Orientaciones de meta en las clases de educación física : un análisis centrado en la educación secundaria obligatoria

This paper explores the subject of motivation in educational environments, more specifically in physical education. The research study it describes is based on the concept of goal perspectives (Nicholls, 1984, Dweck and Legget, 1988, Ames, 1984, Duda, 1992), and the purpose of the study was to identify the (task or ego) goal orientations shown by secondary school students in physical education classes, together with any possible differences based either on gender or the academic stage in the students education. The sample was composed of 203 secondary school students who all answered the POSQ questionnaire. From the results that were obtained, both goal orientations were observed, with a task-basedorientation predominating. It was also shown that boys are more ego oriented than girls

New Evidence for the Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Gain in Alzheimer Care Instrument

The aim was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Gain in Alzheimer Care Instrument (GAIN), providing validity evidence based on its internal structure, reliability, item analysis, and relationships with other variables. A sample of 113 informal caregivers of people with dementia completed the GAIN, along with questionnaires assessing burden, general mental health, stress, anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a single-factor structure with adequate fit indices. Reliability of GAIN scores was satisfactory, with McDonald’s omega equal to .91. Items yielded adequate homogeneity indices. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables was provided by positive correlations between GAIN scores and life satisfaction, and negative correlations with burden, general mental health problems, stress, anxiety, and depression. All these correlations were statistically significant, and most of them were of moderate magnitude. The Spanish version of the GAIN has a single-factor structure and satisfactory psychometric properties. It is quick and easy to apply and given the association between GAIN scores and other variables, it may be used to provide information about a caregiver’s psychological health status.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga

Young children have social worries too: validation of a brief parent report measure of social worries in children aged 4–8 years

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Social Worries Anxiety Index for Young children (SWAIY), adapted from the Social Worries Questionnaire—Parent version (SWQ-P; Spence, 1995), as a measure of social anxiety in young children. 169 parents of children aged four to eight years from a community sample completed the SWAIY and a standardized measure of anxiety; the SWAIY was completed again two weeks later. Parents deemed the items appropriate and relevant to children of this age. The SWAIY demonstrated excellent ( > 0.80) internal consistency and a one-factor model. Test-retest reliability was strong (r = 0.87) and evidence of convergent validity (r > .50) was found. The study provides initial evidence for the validation of SWAIY as a measure of social anxiety in children aged four to eight years old. This questionnaire is ideal for investigating social anxiety over early childhood and the relationship between early social worries and later anxiety disorders

Risky business: factor analysis of survey data – assessing the probability of incorrect dimensionalisation

This paper undertakes a systematic assessment of the extent to which factor analysis the correct number of latent dimensions (factors) when applied to ordered categorical survey items (so-called Likert items). We simulate 2400 data sets of uni-dimensional Likert items that vary systematically over a range of conditions such as the underlying population distribution, the number of items, the level of random error, and characteristics of items and item-sets. Each of these datasets is factor analysed in a variety of ways that are frequently used in the extant literature, or that are recommended in current methodological texts. These include exploratory factor retention heuristics such as Kaiser’s criterion, Parallel Analysis and a non-graphical scree test, and (for exploratory and confirmatory analyses) evaluations of model fit. These analyses are conducted on the basis of Pearson and polychoric correlations.We find that, irrespective of the particular mode of analysis, factor analysis applied to ordered-categorical survey data very often leads to over-dimensionalisation. The magnitude of this risk depends on the specific way in which factor analysis is conducted, the number of items, the properties of the set of items, and the underlying population distribution. The paper concludes with a discussion of the consequences of overdimensionalisation, and a brief mention of alternative modes of analysis that are much less prone to such problems

Measuring the outcomes of long-term care for unpaid carers: Comparing the ASCOT-Carer, Carer Experience Scale and EQ-5D-3L

Background: The ASCOT-Carer and Carer Experience Scale are instruments designed to capture aspects of quality of life ‘beyond health’ for family carers. The aim of this study was to compare and validate these two carer care-related measures, with a secondary aim to compare both instruments to the three-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L) measure of health-related quality of life. Methods: An interview survey was conducted with 387 carers of adults who used long-term care (also known as social care) support in England. Construct validity by hypothesis testing was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis was also applied to investigate the dimensionality of the combined items from the ASCOT-Carer and CES (as measures of carer quality of life ‘beyond health’) and the EQ-5D (as a measure of health-related quality of life). Results: In the construct validity analysis, hypothesised differences in correlations were observed with two exceptions. The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the ASCOT-Carer, CES and EQ-5D-3L items loaded onto three separate factors. The first factor comprised the seven ASCOT-Carer items plus two CES items (activities outside caring, support from friends and family). The second factor comprised three of the six CES items (fulfilment from caring, control over caring and getting on with the person you care for). The third factor included four of the five EQ-5D-3L items. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the ASCOT-Carer, CES and EQ-5D-3L capture separate constructs of social care-related quality of life (ASCOT-Carer) and carer experience (CES), which partially overlap in relation to activities outside caring and social support, and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L). The ASCOT-Carer and CES are both promising measures for the evaluation of social care support for carers that capture aspects of quality of life ‘beyond health’. The choice of whether to use the ASCOT-Carer or CES depends on the study objectives

El estereotipo racial en los adolescentes

Los objetivos de este estudio fueron analizar los estereotipos racistas ante los inmigrantes de los adolescentes y analizar si el sexo, el ciclo educativo y el hecho de tener experiencias de relación con inmigrantes introducen diferencias en los prejuicios de los adolescentes. Participaron 1461 adolescentes de entre 11 y 18 años. Ellos respondieron la Escala de racismo moderno. Se observó que la décima parte de los participantes mostraron prejuicios negativos, que las chicas incurren menos que los chicos en el prejuicio sutil, que los estudiantes del primer ciclo de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria se muestran más prejuiciosos que los del segundo ciclo y que los prejuicios sutiles se producen en mayor medida en los adolescentes que no se han relacionado con inmigrantes. Se derivan algunas implicaciones prácticas y se realizan algunas autocríticas.The aims of this study were to analyze the racial stereotyping of adolescents toward immigrants and analyze whether sex, the educational level and having experiences regarding immigrants introduce differences in the attitudes’ adolescents. Participants were 1461 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years. They answered the modern racism scale. It was noted that a tenth of the participants showed negative prejudices, which incur fewer the girls than the boys in the subtle prejudice, that students of the first cycle of secondary school are more prejudist than the pupils of second cycle, and subtle prejudices occur more in adolescents who have not had contact with immigrants. Some practical implications were derived and were done self-criticisms.peerReviewe

Orientaciones de meta en las clases de educación física : un análisis centrado en la educación secundaria obligatoria

This paper explores the subject of motivation in educational environments, more specifically in physical education. The research study it describes is based on the concept of goal perspectives (Nicholls, 1984, Dweck and Legget, 1988, Ames, 1984, Duda, 1992), and the purpose of the study was to identify the (task or ego) goal orientations shown by secondary school students in physical education classes, together with any possible differences based either on gender or the academic stage in the students education. The sample was composed of 203 secondary school students who all answered the POSQ questionnaire. From the results that were obtained, both goal orientations were observed, with a task-basedorientation predominating. It was also shown that boys are more ego oriented than girls