Adapting the Facilitating Conditions Questionnaire (FCQ) for Bilingual Filipino Adolescents: Validating English and Filipino Versions

Translation and Initial Validation of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in Ilokano

The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) is a self-report screening tool of psychological symptoms used in many countries and translated in different languages. The DASS-21 was translated into Ilokano, one of the major languages in the Philippines spoken by over 9 million people all over the world. The translation process involved independent translations by multilingual clinical psychologists, reviews by two multilingual mental health professionals, and pilot testing. The translation was then validated in a study with 668 Ilokano speakers mainly from three regions of the Philippines where Ilokano was a native language or a lingua franca. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the three-factor model compared to a one-factor model. The three subscales showed good internal consistency were also positively correlated with other measures of depression, anxiety, and negative affect, and negatively correlated with measures of positive affect and flourishing. Using a stringent test of criterion validity, the results also show that DASS-Depression was more strongly correlated with a criterion measure of depression, compared to with measures of anxiety and negative affect, and that DASS-Anxiety was more strongly correlated with a criterion measure of anxiety compare to a measure of negative affect. The results provide good initial evidence for the validity and viability of the DASS-21 in Ilokano, which should be a useful tool in mental health programs in parts of the Philippine community, particularly in identifying individuals who may need attention of mental health professionals.

The social contagion of student engagement in school

Student engagement is a strong predictor of academic achievement and overall school success. Much of the research on engagement has focused on the role of personal psychological antecedents and social factors related to one’s teachers. Relatively fewer studies have focused on the influence of one’s classmates. Drawing on prior work on social contagion, this study aimed to examine whether classmates’ engagement influences one’s engagement. Questionnaires were administered to 848 secondary school students nested within 30 classes. Two waves of data were collected seven months apart. Multilevel modelling showed that a student’s Time 2 engagement was positively predicted by his/her classmates’ engagement at Time 1, providing evidence for the social contagion of engagement. These findings held even after controlling for autoregressor effects and other relevant covariates such as demographic factors and achievement goals. Our results suggest that students’ engagement in school is contagious and could be transmitted among classmates.

Grateful students are motivated, engaged, and successful in school: Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence

Previous research on gratitude has mostly focused on its effects on well-being. However, scant attention has been paid to how gratitude is associated with key learning-related outcomes. The aim of this series of studies was to examine how gratitude is associated with students' motivation, engagement, and achievement. Study 1, a cross-sectional study, found that gratitude was positively associated with higher levels of autonomous motivation and engagement (rs ranging from 0.17 to 0.20, p < .05). Study 2, a longitudinal study, found that gratitude was concurrently and prospectively associated with autonomous motivation (rs ranging from 0.20 to 0.78, p < .05), self-reported and teacher-reported engagement (rs ranging from 0.11 to 0.68, p < .05), and achievement (rs ranging from 0.38 to 0.41, p < .05). Study 3, an experimental study, showed that students who were in the gratitude condition perceived themselves to be more engaged (Cohen's d ranging from 0.58 to 0.63) compared to those in the control condition. The three studies provided converging evidence that grateful students have better learning-related outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Chinese version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire: Factor structure replication and invariance across sex

INTRODUCTION

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a self-report measure assessing symptoms of schizotypy. The SPQ has been used in both normative and clinical samples and has much theoretical and empirical support. A three-factor structure of the SPQ, derived on the basis of work in schizophrenia, consisting of Cognitive-Perceptual, Interpersonal, and Disorganized factors, has been well replicated. The present study aimed to (i) validate this three-factor structure in the Chinese version of the SPQ in a sample of individuals of Chinese ethnicity, and (ii) test for invariance across sex.

METHODS

A total of 209 (99 males) undergraduate university students (Mage  = 19.5, SD = 1.6) were administered the SPQ.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a better fit between the data and the three-factor model compared with a one-factor model. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis also found strong measurement invariance across sex.

DISCUSSION

The current results add to a growing body of literature evidencing cross-cultural validity of the SPQ and its invariance across sex. Research and clinical implications of the current results are discussed.

To Study or Not to Study? Investigating the Link Between Time Perspectives and Motivational Interference

The aim of this study was to explore possible synergies between research on motivational interference and time perspectives. A conceptual model relating individual differences in time perspectives to motivational interference during studying and leisure and academic achievement was tested. Filipino college students ( N = 385) participated in the study. Results from the path analysis indicated that future time perspective was positively associated with motivational interference during leisure and negatively associated with motivational interference during studying. Moreover, future time perspective also positively predicted academic achievement. Present fatalistic and past negative time perspectives were positively associated with motivational interference during studying. Present hedonistic time perspective negatively predicted motivational interference during leisure. Motivational interference during studying, in turn, was negatively associated with academic achievement. Implications are discussed.