Applications of latent-variable models in educational psychology: The need for methodological-substantive synergies

Longitudinal associations between specific types of emotional reactivity and psychological, physical health, and school adjustment

Using a multimethod, multiinformant longitudinal design, we examined associations between specific forms of positive and negative emotional reactivity at age 5, children's effortful control (EC), emotion regulation, and social skills at age 7, and adolescent functioning across psychological, academic, and physical health domains at ages 15/16 (N = 383). We examined how distinct components of childhood emotional reactivity directly and indirectly predict domain-specific forms of adolescent adjustment, thereby identifying developmental pathways between specific types of emotional reactivity and adjustment above and beyond the propensity to express other forms of emotional reactivity. Age 5 high-intensity positivity was associated with lower age 7 EC and more adolescent risk-taking; age 5 low-intensity positivity was associated with better age 7 EC and adolescent cardiovascular health, providing evidence for the heterogeneity of positive emotional reactivity. Indirect effects indicated that children's age 7 social skills partially explain several associations between age 5 fear and anger reactivity and adolescent adjustment. Moreover, age 5 anger reactivity, low-, and high-intensity positivity were associated with adolescent adjustment via age 7 EC. The findings from this interdisciplinary, long-term longitudinal study have significant implications for prevention and intervention work aiming to understand the role of emotional reactivity in the etiology of adjustment and psychopathology.

The 10-year trajectory of aggressive behaviours in autistic individuals

BACKGROUND

Aggressive behaviours are common in people with neurodevelopmental conditions, contributing to poorer quality of life and placement breakdown. However, there is limited empirical research documenting the prevalence and persistence of aggressive behaviours in autism. In this longitudinal study, aggressive behaviours were investigated in a sample of autistic individuals over 10 years.

METHODS

Caregivers of autistic individuals, both with and without intellectual disability, completed questionnaires relating to the presence of aggressive behaviours at T1 [N = 229, mean age in years 11.8, standard deviation (SD) 5.9], T2 (T1 + 3 years, N = 81, mean age in years 15.1, SD 5.9) and T3 (T1 + 10 years, N = 54, mean age in years 24.5, SD 8.1). Analyses examined the presence and persistence of aggressive behaviours and the predictive value of established correlates of aggression.

RESULTS

Aggressive behaviours were common at baseline (61.6%) but only persistent in 30% of the sample over 10 years. Higher composite scores of overactivity and impulsivity at T1 were significantly associated with the persistence of aggressive behaviours at T2 (P = 0.027) and T3 (P = 0.012) with medium effect size.

CONCLUSIONS

Aggressive behaviours are common in autism, but reduce with age. Behavioural correlates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predict the presence and persistence of aggressive behaviour and as such may be useful clinical indicators to direct proactive intervention resources to ameliorate aggressive behaviours.

How Strong Is the Evidence for a Causal Reciprocal Effect? Contrasting Traditional and New Methods to Investigate the Reciprocal Effects Model of Self-Concept and Achievement

The relationship between students’ subject-specific academic self-concept and their academic achievement is one of the most widely researched topics in educational psychology. A large proportion of this research has considered cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs), oftentimes synonymously referred to as reciprocal effects models (REMs), as the gold standard for investigating the causal relationships between the two variables and has reported evidence of a reciprocal relationship between self-concept and achievement. However, more recent methodological research has questioned the plausibility of assumptions that need to be satisfied in order to interpret results from traditional CLPMs causally. In this substantive-methodological synergy, we aimed to contrast traditional and more recently developed methods to investigate reciprocal effects of students’ academic self-concept and achievement. Specifically, we compared results from CLPMs, full-forward CLPMs (FF-CLPMs), and random intercept CLPMs (RI-CLPMs) with two weighting approaches developed to study causal effects of continuous treatment variables. To estimate these different models, we used rich longitudinal data of N = 3757 students from lower secondary schools in Germany. Results from CLPMs, FF-CLPMs, and weighting methods supported the reciprocal effects model, particularly when math self-concept and grades were considered. Results from the RI-CLPMs were less consistent. Implications from our study for the interpretation of effects from the different models and methods as well as for school motivation theory are discussed.

