Drinking Buddies: The Importance of Proximal Norms in Emerging Adults' Alcohol-Related Private and Public Social Media Use

Exposure to alcohol posts on social media has been found to be associated with emerging adults' alcohol use. An important mechanism through which this association seems to occur are social norms. Thus far, however, research has not differentiated between proximal and distal norms and has not accounted for the private (e.g. Instagram private features, Snapchat) and public media outlets (e.g. Instagram public features) through which these norms might have been constructed. The results of our online survey among emerging adults (N = 789, Mage = 21.46, SDage = 1.88, 56.4% female), therefore, showed that exposure to alcohol posts on private SNS features in combination with descriptive proximal norms, instead of more public SNS features and distal norms, played an important role in emerging adults' alcohol use. As such, future research should focus more thoroughly on the interrelations between SNS private features and proximal normative perceptions and try to better understand on which social cues normative perceptions of proximal other's alcohol consumption are based.

Measuring Compulsivity as a Self-Reported Multidimensional Transdiagnostic Construct: Large-Scale (N = 182,000) Validation of the Cambridge-Chicago Compulsivity Trait Scale

Compulsivity has potential transdiagnostic relevance to a range of psychiatric disorders, but it has not been well-characterized and there are few existing measures available for measuring the construct across clinical and nonclinical samples that have been validated at large population scale. We aimed to characterize the multidimensional latent structure of self-reported compulsivity in a population-based sample of British children and adults (N = 182,145) using the Cambridge-Chicago Compulsivity Trait Scale (CHI-T). Exploratory structural equation modeling provided evidence for a correlated two-factor model consisting of (a) Perfectionism and (b) Reward Drive dimensions. Evidence was obtained for discriminant validity in relation to the big five personality dimensions and acceptable test-retest reliability. The CHI-T, here validated at extremely large scale, is suitable for use in studies seeking to understand the correlates and basis of compulsivity in clinical and nonclinical participants. We provide extensive normative data to facilitate interpretation in future studies.

The Affect Intolerance Scale (AIS), German version: A validation study in a student and clinical sample of patients with trauma-related disorders

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The Affect Intolerance Scale (AIS) assesses two core concepts of emotion regulation: appraisals of negative emotions as threatening and proneness to emotional avoidance. Maladaptive emotion regulation is associated with various psychopathologies. We translated and validated the AIS in a German student and clinical sample of patients with trauma-related disorders.

METHODS

340 patients, 161 with post-traumatic stress disorder and 179 with adjustment disorder, and 322 students were enrolled. We employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in a cross-validation design to investigate construct validity, convergent and discriminant validity, and reliability.

RESULTS

We replicated the originally described two-factor structure in both samples. Cronbach's α was 0.947 in the student and 0.950 in the clinical sample. AIS subscales showed moderate to high correlations with convergent and low correlations with discriminant measures. AIS total scores were significantly larger in the clinical sample, controlled for gender and age.

LIMITATIONS

This study provides a unified cross-validation model in a clinical and a student sample at the cost of reduced sample sizes.

CONCLUSIONS

The AIS is a valid measure of affect intolerance with the discriminative ability to distinguish between patients with trauma-related disorders and students. Test redundancy within both sub-constructs of the AIS might lead to biased estimates but allows for increased test precision, rendering the AIS a tool suitable for individual treatment monitoring.

Development and initial psychometric evaluation of a COVID-related psychosocial experiences questionnaire for cancer survivors

BACKGROUND

Cancer survivors are at elevated risk of psychological problems related to COVID-19, yet no published measure adequately assesses their psychosocial experiences during the pandemic.

PURPOSE

Describe the development and factor structure of a comprehensive, self-report measure (COVID-19 Practical and Psychosocial Experiences questionnaire [COVID-PPE]) assessing the pandemic's impact on US cancer survivors.

METHODS

The sample (n = 10,584) was divided into three groups to assess COVID-PPE factor structure by conducting: (1) initial calibration/exploratory analysis of the factor structure of 37 items (n = 5070), (2) confirmatory factor analysis of the best-fitting model (36 items after item removal; n = 5140), and (3) post-hoc confirmatory analysis with an additional six items not collected in the first two groups (42 items; n = 374).

