Bernd G. Heubeck

A short version of the Self Description Questionnaire II: Operationalizing criteria for short-form evaluation with new applications of confirmatory factor analyses

Four studies evaluate the new Self Description Questionnaire II short-form (SDQII-S) that measures 11 dimensions of adolescent self-concept based on responses to 51 of the original 102 SDQII items and demonstrate new statistical strategies to operationalize guidelines for short-form evaluation proposed by G. T. Smith, D. M. McCarthy, and K. G. Anderson (2000). Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the factor structure based on responses to 51 items by a new cross-validation group (n=9,134) was invariant with the factor structures based on responses to the same 51 items and to all 102 items by the original normative archive group (n = 9,187). Reliabilities for the 11 SDQII-S factors were nearly the same and consistently high (.80 to .89) for both groups. Multitrait-multimethod analyses support the internal validity of responses over time. Gender and age effects on the 11 SDQII-S factors were invariant across the archive and cross-validation groups.

A second look at Carver and White's (1994) BIS/BAS scales

Abstract Previous attempts to operationalise Grays BIS-BAS theory at the personality level have not been very successful. Recently Carver and White (1994) presented new scales focussing specifically on dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities. The current study ( N = 336) examined the internal validity of the newly created scales as well as their relationships with well established concepts and scales like Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Positive and Negative Emotionality. An exact replication of the principal components analysis of Carver and White (1994) is presented for comparison. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a correlated four factor model provided the relatively best, but modest fit to the data. Correlations with Neuroticism, Extraversion, Positive and Negative Affectivity were generally in the predicted direction. However, Neuroticism and Extraversion were not predicted by Grays combinations of BIS and BAS activity, questioning the theory or its operationalisation in the new scales. A second order factor analysis supported the hypothesis that the Extraversion, Fun, Drive, and Positive Affect scales all measure a common positive personality factor, while the Neuroticism, BIS, and Negative Affect scales measure a common higher order negative factor. Reward Responsiveness, however, loaded on both factors.

Relationships Between School Hassles and Uplifts and Anxiety and Conduct Problems in Grades 3 and 4

Abstract This study explored whether behavior problems and anxiety in primary school children are related to daily experiences with school. A differentiated view of daily experiences was proposed to examine the relationship between hassles and uplifts in different areas: peers, teachers, schoolwork, and home–school issues. Self-report data from 256 Australian students in grades 3 and 4 underwent correlation and multiple regression analyses. Reports of hassles with school were related to major negative life events as well as anxiety and conduct problems. Hassles with peers and hassles with teachers made unique contributions to the prediction of anxiety and conduct problems, respectively. Overall, reports of uplifts were neither related to major life events nor to reports of hassles or anxiety or conduct. However, the interaction of peer hassles and uplifts contributed significantly to the prediction of conduct problems. The results are discussed in relation to prior research, different conceptualizations of stress, and possible implications for prevention and intervention.

Cross-Cultural Generalizability of CBCL Syndromes Across Three Continents: From the USA and Holland to Australia

The study asked how well Achenbachs 8-factor cross-informant model for the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c) fits clinic data in the USA, Holland, and Australia. DeGroot et al.s Dutch 8-factor model (DeGroot, Koot, & Verhulst 1994) was also tested for its cross-cultural generalizability. Achenbachs matched clinical sample data (N = 2110) were analyzed and contrasted with the previously reported Dutch findings (N = 2335), as well as a new data set collected on clinic referred children and adolescents in Australia (N = 2237). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the Dutch as much as the American model in the USA, Holland, and Australia. Although about 90% of items showed convergent validity across models and countries, the attention and especially the social problems factor found least support. Most double loadings in the current models were not upheld. Instead, additional analyses discovered a number of unmodelled loadings including many cross-loadings. This led to the redefinition of the social problems factor as a mean aggression factor (with associated social problems) whereas the original aggression factor focuses on emotional acting out and the delinquent factor describes an evasive, covert type of antisocial behavior. Overall most support was obtained for the withdrawn, somatic, anxious/depressed, thought problems, and aggressive factors.

Observation of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) problems in three natural classroom contexts