Employee human resource management values: validation of a new concept and scale

Purpose

Although human resource management (HRM) practices all seek to support and improve organizational functioning, the value ascribed to various HRM practices differs greatly among employees. Drawing on an exhaustive measure of HRM practices, this study proposed a new conceptualization and measure of HRM values, the HRM Values Scale (HRM-VS).

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the psychometric properties of scores obtained on this new measure, we rely on a sample of 979 employees occupying a variety of jobs within various private and public organizations.

Findings

Through the comparison of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) solutions, our results supported a nine-factor structure of participants' responses to the HRM-VS and the measurement invariance of this solution across male and female employees. Specifically, they support that the HRM-VS items adequately capture core HRM values underlying independent HRM practices. Criterion-related validity was evidenced with respect to employees' ratings of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction.

Research implications

The HRM-VS appears to represent a promising tool for research and intervention seeking to account for individual differences in the relative importance of various HRM practices, in order to devise more effective HRM systems.

Practical implications

This new concise but complete measure could help better guide organizations in tailoring their strategic HRM.

Originality/value

This study introduces HRM values as a valid concept that characterizes what employees desire or consider to be important in relation to HRM practices.

Latent transition analysis in organizational psychology: A simplified “how to” guide by using an applied example

Demands for more robust designs in organizational research have led to a steady increase in the number of longitudinal studies in organizational psychology (OP) journals. Similarly, the number and ways to analyze longitudinal data have also increased. In this paper, we adopt a relatively new and promising approach to help researchers analyze their longitudinal data in OP, namely latent transition analysis (LTA). We present a simplified guideline on LTA and discuss its role for OP researchers. Moreover, we demonstrate how organizational scholars can use this method with a practical example. In this example, we investigate (a) if there are qualitatively distinct subgroups of employees based on particular patterns of psychological capital (PsyCap) dimensions (i.e., efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism), (b) if employees stay in these subgroups or transition to other groups over time, and finally, (c) if leader-member exchange (LMX) is associated with this transition. We use LTA to examine these steps in a German sample (N = 180).

Directional Ordering of Self-Concept, School Grades, and Standardized Tests Over Five Years: New Tripartite Models Juxtaposing Within- and Between-Person Perspectives

Much research shows academic self-concept and achievement are reciprocally related over time, based on traditional longitudinal data cross-lag-panel models (CLPM) supporting a reciprocal effects model (REM). However, recent research has challenged CLPM's appropriateness, arguing that CLPMs with random intercepts (RI-CLPMs) provide a more robust (within-person) perspective and better control for unmeasured covariates. However, there is much confusion in educational-psychology research concerning appropriate research questions and interpretations of RI-CLPMs and CLPMs. To clarify this confusion, we juxtapose CLPMs and RI-CLPMs relating math self-concept (MSCs), school grades, and achievement tests over the five years of compulsory secondary schooling (N = 3,425). We extend basic models to evaluate: directional ordering among three rather than only two constructs; longitudinal invariance over time (multiple school years) and multiple groups (school tracks); lag-2 paths between non-adjacent waves; and covariates (gender, primary-school math and verbal achievement). Across all basic and extended RI-CLPMs and CLPMs, there was consistent support for the REM bidirectional-ordering hypothesis that self-concept and achievement are each a cause and an effect of the other. Consistent with the logic of these models, extensions of the basic models had more effect on CLPMs, but the direction and statistical significance of cross-lagged paths were largely unaffected for both RI-CLPMs and CLPMs. This substantive-methodological synergy has important implications for theory, methodology, and policy/practice; we support the importance of MSC as a predictor of subsequent achievement and demonstrate a more robust methodological framework for evaluating longitudinal-panel models.

