Marcos Pascual-Soler

Interpretation of the p value: a national survey study in academic psychologists from Spain

BACKGROUND Incorrect interpretations of p values affect professionals’ decisions and jeopardize the quality of psychological interventions and the accumulation of valid scientific knowledge. This study analyzes the errors made by Spanish academic psychologists in interpreting p values. METHOD We surveyed academic psychologists about their interpretations of p values. The sample is composed of 418 academic psychologists from Spanish public universities. The mean number of years working as a university professor is 14.16 (SD = 9.39). RESULTS Our findings suggest that many academic psychologists do not know how to correctly interpret p values. The inverse probability fallacy presents the greatest comprehension problems. Methodology instructors also interpret the significance of the p value erroneously. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight the importance of the statistical re-education of professors.

Factorial Invariance of the Scale Beliefs About Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families in Spanish, Chilean, and Hispanic University Students

This study examines the factorial invariance of the Scale on Beliefs About Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families (SBCASSF) across countries in three samples: Chilean, Spanish, and Hispanic university students. The scale analyzes attitudes toward the consequences of the rearing and education of children by parents with a homosexual sexual orientation. The instrument consists of two subscales: Individual Opposition and Normative Opposition. The Spanish sample is composed of 199 university students, the Chilean sample is made up of 279 students, and the Hispanic sample consists of 114 students. The results provide empirical evidence for the reliability of the SBCASSF in the samples from the countries and its factorial invariance (strict invariance). Results are also provided about differences between countries and by sex. The SBCASSF could be a potentially useful measure for educators, psychologists, and other mental health professionals who wish to study beliefs about the child-rearing practices of same-sex parents.

Spanish Validation of the Polymorphous Prejudice Scale in a Sample of University Students

ABSTRACT The shortened version of the Polymorphous Prejudice Scale (PPS) analyzes new manifestations of prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women. Specifically, this instrument consists of 16 items distributed in four subscales: values gay progress, positive beliefs about gay men, positive beliefs about lesbian women, and resistance to heteronormative expectations. The aim of the current study is to add new evidence about the reliability and validity of the scale. The scale is administrated to 348 heterosexual university students from Spain with a mean age of 22.62 years (SD = 7.63). Reliability and factorial validity estimates are presented. A four-factor structure is supported using confirmatory factor analysis (short version). Our results can be useful in planning variables for intervention programs designed to foster the tolerance and normality of sexual diversity.