions. Participants’ end-of-semester and prior semester academic performance was retrieved from the university registry. A structural equation model explained 90 % of the variance in students’ future academic performance, supported all but one hypothesized intermediate paths, and revealed that only positive affect in studying and prior academic performance predict directly future academic performance. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are outlined