Valid and Convenient Questionnaire Assessment of Chinese Body Constitution: Item Characteristics, Reliability, and Construct Validation

BACKGROUND

Body constitution is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for clinical diagnosis, treatment of illness, and community-based health promotion. Clinical assessment of patients' body constitutions, however, has never been easy and consistent, even by well-trained clinicians and TCM practitioners. Therefore, questionnaires such as the popular Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ) can be an appealing and convenient assessment alternative. The present research borrowed advanced methodologies for questionnaire development in psychology and other social sciences to examine the performance of the CCMQ in terms of (i) the strength of relations of each item with its designated constitution, (ii) the reliabilities of each constitution, and (iii) the overall 9-constitution structure. This research provided empirical evidence to support the use of the CCMQ and proposed directions for refinement in future revisions of the CCMQ or similar measures.

METHODS

A total of 1571 volunteers from three villages in southern China participated in the CCMQ survey. The item characteristics, reliabilities, interconstitution correlations, and confirmatory factor analysis of the 9-body-constitution structure were examined.

RESULTS

The results generally supported the appropriateness of the clinical observations (the questionnaire items) and the CCMQ 9-constitution classification structure. Nevertheless, some relatively weaker items, item pairs with similar meanings, and highly overlapping constitutions were identified for future CCMQ revisions.

CONCLUSION

The CCMQ measured the 9 constitutions efficiently and with reasonably good reliability and construct validity. Given the various challenges to assessing TCM body constitutions even by experienced clinicians, the CCMQ provides an appealing alternative to measure the Chinese body constitutions of healthy participants in large-scale research or community health promotion programs. The present study also demonstrated how advanced methodologies in social sciences can help validate and refine the CCMQ and similar complementary medicine measures.

Don't Think That Kids Aren't Noticing: Indirect Pathways to Children's Fear of COVID-19

The present study is couched within Rachman's three-pathway theory of fear acquisition (Rachman, 1977, 1991). Besides the direct contact with the objects of fear, this model also includes two indirect pathways to fear acquisition: negative information transmission and modeling. The study aims to explore the contribution of these three factors to the level of children's fear of COVID-19. The sample consisted of 376 children (59.6% girls), aged 7-19 (M age = 12.77, SDage = 3.57), and one of their parents (M age = 42.88, SDage = 6.00). The survey was conducted online during the COVID-19 national state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia. The children assessed their fear of COVID-19, general fearfulness, negative information transmission, and modeling by their parents, as well as the level of exposure to negative information outside their home. The parents assessed their own fear of COVID-19 and trait anxiety. Parents' anxiety, children's age, and children's general fearfulness were used as covariates. The results of our path analysis provide support for Rachman's notion of indirect pathways. The more the parents were afraid of COVID-19, the more they expressed this (either verbally or through their behavior), which in turn led to an increase in the children's fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, children's exposure to negative information related to COVID-19, provided by their teachers and peers or stemming from the media, directly contributed to the level of children's fear. The results of the study emphasize the importance of caregivers' behavior during global health crises and provide some clues as to what caregivers may do to protect their children's mental health in such circumstances.

The Science and Practice of Item Response Theory in Organizations

Item response theory (IRT) is a modeling approach that links responses to test items with underlying latent constructs through formalized statistical models. This article focuses on how IRT can be used to advance science and practice in organizations. We describe established applications of IRT as a scale development tool and new applications of IRT as a research and theory testing tool that enables organizational researchers to improve their understanding of workers and organizations. We focus on IRT models and their application in four key research and practice areas: testing, questionnaire responding, construct validation, and measurement equivalence of scores. In so doing, we highlight how novel developments in IRT such as explanatory IRT, multidimensional IRT, random item models, and more complex models of response processes such as ideal point models and tree models can potentially advance existing science and practice in these areas. As a starting point for readers interested in learning IRT and applying recent developments in IRT in their research, we provide concrete examples with data and R code.