RESULTS

The final COVID-PPE was divided into two sets of subscales, conceptualized as Risk Factors and Protective Factors. The five Risk Factors subscales were labeled Anxiety Symptoms, Depression Symptoms, Health Care Disruptions, Disruptions to Daily Activities and Social Interactions, and Financial Hardship. The four Protective Factors subscales were labeled Perceived Benefits, Provider Satisfaction, Perceived Stress Management Skills, and Social Support. Internal consistency was acceptable for seven subscales (αs = 0.726-0.895; ωs = 0.802-0.895) but poor or questionable for the remaining two subscales (αs = 0.599-0.681; ωs = 0.586-0.692).

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this is the first published self-report measure comprehensively capturing psychosocial impact-both positive and negative-of the pandemic on cancer survivors. Future work should evaluate predictive utility of COVID-PPE subscales, particularly as the pandemic evolves, which may inform recommendations for cancer survivors and facilitate identification of survivors most in need of intervention.

Measuring Resilience in Long-term Sick-listed Individuals: Validation of the Resilience Scale for Adults

Return to work from long-term sick leave is influenced by personal and social factors, which can be measured by resilience, a construct that describe healthy adaptation against adversity. This study aimed to validate the validity and psychometric properties of the resilience scale for adults in a sample of long-term sick-listed individuals, and to investigate measurement invariance when compared with a university student sample. Confirmatory factor analysis was used on a sick-listed sample (n = 687) to identify the scale?s factor structure, and comparison with a university student sample (n = 241) was utilized to determine measurement invariance. Results show that a slightly modified factor structure, in accordance with previous research, achieved acceptable fit in the sick-listed sample, while comparisons with the student sample supported measurement invariance. This means that the study to a large degree support the factor structure of the resilience scale for adults in long-term sick-listed. Furthermore, the results indicate that the scale is similarly understood among long-term sick-listed as in a previously validated student sample. Thus, the resilience scale for adults can be a valid and reliable measure of protective factors in the long-term sickness absence and return to work context, and the subscale and total score can be interpreted similarly in long-term sick-listed as in other populations.

How information literacy influences creative skills among medical students? The mediating role of lifelong learning

This research investigated the influence of information literacy on the creative skills of medical students through the mediation of lifelong learning. A cross-sectional survey was conducted for data collection among medical students, recruited through a stratified convenient sampling procedure, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The questionnaire was personally administered by visiting each college with written permission. A total of 473 survey responses were collected and analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results revealed that the information literacy of medical students had a direct and indirect but positive influence on their creative skills. Lifelong learning not had a direct but positive effect on creative skills but also mediated the relationship between information literacy and creative skills. The empirical evidence for how information literacy influences creative skills through the mediated role of lifelong learning may inform policy and practice for information literacy instructions. These results may help academicians and information specialists to initiate a credited or integrated course on information literacy in the curriculum of medical students not only in Pakistan but also in other developing countries. This research would be a worthwhile contribution to the existing research on information literacy as the mediated role of lifelong learning between information literacy and creative skills has never been examined so far.

Associations Between Internalized and Anticipated HIV Stigma and Depression Symptoms Among People Living with HIV in China: A four-wave Longitudinal Model

Previous research has documented that HIV-related stigma (e.g., internalized and anticipated stigma) is detrimental to the mental health of people living with HIV (PLWH). However, longitudinal data on the bidirectional relationship between HIV-related stigma and depression symptoms are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional association among internalized and anticipated HIV stigma and depression symptoms among Chinese PLWH. A four-wave longitudinal design (6 months intervals) was employed among 1,111 Chinese PLWH (Mage = 38.58, SD = 9.16, age range: 18-60 years; 64.1% men). The bidirectional model was examined using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM), which evaluated the within- and between-person effects of study variables. At the within-person level, results indicated that depression symptoms at T2 mediated the linkage between internalized HIV stigma at T1 and anticipated HIV stigma at T3, and that anticipated HIV stigma at both T2 and T3 mediated the relationship between depression symptoms at the previous time point and internalized HIV stigma at the subsequent time point. Furthermore, a bidirectional association was found between anticipated HIV stigma and depression symptoms across four waves. At the between-person level, internalized and anticipated HIV stigma were significantly associated with depression symptoms. This study highlights the complex interplay between different forms of HIV-related stigma and mental health problems among PLWH and underscores the importance of considering the bidirectional relationship between the development of psychopathology and stigmatization process in clinical practice.

