Anne Kupfer

The positivity scale.

Five studies document the validity of a new 8-item scale designed to measure positivity, defined as the tendency to view life and experiences with a positive outlook. In the first study (N = 372), the psychometric properties of Positivity Scale (P Scale) were examined in accordance with classical test theory using a large number of college participants. In Study 2, the unidimensionality of the P Scale was corroborated with confirmatory factor analysis in 2 independent samples (N₁ = 322; N₂ = 457). In Study 3, P Scale invariance across sexes and its relations with self-esteem, life satisfaction, optimism, positive negative affect, depression, and the Big Five provided further evidence of the internal and construct validity of the new measure in a large community sample (N = 3,589). In Study 4, test-retest reliability of the P Scale was found in a sample of college students (N = 262) who were readministered the scale after 5 weeks. In Study 5, measurement invariance and construct validity of P Scale were further supported across samples in different countries and cultures, including Italy (N = 689), the United States (N = 1,187), Japan (N = 281), and Spain (N = 302). Psychometric findings across diverse cultural context attest to the robustness of the P Scale and to positivity as a basic disposition.

Emotion understanding, theory of mind, and prosocial orientation: Relations over time in early childhood

Data were collected when children were 42, 54, and 72 months of age (Ns = 210, 191, and 172 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively). Childrens emotion understanding (EU) and theory of mind (ToM) were examined as predictors of childrens prosocial orientation within and across time. EU positively related to childrens sympathy across 2.5 years, and T1 EU positively related to parent-reported prosocial orientation concurrently and across 1 year (T2). T2 ToM positively related to parents’ reports of sympathy and prosocial orientation concurrently and 18 months later (T3); in contrast, T3 ToM did not relate to sympathy or prosocial orientation. T2 ToM accounted for marginally significant variance (p < 0.058) in T3 mother-reported prosocial orientation over and above that accounted for by T2 prosocial orientation. Fostering the development of EU and ToM may contribute to childrens prosocial orientation.

Effortful Control and Impulsivity as Concurrent and Longitudinal Predictors of Academic Achievement

The goal of this study was to test if both effortful control (EC) and impulsivity, a reactive index of temperament, uniquely predict adolescents’ academic achievement, concurrently and longitudinally (Time 1: N = 168, x ¯ age = 12 years). At Time 1, parents and teachers reported on students’ EC and impulsivity. At both time points, spaced 2 years apart, parents and teachers reported on students’ achievement. In a concurrent regression, both EC and impulsivity were positively related to achievement. At T1, there was evidence of a nonlinear relation between impulsivity and achievement, and the shape of the quadratic was dependent on if EC was simultaneously considered. Results from a longitudinal analysis demonstrated that although parent-reported impulsivity was generally negatively correlated with achievement, EC, but not impulsivity, was prospectively, uniquely related to achievement. The discussion highlights the value of considering adolescents’ EC and impulsivity in models of school success.

Predictors of withdrawal: Possible precursors of avoidant personality disorder

Relations of avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) with shyness and inhibition suggest that a precursor of AvPD is withdrawal. Using a sample of 4.5- to 7-year-olds studied four times, 2 years apart, four and three classes of children differing in trajectories of mother- and teacher-reported withdrawal, respectively, were identified. Mothers and teachers generally did not agree on childrens trajectories but the pattern of findings in the two contexts did not differ markedly. The mother-identified high and declining withdrawal class, in comparison with less withdrawn classes, and the teacher-identified high and declining class compared with low withdrawal classes, were associated with relatively high levels of anger and low levels of attentional control and resiliency. The mother-identified moderate and increasing withdrawal class was distinguished from less problematic withdrawal classes by higher anger, lower resiliency, and sometimes, lower attentional control. The teacher-identified low and increasing withdrawal class was distinguished from less problematic withdrawal classes by lower resiliency and lower attentional control. Findings are discussed in terms of the developmental precursors to social withdrawal and avoidant behavior.

Self-Efficacy in Retrieving Positive Emotional Experience and Using Humor: A Validation Study of a New Instrument in Three Countries

Recent research has pointed to the benefits of positive emotions and their appropriate modulation in buffering the impact of negative experience, and in promoting well-being. Two studies examined the psychometric properties of a new scale that was designed to assess perceived self-efficacy in using memories of positive emotional experiences and humor to face challenges and to cope with stressful experiences. In the first study, we examined the factor structure and internal validity of two scales in youths from the United States (N = 1,277), Italy (N = 363), and Spain (N = 223). In the second study, we examined correlations of the two scales with positive affect, as well as other indicators of well-being and adjustment in the three countries (US: N = 499; Italian and Spanish samples of Study 1). The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported two distinct factors and showed acceptable partial invariance of the scales across countries. Correlations supported the scales’ construct and discriminant validity. Overall, the findings corroborated the psychometric properties of the two scales and the view of retrieval of positive emotional experiences and humor as distinct self-regulatory strategies.