Relationships between employee retention factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover: An extended structural equation modelling approach

Orientation: Gaining a full understanding of employee retention (ER) management requires studying multiple retention factors in tandem. Many empirical studies that use conventional structural equation modelling (SEM) include only a single retention factor or a subset of factors, making it impossible to assess the relative embeddedness of these factors in ER practices.Research purpose: The purpose was to gain a better understanding of the relationships between multiple ER factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.Motivation for the study: This research aimed to address the need for more comprehensive latent multivariate approaches to studying ER by using extended SEM techniques.Research approach/design and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design and obtained a convenience sample of 272 skilled employees from public and private organisations. The first stage of the study entailed using the exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) within the confirmatory factor analysis to test a model measuring ER factors. The second stage involved using plausible values for latent variables in an SEM analysis of the relationship between attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover (i.e. affective commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention) and ER factors.Main findings: The findings indicated that affective commitment and job satisfaction differentially mediated the relationship between ER factors and turnover intention, partially supporting existing research and providing new insights into ER.Practical/managerial implications: This study suggested that in order for management to effectively manage ER, they must understand the relative embeddedness of a range of ER factors and prioritise motivational and empowerment-enhancing bundles of practice (e.g. compensation, job characteristics, work–life balance and career opportunities) to impact on attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.Contribution/value-add: This study indicated that the use of extended SEM modelling techniques could provide valuable insights into the multivariate relationships between ER factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.

A stronger latent‐variable methodology to actual–ideal discrepancy

We introduce a latent actual–ideal discrepancy (LAID) approach based on structural equation models (SEMs) with multiple indicators and empirically weighted variables. In Study 1, we demonstrate with simulated data, the superiority of a weighted approach to discrepancy in comparison to a classic unweighted one. In Study 2, we evaluate the effects of actual and ideal appearance on physical self‐concept and self‐esteem. Actual appearance contributes positively to physical self‐concept and self‐esteem, whereas ideal appearance contributes negatively. In support of multidimensional perspective, actual‐ and ideal‐appearance effects on self‐esteem are substantially—but not completely—mediated by physical self‐concept. Whereas this pattern of results generalises across gender and age, multiple‐group invariance tests show that the effect of actual appearance on physical self‐concept is larger for women than for men. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relations between frontal EEG maturation and inhibitory control in preschool in the prediction of children's early academic skills

Maturation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) across the first few years of life is thought to underlie the emergence of inhibitory control (IC) abilities, which may play an important role in children's early academic success. In this growth curve modeling study (N = 364), we assessed developmental change in children's resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) activity (6-9 Hz 'alpha' power) from 10 months to 4 years and examined whether the initial levels or amount of change in frontal alpha power were associated with children's IC at age 4 and indirectly academic skills at age 6. Results indicated that greater increases in frontal alpha power across the study period were associated with better IC, and indirectly with better performance on Woodcock-Johnson tests of reading and math achievement at age 6. Similar associations between change in EEG and age 4 vocabulary were observed but did not mediate an association with academic skills. Similar analyses with posterior alpha power showed no associations with IC. Findings underscore the significance of frontal lobe maturation from infancy to early childhood for children's intellectual development.

A Person-Centered Perspective on the Combined Effects of Global and Specific Levels of Job Engagement

This study examines how the different dimensions of job engagement combine within different profiles of workers ( n = 264). This research also documents the relations between the identified job engagement profiles, demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, working time, and organizational tenure), job characteristics (work autonomy, task variety, task significance, task identity, and feedback), attitudes (affective and normative commitment), and psychological health (emotional exhaustion and ill-being). Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles of employees defined based on their global and specific (physical, emotional, and cognitive) job engagement levels: Globally Disengaged, Globally Engaged, Globally but not Emotionally Engaged, and Moderately Engaged. Employees’ perceptions of task variety and feedback shared statistically significant relations with their likelihood of membership into all latent profiles. Profiles were finally showed to be meaningfully related to employees’ levels of affective commitment, normative commitment, emotional exhaustion, and ill-being.

