Carme Viladrich

A Structural Model of the Relationships Between Perceived Control and Adaptation to Illness in Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract Objectives: To examine whether perceived control produces better adaptation to illness in breast cancer patients in stages I or II. Design: Longitudinal, 1-year following study. Methods: One hundred and one women were assessed on five occasions: one week after surgery, and again 1, 3, 6 and 12 months later, using, among other measures, the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Structural equation models confirmed that patients with higher perceived control showed better adaptation to illness in all five assessments. Conclusions: These data fit well with previous research and suggest that psychological interventions which emphasize a sense of personal control would be effective in enhancing well-being in breast cancer patients at the early stages.

Measurement invariance of the Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire when completed by young athletes across five European countries.

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the factorial validity of the Behavioural Regulation Sport in Questionnaire (BRSQ) when completed by young soccer players in the Promoting Adolescent Physical Activity (PAPA) project (9-15 years old) in 5 European countries (France: n = 1248, Greece: n = 1507, Norway: n = 1397, Spain: n = 2245, and England: n = 1372) and (2) test the measurement invariance of its latent factors across these 5 countries. First, we tested the exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) factor analyses, allowing cross-loadings between factors, against the traditional independent clusters confirmatory factor analysis model (ICM-CFA), with all cross-loadings constrained to zero. The ESEM showed very Good Fit Indices, whereas the ICM-CFA was not tenable across countries. Second, the ESEM was used as the baseline model for the tests of factor loading (metric) invariance and factor loading plus thresholds (scalar) invariance. The five factors obtained from the analysis were scalar invariant and interpretable across the five countries (languages) as intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected and external regulations, and amotivation, in line with the tenets of self-determination theory). This study contributes to methodological advances in sport psychology, as it is the first time an adaptation of the BRSQ for young participants has been factor analysed comparing the more flexible ESEM to the usual ICM-CFA. Our data clearly favour using the more flexible weak dimensionality model (ESEM) and suggest a fresh interpretation of previous results may be required.

How coaches' motivations mediate between basic psychological needs and well-being/ill-being

Purpose: The purpose of the present research was to test how behavioral regulations are mediated between basic psychological needs and psychological well-being and ill-being in a sample of team-sport coaches. Based on self-determination theory, we hypothesized a model where satisfaction and thwarting of the basic psychological needs predicted coaches’ behavioral regulations, which in turn led them to experience well-being (i.e., subjective vitality, positive affect) or ill-being (i.e., perceived stress, negative affect). Method: Three-hundred and two coaches participated in the study (Mage = 25.97 years; 82% male). For each instrument employed, the measurement model with the best psychometric properties was selected from a sequence of nested models sustained by previous research, including exploratory structural equation models and confirmatory factor analysis. These measurement models were included in 3 structural equation models to test for mediation: partial mediation, complete mediation, and absence of mediation. Results: The results provided support for the partial mediation model. Coaches’ motivation mediated the relationships from both relatedness need satisfaction and basic psychological needs thwarting for coaches’ well-being. In contrast, relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction and thwarting and ill-being were only predicted by direct effects. Conclusion: Our results highlight that 3 conditions seem necessary for coaches to experience psychological well-being in their teams: basic psychological needs satisfaction, especially relatedness; lack of basic psychological needs thwarting; and self-determined motivation.

Individual Consistencies Across Time and Tasks: A Replication of Interactive Styles

Three experimental studies were carried out in order to find within-subject consistencies as well as individual differences in a concurrent choice situation involving risk-taking. Four subjects were exposed twice, with a 4-month delay, to a horse-race game and a stock-exchange game, in order to evaluate their choices for a conservative versus a risky condition under open contingencies. The results in the 3 experiments showed reliable profiles in all subjects when frequency of changeovers was correlated with number of accumulated earnings. Results are discussed in terms of interactive styles.