Do people diagnosed with psychosis spectrum disorders share the same personality space as the general population? Big Five complemented by the proneness to psychotic-like experiences/behaviors

OBJECTIVE

Disintegration is a recently proposed broad, trait-like reconceptualization of the proneness to psychotic-like experiences/behaviors.

METHODS

We tested the assumption that the 6-factor model (Five-Factor traits plus Disintegration) was the most adequate one and that it was invariant across clinical and non-clinical populations. The clinical sample (n = 161) consisted of patients who had at least one psychotic episode, duration of illness less than 10 years, currently in remission. The general population (n = 409) was matched with the patient sample by age, gender, and education. NEO PI-R and DELTA were used to measure personality dimensions in both samples. Invariance of one to six-factor solutions was tested by Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling.

RESULTS

We found that: (a) several criteria for deciding on the number of factors to retain converged to the conclusion that the assumed 6-factor model was the most adequate one, (b) the assumed factorial structure appeared to satisfy the criteria for the scalar invariance across the two samples, (c) all nine Disintegration subdimensions separated from the Big Five, forming the Disintegration factor, and (d) Disintegration was unrelated to Openness.

CONCLUSION

The Big Five personality structure-complemented with disintegration-was invariant across individuals from the general population and patients with psychosis.

Closeness Discrepancies in Couple Relationships: A Dyadic Response Surface Analysis

Individuals can differ in the degree of closeness they desire in their romantic relationships: Some people may perceive their current level of closeness as just right, whereas others may feel not close enough or too close to their partners (referred to as negative and positive closeness discrepancy, respectively). This study (N = 1,177 individuals from 748 couples) examined the implications of closeness discrepancies for subjective relationship quality (SRQ) using dyadic response surface analysis. The analyses found evidence for linear, but not broad, closeness discrepancy effects: SRQ was lower for individuals reporting more negative closeness discrepancies and, independent of this actor effect, for individuals with partners who reported more negative closeness discrepancies. These results suggest that low levels of closeness paired with a strong desire for closeness can impair both partners' relational well-being.

Combining novel trait and neurocognitive frameworks to parse heterogeneity in borderline personality disorder

OBJECTIVE

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnosis comprises several constellations of trait, neurocognitive, and psychosocial alterations. Dimensional models of psychopathology provide new opportunities to parse heterogeneity and create a stronger interface between individual characterization and psychosocial outcomes. However, dimensional models have focused on either traits or neurocognitive features, lacking integration to capture the multifaceted nature of BPD.

METHOD

We assessed 100 participants with BPD using a combination of tools stemming from trait (Alternative Model for Personality Disorders) and neurocognitive models (Research Domain Criteria; RDoC) to examine if trait-derived subgroups display distinctive social-processing and psychosocial profiles. We used two complementary analytical approaches: person-centered (k-means clustering) and construct-based (multiple factor analysis).

RESULTS

Our person-centered approach identified four subgroups with separable internalizing, detached, externalizing, and low psychopathology trait profiles. These profiles revealed distinctive patterns of affiliation, emotion recognition and mentalization performance in RDoC tasks, and psychosocial measures of quality of life and social connectedness. RDoC-based measures showed close construct proximity with negative affectivity, disinhibition, and antagonism trait domains, relative to the detachment domain, which had close proximity with self-knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

Altogether, findings support consilience between trait-based and neurobiological frameworks and suggest that trait models are useful to parse BPD heterogeneity leading to unique social functioning profiles.

How Exposure to Online Parenting Content Relates to Mothers' Self-Discrepancy and Postpartum Mental Health

Postpartum mental health problems are common and have deleterious effects on new mothers and their babies. This study developed a theoretically informed model of the relationship between exposure to images of motherhood in online parenting content and mothers' postpartum mental health. The model was tested using survey data collected from 509 Chinese mothers during their 12-month postpartum period. The results revealed that greater exposure to online public parenting content was indirectly related to lower levels of shame among new mothers via two mediators: the presumed influence of parenting media content on their partners, and the mothers' perceptions of the discrepancy between their actual selves as mothers and their partners' expectations of an ideal mother (i.e. actual/own - ideal/partner self-discrepancy). In contrast, increased exposure to online private parenting content shared by peers was indirectly related to increased levels of shame among new mothers via the mediation of social comparison with parenting media images, and of the mothers' perceptions of the discrepancy between their actual selves as mothers and their own expectations of an ideal mother (i.e. actual/own - ideal/own self-discrepancy). Additionally, new mothers were more likely to experience depressive symptoms and shame if they felt that they fell short of their partners' expectations of an ideal mother. However, increased social support reduced the anxiety and shame that stemmed from this belief.