Explicating the South African Psychological Ownership Questionnaire’s confirmatory factor analysis model fit: A Bayesian structural equation modelling approach

Orientation: The rigid application of conventional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) techniques, the overreliance on global model fit indices and the dismissal of the chi-square statistic appear to have an adverse impact on the research of psychological ownership measures.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to explicate the South African Psychological Ownership Questionnaire’s (SAPOS’s) CFA model fit using the Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM) technique.Motivation for the study: The need to conduct this study derived from a renewed awareness of the incorrect use of the chi-square statistic and global fit indices of CFA in social sciences research.Research approach/design and method: The SAPOS measurement model fit was explicated on two study samples consisting, respectively, of 712 and 254 respondents who worked in various organisations in South Africa. A Bayesian approach to CFA was used to evaluate if local model misspecifications were substantive and justified the rejection of the SAPOS model.Main findings: The findings suggested that a rejection of the SAPOS measurement model based on the results of the chi-square statistic and global fit indices would be unrealistic and unfounded in terms of substantive test theory.Practical/managerial implications: BSEM appeared to be a valuable diagnostic tool to pinpoint and evaluate local CFA model misspecifications and their effect on a measurement model.Contribution/value-add: This study showed the importance of considering local misspecifications rather than only relying the chi-square statistic and global fit indices when evaluating model fit.

Disentangling Child-Specific and Family-Wide Processes Underlying Negative Mother-Child Transactions

The current study examines the transactional processes between maternal negativity and child disruptive behavior during early childhood, using a sibling comparison design. This design allows for a more sophisticated test of the behavioral training hypothesis than is possible when only one child per family is included in the analysis as it excludes two confounders (passive gene-environment correlation and family-wide environmental influence). Three hundred and ninety-seven families were visited on three occasions when the target child was 1.5, 3 and 4.5 years old (920 children, 51.5% female). The target child and up to three older siblings per family were included in data collection and analysis. Mothers and fathers reported on children's disruptive behavior and mothers reported on their negativity to children. Within-family cross-lag pathways, as well as a significant indirect effect through which children increased their own disruptive behavior via maternal negativity confirmed a behavioral training effect. Family level maternal negativity and sibling disruptive behavior showed high levels of stability over three to four years and no context effect for maternal negativity or sibling disruptive behavior was seen. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Understanding the Multidimensional Nature of Student Engagement During the First Year of Higher Education

In the description of the complex relationship between individual students and their education context, as well as understanding of questions related to progression, retention or dropouts in higher education, student engagement is considered the primary construct. In particular, the significance of the first year of higher education in terms of engagement is decisive. We aim at developing a multidimensional conceptualization of engagement and utilized network analysis. Data were collected as part of the annual Student Barometer survey in Finland during the 2012-2013 academic year, and we gathered a nationally representative sample (n = 2422) of first-year students in different disciplines at 13 Finnish universities. Network analysis confirmed the multidimensional process model of engagement and its six dimensions. The central dimensions of engagement are identity and sense of belonging, which develop in the interplay between individual and collective dimensions as a long-term process. Additional network analyses with covariates identified positive and negative factors that affect engagement. The study adds new perspectives to existing knowledge of engagement. It is important to understand the process-like nature of engagement and make visible factors affecting the process. Based on these findings, we provide novel practical recommendations for interventions for university students who struggle with engagement during their first year.