A journey around alpha and omega to estimate internal consistency reliability

Resumen: En este trabajo se presenta una guía conceptual y práctica para estimar la fiabilidad de consistencia interna de medidas obtenidas mediante suma o promedio de ítems con base en las aportaciones más recientes de la psicometría. El coeficiente de fiabilidad de consistencia interna se presenta como un subproducto del modelo de medida subyacente en las respuestas a los ítems y se propone su estimación mediante un procedimiento de análisis de los ítems en tres fases, a saber, análisis descriptivo, comprobación de los modelos de medida pertinentes y cálculo del coeficiente de consistencia interna y su intervalo de confianza. Se proporcionan las siguientes fórmulas: (a) los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach y omega para medidas unidimensionales con ítems cuantitativos (b) los coeficientes omega ordinal, alfa ordinal y de fiabilidad no lineal para ítems dicotómicos y ordinales, y (c) los coeficientes omega y omega jerárquico para medidas esencialmente unidimensionales con efectos de método. El procedimiento se generaliza al análisis de medidas obtenidas por suma ponderada, de escalas multidimensionales, de diseños complejos con datos multinivel y/o faltantes y también al desarrollo de escalas. Con fines ilustrativos se expone el análisis de cuatro ejemplos numéricos y se proporcionan los datos y la sintaxis en R. Palabras clave: Fiabilidad; consistencia interna; coeficiente alfa; coeficiente omega; medidas congenéricas; medidas tau-equivalentes; análisis factorial confirmatorio. Title: A journey around alpha and omega to estimate internal consistency reliability. Abstract: Based on recent psychometric developments, this paper presents a conceptual and practical guide for estimating internal consistency reliability of measures obtained as item sum or mean. The internal consistency reliability coefficient is presented as a by-product of the measurement model underlying the item responses. A three-step procedure is proposed for its estimation, including descriptive data analysis, test of relevant measurement models, and computation of internal consistency coefficient and its confidence interval. Provided formulas include: (a) Cronbach’s alpha and omega coefficients for unidimensional measures with quantitative item response scales, (b) coefficients ordinal omega, ordinal alpha and nonlinear reliability for unidimensional measures with dichotomic and ordinal items, (c) coefficients omega and omega hierarchical for essentially unidimensional scales presenting method effects. The procedure is generalized to weighted sum measures, multidimensional scales, complex designs with multilevel and/or missing data and to scale development. Four illustrative numerical examples are fully explained and the data and the R syntax are provided.

Less time, better quality. shortening questionnaires to assess team environment and goal orientation

When assessing team environments in youth sport, participants often spend substantial time responding to lots of items in questionnaires, causing a lack of efficiency (i.e. time and effort) and a decrease of data quality. The purpose of this work was to create short-forms of the questionnaires PeerMCYSQ, SCQPeer, TEOSQ, and also to analyse the existing short-form of the SCQCoach. In Study 1 we developed the short-forms of the instruments. We shortened the questionnaires by using both theory driven and data-driven criteria. In Study 2, we used also qualitative and quantitative data with the aim of validating the short-forms. Finally, in Study 3 we tested the last version of the short-forms and sought evidences concerning their criterion validity. The results showed evidence that supports the psychometric merit of these short-forms: (a) significantly less missing values were obtained; (b) all the factors obtained alpha values above .70; (c) confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the short-forms fitted the hypothesized models well; (d) correlations between variables were coherent with expectations, and (e) structural equation modeling results showed significant paths consistent with previous literature. On average, our participants only spent a third of the time used to complete the original questionnaires.