Profiles of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: A Systematic Review

Person-centered approaches, such as latent class analysis (LCA) and latent profile analysis (LPA), aid the identification of subgroups within sample populations. These methods can identify the patterns of co-occurrence between different forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), providing valuable information for prevention and intervention efforts. The aim of this systematic review was to yield a summary and conduct a critical evaluation of the current research that utilizes LCA/LPA to investigate IPV victimization profiles. We provide an outline of 14 relevant studies, retrieved from searches conducted on PsycInfo, Scopus, and Eric databases. There was a large amount of variability in relation to the forms of IPV assessed, measures utilized, number of classes identified, and the sample populations recruited. However, broad similarities were revealed as there were some commonly identified classes, including the no/low violence class, the physical and psychological victimization class, and the multiple victimization class, yet the labels assigned to those classes differed across studies. A range of external criteria (risk factors and consequences) were also identified as being associated with class membership. We highlight the methodological features which may have impacted data collection and class enumeration, including the differences in sample population, the range of IPV indicators assessed, the time period from which IPV data were recorded, and whether data were collected regarding participants' current or previous relationships. Marginalized populations were underrepresented, and psychological abuse was most inconsistently operationalized. Recommendations for future research are provided, including recommendations with regard to labeling the classes for greater consistency across studies.

An island of sanity during COVID-19 pandemic: Does pet attachment support buffer employees' stress due to job insecurity?

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, the current study investigates whether employee job insecurity triggers employee behavioral strain reactions (i.e., alcohol use, marijuana use, and cigarette use) and psychological strain reactions (i.e., emotional exhaustion and depression) through stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we integrate social support theory and expect the moderating role of pet attachment support in the above relationships. By collecting two-wave data from 187 employees with pets in the United States, we found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress mediated the relationships between job insecurity and predicted behavioral and psychological reactions. Moreover, pet attachment support buffered the relationships between stress and these behavioral and psychological strain reactions (all except cigarette use). Pet attachment support also alleviated the conditional indirect effects job insecurity had on the two types of strain reactions via stress. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this study.

Order Online or Call it in? Conceptualization and Measurement of Preferences for Computer versus Human Interaction

Technology is increasingly integrated into everyday life and consequently, traditional social exchanges between human agents have evolved to include human-computer interaction, providing scientists new directions for understanding and predicting consumer behavior. Despite progress, there are conceptual and empirical limitations in current measures applied to consumer/user preferences. This paper documents the development and validation of the 10-item preference for computer versus human interaction (PCHI) scale across three distinct samples and incorporating items that (a) include direct comparisons between computers and humans, (b) are independent of specific contexts or technologies, and (c) capture major theoretical domains of social, consumer, and human factors psychology. Results support the hypothesized three-factor structure (efficiency, ease of use, and trust) and demonstrate the utility of this measure to predict everyday consumer decisions beyond extant measures. Additionally, the PCHI offers marketing, user experience, and other practitioners a brief instrument for developing interventions, training protocols, and modeling attitudes.

The Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS): A psychometric systematic review

AIMS

To evaluate and synthesize psychometric properties of the MOS-SSS and to identify quality versions of MOS-SSS for use in future research and practice.

DESIGN

A psychometric systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

Articles about the translation, adaptation, or validation of the MOS-SSS in Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science and their reference lists published before 11 November 2022.

REVIEW METHODS

The review followed the Consensus Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments guidelines.

RESULTS

The review included 35 articles. Eleven versions of MOS-SSS (3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, and 22 items) have been validated in various populations and 13 languages. Of 14 studies developing a translated version of MOS-SSS, four studies performed both an experts' evaluation of content validity and a face validity test; two studies reported translation evaluation in the form of a content validity index. Of 35 studies, six performed both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis for structural validity; hypotheses and measurements for construct validity testings were often not clearly stated; two examined criterion validity; and four assessed cross-cultural validity. Internal consistency reliabilities were commonly examined by calculating Cronbach's alpha and reported satisfactory. Five studies analysed test-retest reliabilities using intra correlation coefficient. Methodological concerns exist.