Longitudinal Associations between Emotion Regulation and Adiposity in Late Adolescence: Indirect Effects through Eating Behaviors

The prevalence of obesity among U.S. youth continues to increase, with many adolescents engaging in unhealthy eating behaviors. Increasingly, research points to the role of self-regulation in obesity development, yet existing work has largely focused on young children and/or clinical adult populations. This multi-method longitudinal study (N = 153) utilized a path analysis to delineate links between emotion regulation (age 15), emotional eating and dietary restraint (age 16), and adiposity (% body fat) using a BodPod for body composition assessment (age 19). Emotion regulation was negatively associated with emotional eating (β = -0.30, p < 0.001) and positively associated with dietary restraint (β = 0.15, p < 0.05) at age 16, but was not associated with age 19 adiposity (β = -0.01, p = ns). Emotional eating was positively associated with adiposity (β = 0.24, p < 0.01). Indirect effects suggested that emotional eating, but not dietary restraint, at age 16 serves as a mechanism that helps explain the associations between emotion regulation and adiposity four years later. Results from this study suggest that both emotion regulation and emotional eating represent promising targets for that should be included in future interventions aimed at preventing adolescent obesity.

Hypersexuality, Gender, and Sexual Orientation: A Large-Scale Psychometric Survey Study

Criteria for hypersexual disorder (HD) were proposed for consideration in the DSM-5 but ultimately excluded for a variety of reasons. Regardless, research continues to investigate hypersexual behavior (HB). The Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI) is one of the most robust scales assessing HB, but further examination is needed to explore its psychometric properties among different groups. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the generalizability of the HBI in a large, diverse, non-clinical sample (N = 18,034 participants; females = 6132; 34.0%; M_age = 33.6 years, SD_age = 11.1) across both gender and sexual orientation. Measurement invariance testing was carried out to ensure gender- and sexual orientation-based comparisons were meaningful. Results demonstrated when both gender and sexual orientation were considered (i.e., heterosexual males vs. LGBTQ males vs. heterosexual females vs. LGBTQ females), LGBTQ males had significantly higher latent means on the HBI factors. Results also demonstrated LGBTQ males had the highest scores on other possible indicators of hypersexuality (e.g., frequency of masturbation, number of sexual partners, or frequency of pornography viewing). These findings suggest LGBTQ males may be a group most at risk of engaging in hypersexual behavior, and LGBTQ females are at a higher risk of engaging in hypersexual activities due to coping problems. Given the large-scale nature of the study, the findings contribute to the currently growing body of the literature on hypersexuality.

Using Item Response Theory for the Development of a New Short Form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised

The present work aims at developing a new version of the short form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, which includes Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scales (48 items, 12 per scale). The work consists of two studies. In the first one, an item response theory model was estimated on the responses of 590 individuals to the full-length version of the questionnaire (100 items). The analyses allowed the selection of 48 items well discriminating and distributed along the latent continuum of each trait, and without misfit and differential item functioning. In the second study, the functioning of the new form of the questionnaire was evaluated in a different sample of 300 individuals. Results of the two studies show that reliability of the four scales is better than, or equal to that of the original forms. The new version outperforms the original one in approximating scores of the full-length questionnaire. Moreover, convergent validity coefficients and relations with clinical constructs were consistent with literature.

Factorial Validity of the Anxiety Questionnaire for Students (AFS): Bifactor Modeling and Measurement Invariance

The present study with 2,273 students aimed to examine the factorial validity of the Anxiety Questionnaire for Students (AFS) by using the bifactor modeling framework, that is, contrasting a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model to an exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) and two bifactor models (B-CFA and B-ESEM). In addition, measurement invariance and latent mean differences in the three facets of the AFS (test anxiety, manifest anxiety, dislike of school) across gender, age groups, and school types were explored. Results provided strong support for the multidimensionality of the AFS. The B-ESEM showed the best fit to the data as opposed to the other models. Also, measurement invariance across gender, age groups, and school types was fully supported. Girls and younger students generally reported higher levels of anxiety than boys and older students, while the latter stated more dislike of school than girls and younger students. Furthermore, elementary school students showed generally higher levels of anxiety than students of the other school types.