Exploring the factorial structure of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2: invariance across language, gender, age and type of sport

BACKGROUND This study evaluates the metric and scalar invariance of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), which is considered one of the best sport performance anxiety assessment tools for child and adolescent athletes, across four sampling variables: language, gender, age and type of sport. METHOD The participants were 842 athletes (Mage = 11.73, SD = 2.20) from Spain, Belgium and Portugal, each of whom completed the language-adapted version of the SAS-2. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the invariance of the measurement model, and the relative importance of the sampling variables was assessed using a multiple indicator multiple causes model (MIMIC). RESULTS The results revealed metric and scalar invariance across all sampling variables and null to modest effects of gender, age and type of sport as covariates for the factors of the SAS-2. However, there was a marked effect (ß = -.56) of language on worry, which reflected lower scores on this factor for the Flemish sample. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study provide evidence of the invariance of the SAS-2 across samples, thereby endorsing the reliability of its factorial structure for future multi-group research.

Spanish adaptation and validation of the Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports

This paper presents the Spanish adaptation of the Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports. In the process of adaptation, we preferred cultural and linguistic equivalence to literal translation. Therefore, we gathered qualitative evidence based on the judgements of a multidisciplinary group of experts (n = 6) and focus groups (n = 10). Concerning cultural and linguistic equivalence, we found differences between the original and the adapted version in the editing of 16 items. Generally, these differences were deemed necessary to guarantee the cultural and metric equivalence between the original and the adapted version. As to the subsequent quantitative phase, data were obtained from 263 athletes from different sports and different levels (Mage = 20.30, SD = 3.08). The results showed acceptable levels of internal consistency (α values ranged from .70 to .83) and supported the original model of eight factors. In addition, a structural model including pre-competitive anxiety offered further evidence in regard to the link between self-talk and competitive anxiety. Lastly, some implications concerning the methodology are discussed.

The Mediating Role of Coping between Competitive Anxiety and Sport Commitment in Adolescent Athletes

Framed in cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions (Lazarus, 1999), this study aimed to test how coping mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment in a sample of adolescent athletes. Five-hundred adolescents (M = 16.42; SD = 1.54) participated in our study. Participants completed competitive anxiety, coping, and sport commitment measures. We defined the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling; and compared two different models of mediation (i.e., total and partial mediation) using structural equation modeling. Results favored partial mediation model where cognitive anxiety factors predicted sport commitment. Results from this model suggest direct and mediated structural relations between concepts. Somatic anxiety had a weak influence on sport commitment (total effects = 0.090 [-.131, .311]). Worry showed a positive influence on sport commitment (total effects = .375 [.262, .486]) through direct and mediated effects. Concentration disruption showed a negative impact on sport commitment (total effects = -.544 [-.724, -.363]) trough mediated effects only, showing a negative path on task-oriented coping and a positive path on disengagement-oriented coping. As a whole, our findings identify task coping efforts undertaken by adolescent athletes as a key element in the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the design of coping interventions in adolescents.

Heroin-dependent patient satisfaction with methadone as a medication influences satisfaction with basic interventions delivered by staff to implement methadone maintenance treatment

Purpose The aim of the present study was to test a structural equation model of patient satisfaction with different key facets of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). In this model, the three dimensions of patient satisfaction with methadone as a medication (ie, personal functioning and well-being, anti-addictive effect on heroin, and anti-addictive effect on non-opioid substances) were expected to predict satisfaction with the basic interventions delivered by the staff of treatment centers to implement MMT. Patients and methods A sample of 210 heroin-dependent patients, resistant to MMT treatment (mean age =41.66 years, SD =6.50; 75.7% male), participated voluntarily in this study. Preliminary analysis based on exploratory structural equation modeling supported the expected three-factor measurement model of the scale to assess satisfaction with medications for addiction treatment – methadone for heroin addiction. Moreover, the 15 items measuring staff’s basic interventions were shown to be compatible with the expected single-factor measurement model. Then, both measurement models were included in a structural model. Results Results of this model show that patient satisfaction with the compatibility of methadone with personal functioning and well-being, as well as with the anti-addictive effects of methadone on non-opioid substances, predicts satisfaction with basic interventions conducted at methadone treatment centers (β=0.191 and β=0.152, respectively). Conclusion Our results provide further understanding regarding patient satisfaction with MMT, which could help professionals to better understand patient perspective and experience during MMT.