CONCLUSION

The English 19-item, Farsi Persian 19-item, and Vietnamese 19-item versions are recommended for future use in research and practice. Italian 19-item and Malaysian 13-item versions are not recommended to be used in future research and practice. All other versions considered in this review have potential use in future research and practice. Proper procedures for developing a translated version of MOS-SSS and validating the scale are recommended.

IMPACT

The review identified quality versions of MOS-SSS to measure social support in future research and practice. The study also indicated methodological issues in current validation studies. Application of the study findings and recommendations can be useful to improve outcome measurement quality and maximize the efficiency of resource use in future research and practice.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

This systematic review synthesized the evidence from previous research and did not involve any human participation.

Validation of the Spanish version of the Neal, Griffin and Hart safety behavior scale

Objectives. The safety behavior scale (SBS), developed by Neal, Griffin and Hart, is one of the most widely used conceptualizations in the field of occupational safety. Previous studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of this scale in different populations. However, few validation studies have been conducted in the Latin American context. To fill these gaps in the literature, this study aimed to assess the validity, reliability and measurement invariance of this instrument in the context of the Latin American mining industry. Methods. Data were collected from 398 workers from Ecuadorian mining companies. The questionnaire was translated into Spanish following a back-translation process. The latent factorial structure of the SBS was explored by estimating a series of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory equation modeling (ESEM) models. Results. The analyses showed that the two correlated first-order factor CFA representation was the most appropriate model for the data. Measurement invariance by age, type of contract and firm size was also confirmed. Conclusions. The SBS is a valid and reliable measure of safety behavior. In addition, this study determined the applicability of this instrument in the Latin American context, which enhances opportunities for future research in the region.

Associations Between Social Determinants of Health, Chronic Absence From School, and Teacher Ratings of Parents' Engagement in Early Education

This study examined associations between four indicators of social determinants of health (SDOH; parent education, poverty, material hardships, and child health problems), chronic school absence, and teachers' ratings of parents' engagement in their children's education. Surveys were collected from 304 parents and 26 teachers from eight Baltimore City Public Schools. Results revealed that teachers' ratings of parent engagement were consistently lower among families experiencing adverse SDOH and/or whose children were chronically absent; however, there was no significant relationship between teachers' ratings of parent engagement and child health problems. Additionally, chronic absence partially mediated the relationship between three SDOH indicators (total material hardships, parent education level, and child health problems) and teacher-rated parent engagement. Poverty was excluded from mediation analysis due to evidence of multicollinearity suppressive effects. Addressing the SDOH assessed in this study may be an effective strategy to reduce chronic absence, promote parent engagement, and foster equity in education.

The Patient Generated Index (PGI) as an early-warning system for predicting brain health challenges: a prospective cohort study for people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

PURPOSE

In research people are often asked to fill out questionnaires about their health and functioning and some of the questions refer to serious health concerns. Typically, these concerns are not identified until the statistician analyses the data. An alternative is to use an individualized measure, the Patient Generated Index (PGI) where people are asked to self-nominate areas of concern which can then be dealt with in real-time. This study estimates the extent to which self-nominated areas of concern related to mood, anxiety and cognition predict the presence or occurrence of brain health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, psychological distress, or cognitive impairment among people aging with HIV at study entry and for successive assessments over 27 months.

METHODS

The data comes from participants enrolled in the Positive Brain Health Now (+ BHN) cohort (n = 856). We analyzed the self-nominated areas that participants wrote on the PGI and classified them into seven sentiment groups according to the type of sentiment expressed: emotional, interpersonal, anxiety, depressogenic, somatic, cognitive and positive sentiments. Tokenization was used to convert qualitative data into quantifiable tokens. A longitudinal design was used to link these sentiment groups to the presence or emergence of brain health outcomes as assessed using standardized measures of these constructs: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Mental Health Index (MHI) of the RAND-36, the Communicating Cognitive Concerns Questionnaire (C3Q) and the Brief Cognitive Ability Measure (B-CAM). Logistic regressions were used to estimate the goodness of fit of each model using the c-statistic.

RESULTS

Emotional sentiments predicted all of the brain health outcomes at all visits with adjusted odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.61 to 2.00 and c-statistics > 0.73 (good to excellent prediction). Nominating an anxiety sentiment was specific to predicting anxiety and psychological distress (OR 1.65 & 1.52); nominating a cognitive concern was specific to predicting self-reported cognitive ability (OR 4.78). Positive sentiments were predictive of good cognitive function (OR 0.36) and protective of depressive symptoms (OR 0.55).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates the value of using this semi-qualitative approach as an early-warning system in predicting brain health outcomes.