Cardiac vagal regulation in infancy predicts executive function and social competence in preschool: Indirect effects through language

Parasympathetic nervous system functioning in infancy may serve a foundational role in the development of cognitive and socioemotional skills (Calkins, 2007). In this study (N = 297), we investigated the potential indirect effects of cardiac vagal regulation in infancy on children's executive functioning and social competence in preschool via expressive and receptive language in toddlerhood. Vagal regulation was assessed at 10 months during two attention conditions (social, nonsocial) via task-related changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). A path analysis revealed that decreased RSA from baseline in the nonsocial condition and increased RSA in the social condition were related to larger vocabularies in toddlerhood. Additionally, children's vocabulary sizes were positively related to their executive function and social competence in preschool. Indirect effects from vagal regulation in both contexts to both 4-year outcomes were significant, suggesting that early advances in language may represent a mechanism through which biological functioning in infancy impacts social and cognitive functioning in childhood.

Person-Centered Methodologies in the Organizational Sciences

The 2011 Organizational Research Methods Feature Topic on latent class procedures has helped to establish person-centered analyses as a method of choice in the organizational sciences. This establishment has contributed to the generation of substantive-methodological synergies leading to a better understanding of a variety of organizational phenomena and to an improvement in research methodologies. The present Feature Topic aims to provide a user-friendly introduction to these new methodological developments for applied organizational researchers. Organized around a presentation of the typological, prototypical, and methodologically exploratory nature of person-centered analyses, this introductory article introduces seven contributions aiming to: (a) clarify the meaning, advantages, and applications of person-centered analyses; (b) illustrate emerging prototypical and longitudinal cluster analytic approaches; (c) introduce researchers to multilevel person-centered analyses as well as to auxiliary approaches that will drastically increase the scope of application of these methods; and (d) describe the application of these methods for confirmatory purposes.

Curve of Factors Model: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach for Educational Research

A first-order latent growth model assesses change in an unobserved construct from a single score and is commonly used across different domains of educational research. However, examining change using a set of multiple response scores (e.g., scale items) affords researchers several methodological benefits not possible when using a single score. A curve of factors (CUFFS) model assesses change in a construct from multiple response scores but its use in the social sciences has been limited. In this article, we advocate the CUFFS for analyzing a construct's latent trajectory over time, with an emphasis on applying this model to educational research. First, we present a review of longitudinal factorial invariance, a condition necessary for ensuring that the measured construct is the same across time points. Next, we introduce the CUFFS model, followed by an illustration of testing factorial invariance and specifying a univariate and a bivariate CUFFS model to longitudinal data. To facilitate implementation, we include syntax for specifying these statistical methods using the free statistical software R.

Temperamental Anger and Positive Reactivity and the Development of Social Skills: Implications for Academic Competence during Preadolescence

RESEARCH FINDINGS

This study examines whether the development of social skills during childhood serves as a mechanism through which temperamental anger and positive reactivity in toddlerhood influences children's academic competence during preadolescence (N = 406). Temperamental anger at age 2 was negatively associated with children's social skills at age 7; in turn, children's social skills at age 7 were negatively associated with teacher report of academic competence and child and teacher report of school problems at age 10. All three indirect effects were significant suggesting that children's social skills at age 7 is one mechanism through which temperamental anger at age 2 is associated with age 10 child- and teacher-reported school problems. Temperamental positive reactivity was not associated with children's social skills or academic competence.

PRACTICE OR POLICY

Results provide support for early entry points to teach toddlers, especially those high in anger reactivity, the skills to engage in socially appropriate interactions with classmates and teachers, which may lessen subsequent academic challenges.

Modeling Psychological Contract Violation using Dual Regime Models: An Event-based Approach

A good understanding of the dynamics of psychological contract violation requires theories, research methods and statistical models that explicitly recognize that violation feelings follow from an event that violates one's acceptance limits, after which interpretative processes are set into motion, determining the intensity of these violation feelings. Whereas theories—in the form of the dynamic model of the psychological contract—and research methods—in the form of daily diary research and experience sampling research—are available by now, the statistical tools to model such a two-stage process are still lacking. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap in the literature by introducing two statistical models—the Zero-Inflated model and the Hurdle model—that closely mimic the theoretical process underlying the elicitation violation feelings via two model components: a binary distribution that models whether violation has occurred or not, and a count distribution that models how severe the negative impact is. Moreover, covariates can be included for both model components separately, which yields insight into their unique and shared antecedents. By doing this, the present paper offers a methodological-substantive synergy, showing how sophisticated methodology can be used to examine an important substantive issue.