BACKGROUND Observation studies of students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems in natural classroom situations are costly and relatively rare. AIMS The study enquired how teacher ratings are anchored in actual student classroom behaviours, and how the behaviour of children with ADHD problems differs from their classmates. The authors attempted to broaden the usual focus on disruptive and inattentive behaviours to elucidate the role of various on-task behaviours, as well as considering differences between classroom contexts. SAMPLE DSM-III-R criteria were used in conjunction with a teacher rating scale to select a sample of 55 students with ADHD problems, and 55 matched controls from a population of 569 primary school students. METHOD Students were observed in their natural classrooms using the Munich Observation of Attention Inventory (MAI; Helmke, 1988). Correlations between teacher reports and observation codes were computed, and systematic differences between students with ADHD problems and controls in different classroom contexts were examined using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM). RESULTS Global teacher reports showed moderate to strong correlations with observed student behaviours. Expected on-task behaviour demonstrated the strongest relationship (r>-.70) with teacher reports. As hypothesized, the children with ADHD were more disruptive and inattentive than their matched peers. They were also less often inconspicuous on-task as expected by their teachers. However, their behaviour was assigned to two other on-task categories more often than their peers, and this raised their total on-task behaviour to over 66%. Situational differences were found for all codes as well, which mostly affected all students in a similar way, not just students with ADHD. CONCLUSIONS ADHD related behaviours are pervasive across the classroom situations coded. Teachers appear to distinguish between desirable and undesirable on-task behaviours. Nevertheless, assisting students with ADHD problems requires shaping both. Future studies need to include more differentiated codes for various types of on-task behaviours and also need to code the lesson context concurrently.

A Multidimensional Analysis of Changes in Mathematics Motivation and Engagement during High School.

Despite concerns about declining interest and enrolments in mathematics, little research has examined change in a broad range of constructs reflecting mathematics motivation and engagement. The current study used an 11-factor model of motivation and engagement to evaluate levels of maths motivation compared to general academic motivation and to assess group-level and individual-level changes in maths motivation during secondary school. In a multicohort-multioccasion design, Australian students completed an adaptation of the Motivation and Engagement Scale in two consecutive school years. Ratings in mathematics were lower than general academic motivation on several scales but particularly on the planning and task management scales and for the year seven cohort. Mean ratings of valuing and task management decreased over the two years, while stability of mathematics motivation was moderate. Girls reported stronger anxiety, uncertain control and failure avoidance than boys, despite also reporting greater mastery focus. The findings demonstrate that a multidimensional model facilitates a differentiated analysis of possible reasons for a waning interest in mathematics.

Self-discrepancies: Measurement and Relation to Various Negative Affective States

This study examined the validity of two methods for assessing self-discrepancies: an idiographic method (The Selves Questionnaire, SQ) and a nomothetic method (Adjective Rating List, ARL). It also tested several major hypotheses of self-discrepancy theory regarding the relations between self-discrepancies and emotional discomfort. SQ and ARL scores from 220 participants demonstrated moderate correlations between instruments and high intercorrelations between discrepancy scores within instruments. Self-discrepancy scores were related to negative emotional states, but the specificity of these relations was not demonstrated, nor did they make a substantial contribution to the prediction of negative emotional states after controlling for negative self-concept. Overall, these findings raise significant concerns about the relevance of self-discrepancies as measured by the SQ and ARL and fail to support the main contentions of self-discrepancy theory.

Mathematics Motivation and Engagement: An Independent Evaluation of a Complex Model with Australian Rural High School Students.

Most traditional models of academic motivation focus on a small number of specific factors. However, the Student Motivation and Engagement Scale (MES) (Martin, 2007b) includes a fairly comprehensive range of perspectives on general student motivation. The current study set out (a) to provide an independent test of the proposed 11-factor structure of the MES for boys and girls when (b) applied to high school mathematics in Australia (N = 1014; Years 7 to 11). It also examined (c) the covariation of different facets of motivation and engagement with gender, year level, and scholastic achievement. The hypothesised 11-factor model fit reasonably well across gender, and there was clear evidence of specificity to maths compared to English achievement. Some gender and grade effects were observed as well. The study provides support for the value of the Martin model and its instrument. It also extends our knowledge of student motivation to mathematics in Australian rural high schools.

An Exploration into the Nature, Frequency and Impact of School Hassles in the Middle School Years

Abstract This study set out to explore the nature of hassles at school for students in Year 6 and Year 7 and to examine the degree to which these are associated with emotional and behavioural problems. Two hundred and ten students from 12 classrooms in Canberra, Australia, were surveyed to obtain reports of school hassles experienced over a 6-month period. There was little support for hypotheses positing particular gender differences. Instead, boys reported more school-related hassles at home. Year effects were also contrary to expectations: pupils in Year 6 reported more hassles with peers and were bothered more by hassles with peers and teachers than students in Year 7. Path models showed some congruence with stress theories which posit that major life events increase the risk of children to experience hassles in their daily lives and that the effect of negative life events is mediated by hassles and their appraisal. Future research into these hassles may have implications for prevention, as already dem...

Implicit and explicit memory performance in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The present investigation examined implicit and explicit memory in 20 children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and 20 matched controls. Consistent with previous research, children with AD/HD performed more poorly than controls on an explicit test of long-term memory for pictures. New results were that (a) there was no deficit on an implicit memory test for equivalent material and that (b) the observed deficit in explicit memory operated over and above any effects of depression/anxiety. Another finding to emerge was that AD/HD children had greater difficulty than controls in identifying pictures of objects that were presented in an unusual form, either rotated or degraded. Overall, the pattern of results is interpreted in terms of deficient effortful/resource-intensive processes in AD/HD but intact automatic processes.