Impact of virtual reality applications in the treatment of anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. Virtual reality (VR) treatment approaches have increasingly been studied. Before clinical implementation, it is necessary to evaluate the treatment effect of VR applications. The objective is to evaluate the treatment effect of virtual reality applications in the treatment of anxiety disorders compared to conventional therapy.

METHODS

A systematic literature review with meta-analysis was conducted. Four databases were used to identify randomized controlled trials published between April 2011 and April 2021 which compare VR applications with non-VR interventions or waiting lists. Study characteristics, pre- and post-treatment data were extracted. Hedges g was calculated as effect size. Primary outcome was anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

Data from 17 studies from 827 participants was extracted. The studies examined specific phobia (n = 9), social anxiety disorder (n = 4), agoraphobia (n = 2) and panic disorder (n = 2). 16 out of 17 studies used head-mounted displays as VR application. A non-significant effect size with significant heterogeneity was observed in favor of the use of VR applications in anxiety symptoms (g, 0.33; 95%-CI, -0.20-0.87). Compared to passive control groups, VR applications are associated significant with lower anxiety symptoms (g, 1.29; 95%-CI, 0.68-1.90).

LIMITATIONS

The study and patient characteristics varied between the individual studies which is reflected in a high statistical heterogeneity of the effect sizes.

CONCLUSIONS

The added value of VR applications over waiting-list or psychoeducation only control groups is obvious. VR applications can be used as part of the treatment of anxiety disorders, especially when conventional therapy is unavailable.

Undergraduate students' motivational profiles before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of educational climate and trait self-control

BACKGROUND

Universities faced important and sudden changes following the lockdown measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional educational practices were disrupted as campuses were closed while distance learning was hastily adopted.

AIMS

This study documents the evolution of university students' autonomous and controlled motivation for their studies following campus closures by relying on a person-centred perspective. More specifically, it examines motivation profiles and their temporal stability across two time points taken before and during the pandemic, while also considering the role of educational climate, trait self-control and control variables (sex and age) as predictors of profile membership.

SAMPLE

A total of 1940 university students participated in this study by responding to online questionnaires at two time points, before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) the pandemic.

METHODS

We relied on latent profile and latent transition analyses to estimate motivation profiles, their temporal stability and their predictors.

RESULTS

A four-profile solution (Self-Determined, Moderately Motivated, Extrinsically Motivated, Amotivated) was selected and replicated at both time points. We observed a low degree of variability in profile membership over time, especially for the Amotivated profile. A need-supportive educational climate and trait self-control consistently predicted a greater likelihood of membership into more adaptative profiles (Self-Determined, Moderately Motivated).

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic did not drastically change the motivational profiles of university students. Nevertheless, educational climate and self-control appeared to 'protect' students against the endorsement of more problematic motivation profiles both before and during the pandemic, making them important targets for intervention.

Dynamic Response Strategies: Accounting for Response Process Heterogeneity in IRTree Decision Nodes

It is essential to control self-reported trait measurements for response style effects to ensure a valid interpretation of estimates. Traditional psychometric models facilitating such control consider item responses as the result of two kinds of response processes-based on the substantive trait, or based on response styles-and they assume that both of these processes have a constant influence across the items of a questionnaire. However, this homogeneity over items is not always given, for instance, if the respondents' motivation declines throughout the questionnaire so that heuristic responding driven by response styles may gradually take over from cognitively effortful trait-based responding. The present study proposes two dynamic IRTree models, which account for systematic continuous changes and additional random fluctuations of response strategies, by defining item position-dependent trait and response style effects. Simulation analyses demonstrate that the proposed models accurately capture dynamic trajectories of response processes, as well as reliably detect the absence of dynamics, that is, identify constant response strategies. The continuous version of the dynamic model formalizes the underlying response strategies in a parsimonious way and is highly suitable as a cognitive model for investigating response strategy changes over items. The extended model with random fluctuations of strategies can adapt more closely to the item-specific effects of different response processes and thus is a well-fitting model with high flexibility. By using an empirical data set, the benefits of the proposed dynamic approaches over traditional IRTree models are illustrated under realistic conditions.