Structural and concurrent validity of the International English Mini-Markers in an adolescent sample: Exploring analytic approaches and implications for personality assessment

Competing Models of the Structure of Subjective Well-Being: Have All Won and Must All Have Prizes?

OBJECTIVE

The tripartite model of subjective well-being (SWB) posits three components: positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. The fundamental issue regarding the structure of SWB and the meaning of the general SWB factor remains unresolved.

METHODS

Across three studies and six samples (total N = 9304), we evaluated competing models of SWB and tested the criterion-related validity of SWB components operationalized within different models. In addition to a standard confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and bifactor-CFA, we used exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor-ESEM approaches. Latent factor models were applied to examine the nomological network of SWB in relation to several external criteria (e.g., positive expectations, depression, and anxiety).

RESULTS

We found evidence supporting the three-factor and bifactor-ESEM models of SWB. The meaning and interpretability of the general and specific factors of SWB were found to depend on the indicators used to assess affective well-being. Several issues concerning the bifactor-CFA model were identified. Both the general and specific factors of SWB exhibited meaningful and interpretable nomological networks.

CONCLUSIONS

The structure of SWB, the value of incorporating a general factor, and the nature of general and specific SWB factors depend on the instruments used to measure SWB.

A healthy breakfast each and every day is important for students' motivation and achievement

Breakfast is often cited as the most important meal of the day and vital for students' academic functioning at school. Although much research has linked students' breakfast consumption to better achievement, there has been debate about why and how breakfast has academic benefits. The present study of 648 Australian high school students investigated (a) the role of breakfast consumption and breakfast quality in students' self-reported motivation and their achievement in a science test, (b) the role of motivation in mediating the link between breakfast consumption and quality and students' achievement, and (c) the extent to which breakfast consumption effects are moderated by the quality of breakfast (e.g., more vegetables, fruit, dairy/protein, wholegrains, cereals, water; less sugary drinks, processed meat, fast take-away, unhealthy snack foods). Findings indicated that beyond the effects of personal, home, and classroom factors, breakfast consumption predicted higher adaptive motivation (p < .05), breakfast quality predicted lower maladaptive motivation (p < .05), and in turn, students' adaptive (positively, p < .01) and maladaptive (negatively, p < .01) motivation predicted their achievement. Moreover, adaptive motivation significantly mediated the relationship between breakfast consumption and achievement (p < .05). The effect of breakfast consumption was moderated by the quality of breakfast such that consuming a high-quality breakfast in the morning was associated with the highest levels of adaptive motivation (p < .01) and achievement (p < .05) later in the day. Findings have implications for educational practice and policy seeking to promote a healthy start to the school day to optimize students' motivation and achievement.

University students in COVID-19 lockdown: The role of adaptability and fluid reasoning in supporting their academic motivation and engagement

This study drew on Job Demands-Resources theory and data from 500 Australian university students to investigate the role of COVID-related lockdown, perceived adaptability, and fluid reasoning in students' self-efficacy-and the role of these factors in students' engagement and disengagement. Lockdown was associated with higher disengagement; perceived adaptability was associated with higher self-efficacy; and both perceived adaptability and fluid reasoning were significantly and positively associated with engagement. Self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between perceived adaptability and engagement and disengagement, while moderation tests revealed that fluid reasoning yielded a significant positive role for the self-efficacy of students in lockdown. These findings shed light on factors during COVID-19 that are implicated in students' academic development and provide direction for psycho-educational interventions.

Locating the Dark Triad in a Multidimensional Personality Space

The Dark Triad traits of Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism should be clearly recognizable within a multidimensional personality space. Two such personality spaces were investigated in this study: HEXACO (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience); and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) space (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Activity, Sensation Seeking, and Aggressiveness). Our sample comprised 289 participants (137 males, 145 females, 7 unspecified) who completed these three questionnaires: HEXACO-60, ZKA-PQ/SF, and the SD3, assessing the Dark Triad. We reduced the dimensionality of each space to that of a 2D representation using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Three research questions guided the data analysis: (a) Do the HEXACO and ZKA-PQ SSA spaces conform to the structure of a radex? (b) Will these spaces remain invariant following the entry of the Dark Triad traits into the analyses? (c) Where will the Dark Triad traits be located in each SSA space? For ZKA-PQ space, the structure was clearly indicative of a radex, both prior to entering the Dark Triad traits into the analysis, and subsequent to this. Psychopathy and Machiavellianism were in close proximity in the Aggressiveness region; Narcissism was positioned at the common origin. In contrast, HEXACO space did not conform to a radex; furthermore, the presence of the Dark Triad traits distorts this 2D SSA space.

Assessing the Nomological Network of the South African Personality Inventory With Psychological Traits

The purpose of this study was to expand internal construct validity and equivalence research of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI), as well as to investigate the nomological validity of the SAPI by examining its relationship with specific and relevant psychological outcomes. The internal and external validity of the SAPI was assessed within three separate samples (N = 936). Using the combined data from all three samples, Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) indicated that the six-factor SAPI model fit proved to be excellent. Measurement invariance analyses showed that the SAPI dimensions in the ESEM model were invariant across gender and race groups. Next, two separate studies explored the associations of the SAPI factors with relevant psychological outcomes. An ESEM-within-CFA (set ESEM) method was used to add the factors into a new input file to correlate them with variables that were not part of the initial ESEM model. Both models generated excellent fit. In Study 1, psychological well-being and cultural intelligence were correlated with the SAPI factors within a sample of students and working adults. All of the psychological well-being dimensions significantly correlated with the SAPI factors, while for cultural intelligence, the highest correlations were between Meta-cognition and Openness and Meta-cognition and Positive Social-Relational Disposition. In Study 2, work locus of control and trait anxiety was correlated with the SAPI factors within a sample of adults from the general South African workforce. Work Locus of Control correlated with most factors of the SAPI, but more prominently with Positive Social-Relational Disposition, while Neuroticism correlated strongly with trait anxiety. Finding an appropriate internal structure that measures personality without bias in a culturally diverse context is difficult. This study provided strong evidence that the SAPI meets the demanding requirements of personality measurement in this context and generated promising results to support the relevance of the SAPI factors.