A Solution to Modeling Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Data Obtained from Complex Survey Sampling to Avoid Conflated Parameter Estimates

The issue of equality in the between-and within-level structures in Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MCFA) models has been influential for obtaining unbiased parameter estimates and statistical inferences. A commonly seen condition is the inequality of factor loadings under equal level-varying structures. With mathematical investigation and Monte Carlo simulation, this study compared the robustness of five statistical models including two model-based (a true and a mis-specified models), one design-based, and two maximum models (two models where the full rank of variance-covariance matrix is estimated in between level and within level, respectively) in analyzing complex survey measurement data with level-varying factor loadings. The empirical data of 120 3rd graders' (from 40 classrooms) perceived Harter competence scale were modeled using MCFA and the parameter estimates were used as true parameters to perform the Monte Carlo simulation study. Results showed maximum models was robust to unequal factor loadings while the design-based and the miss-specified model-based approaches produced conflated results and spurious statistical inferences. We recommend the use of maximum models if researchers have limited information about the pattern of factor loadings and measurement structures. Measurement models are key components of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM); therefore, the findings can be generalized to multilevel SEM and CFA models. Mplus codes are provided for maximum models and other analytical models.

k-Centres Functional Clustering

In the present paper, we introduce k-centres functional clustering ( k-centres FC), a person-centered method that clusters people with similar patterns of complex, highly nonlinear change over time. We review fundamentals of the methodology and argue how it addresses some of the limitations of the traditional approaches to modeling repeated measures data. The usefulness of k-centres FC is demonstrated by applying the method to weekly measured commitment data from 109 participants who reported psychological contract breach events. The k-centres FC analysis shows two substantively meaningful clusters, the first cluster showing reaction patterns with general growth in commitment after breach and the second cluster showing general decline in commitment after breach. Further, the reaction patterns in the second cluster appear to be the result of a combination of two interesting reaction logics: immediate and delayed reactions. We conclude by outlining how future organizational research can incorporate this methodology.

Development and Validation of a Behavioural Index for Adaptation to High Summer Temperatures among Urban Dwellers

One of the consequences of climate change is the growing number of extreme weather events, including heat waves, which have substantial impacts on the health of populations. From a public health standpoint, it is vital to ensure that people can adapt to high heat, particularly in cities where heat islands abound. Identifying indicators to include in a parsimonious index would help better differentiate individuals who adapt well to heat from those who do not adapt as well. This study aimed at developing and validating a summer heat adaptation index for residents of the 10 largest cities in the province of Québec, Canada. A sample of 2000 adults in 2015 and 1030 adults in 2016 completed a telephone questionnaire addressing their adoption (or non-adoption) of behaviours recommended by public health agencies to protect themselves during periods of high temperature, and their perceptions of how high summer heat affects their mental and physical health. Item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, multiple correspondence analysis, measurement invariance analyses and criterion-validity analyses were used to develop a 12-behaviour heat adaptation index for distinguishing between individuals who adapt well to high temperatures and those who do not adapt as well. The results indicated that the measurement and the factor structure of the index were invariant (equivalent) across the two independent samples of participants who completed the questionnaire at different times one year apart, an important prerequisite for unambiguous interpretation of index scores across groups and over time. The results also showed that individuals who perceived more adverse effects on their physical or mental health adopted more preventive behaviours during periods of high temperatures and humidity conditions compared to those who felt lesser or no effects. This study thus presents support for the validity of the index that could be used in future studies to monitor preventive behaviours adoption during summer periods of high temperature.