Construct validity and factor structure of sense of coherence (SoC-13) scale as a measure of resilience in Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia

Cross-culturally adapting the GHQ-12 for use with refugee populations: Opportunities, dilemmas, and challenges

This article discusses the opportunities, dilemmas, and challenges involved in the cross-cultural adaptation (CCA) of psychological scales for use with refugee populations. It draws on insights derived from an attempt to adapt the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to the particular culture and context of Eritrean refugees residing in Israel. Multiple techniques including expert translations, a focus-group discussion, a survey, and piloting, were employed to attain a cross-cultural and conceptually equivalent measure. During the CCA process, the research team encountered issues pertaining to conceptual non-equivalence, the structure of the measure's responses and scoring system, and acceptability. These issues required the team to move beyond semantic translation by adapting certain items. This study demonstrates the compromises which need to be made in the adaptation process and indicates the potential bias which each of these compromises introduces. Despite its limitations, CCA does appear to significantly improve detection of mental health symptoms in refugee populations. Overall, the results of the present study provide support for the notion that the sensitive and appropriate assessment of individuals from refugee backgrounds requires adopting a rigorous, systematic, and contextual approach to instrument adaptation, with an emphasis on the integration of idioms of distress as well as the adaptation of Likert-type scales.

A systematic review of cross-cultural measures of resilience and its promotive and protective factors

As psychological resilience has been increasingly recognized as contextually constructed, mixed methods studies that map out local ecologies of resilience have become increasingly common. However, the direct adaptation of quantitative tools for cross-cultural use based on qualitative findings has been relatively lacking. The current review aims to provide an overview of existing measures of resilience used cross-culturally and to synthesize the protective and promotive factors and processes (PPFP) of resilience identified within these measures into a single resource. A January 2021 search of PubMed for studies of the development of psychological resilience measures that excluded studies of non-psychological resilience yielded 58 unique measures. These measures contain 54 unique PPFP of resilience, ranging from individual to communal-level characteristics. This review is intended to serve as a complementary tool for adapting standardized measures for stakeholders requiring an assessment tool that is attuned to their context for mental health risk assessment and intervention evaluation.

Introduction of the generic sense of ability to adapt scale and validation in a sample of outpatient adults with mental health problems

Introduction

The ability to adapt is a core aspect of daily human life. Recent models and theories emphasize its essential role for health and well-being. It concerns the perceived ability to readjust and actively deal with the psychosocial consequences of challenging events. While many questionnaires measure competences related to adaptability to specific conditions, a scale that measures a generic sense of the ability to adapt is lacking. The aim of the present study is to introduce the Generic Sense of Ability to Adapt Scale (GSAAS) and to examine its psychometric properties.

Methods

The article describes two sub-studies. In the first study the items of the GSAAS were generated and field-tested in a cross-sectional non-clinical sample using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis.

Results

This resulted in a 10-item questionnaire measuring a single dimension with good reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.87). In the second study the 10-item scale was validated using a cross-sectional sample of 496 outpatient adults with mental health problems. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional structure of the GSAAS and the absence of measurement variance across gender, age and education. Reliability was high (α = 0.89) and moderate to strong correlations between the GSAAS and concurrent validation measures confirmed its convergent validity. Regarding incremental validity, the GSAAS accounted for 7.4% additional explained variance in symptomatic distress above and beyond sense of coherence.

Discussion

In conclusion, the GSAAS appears to be a reliable and valid instrument to assess people’s generic sense of the ability to adapt. It is a practical and quick tool that can be used to measure a vital aspect of health in research and clinical treatment settings.

The relevance of social capital and sense of coherence for mental health of refugees

Introduction

Migration puts refugees in a completely new social context when simultaneously some have to deal with previously experienced traumatic events and post-migration stressors. Social capital and sense of coherence could be key resources to improve mental health of refugees. This study aims to examine the interplay between social capital (structural and cognitive), sense of coherence and mental health of refugees in the Netherlands.

Objective

The present study was conducted to i) examine if social capital (structural and cognitive) and mental health are related in a population of Dutch refugees, and ii) test if sense of coherence has a moderating and/or a mediating effect on this relation.

Method

Data were collected through questionnaires (n = 154) in a cross-sectional survey at different locations throughout the Netherlands. The data were analysed with multiple regression analyses and nonparametric bootstrapping using SPSS.

Results

Social capital (structural and cognitive) was positively related to mental health. In addition a positive relation between sense of coherence and mental health of refugees was found. The relationship between cognitive social capital and mental health was completely mediated by sense of coherence. No moderation effect of sense of coherence on the relation between social capital and mental health was found.

Conclusions

The current study contributed to understanding the social mechanism that determines refugee mental health: participating in social groups (structural social capital) and having supportive and trusting relationships (cognitive social capital), whilst experiencing life as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful (sense of coherence) are positively related to better mental health of refugees. Findings indicate that preventive interventions aiming to enhance refugees' mental health may be more effective when targeting and promoting both social capital and sense of coherence, from a relatively early stage after arrival in the Netherlands.

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Structural and cognitive social capital are positively related to mental health of refugees.

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A positive relation is found between sense of coherence and mental health of refugees.

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Sense of coherence mediates this relation between cognitive social capital and mental health.

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Including resiliency factors and strengthening social mechanisms may create more effective mental health interventions.

The Reliability and Predictive Validity of Sense of Coherence Scale for American Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

This study investigated the reliability and predictive validity of the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale for 299 American survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). First, confirmatory factor analysis examined the construct validity of the SOC-13. Then, relationships between SOC and clinical scales were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 3-factor solution, and Cronbach's alpha reliability values for comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness subscales and total score of SOC-13 were: .62, .53, .65, and .81, respectively. Multiple regression revealed that age, posttraumatic growth, depression, and posttraumatic stress scores explained 53% of the variance of SOC scores. We interpret this to suggest that SOC is a protective factor in GBV, especially in younger women. Clinical implications are suggested.

Screening Tools for Mental Disorders Among Female Refugees: a Systematic Review

Female refugees are particularly vulnerable to mental disorders but assessment may be complex and challenging. Various screening tools have been developed for this population, but little is known about their usefulness. The main aim is to examine the literature on the effectiveness of screening tools for mental health problems among female refugees. Systematic review of PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase to locate all published work. Comprehensive search terms were used and inclusion and exclusion criteria were formulated. The initial search yielded 877 articles, of which 757 were removed after titles and abstracts were reviewed. Then, 121 full-text versions of articles were examined and 96 excluded according to the criteria. A total of 25 articles were included in this systematic review in accordance with the PRIMSA guidelines. Twenty screening tools were evaluated. There is a lack of tools used to screen refugee women, and in particular those in emergency settings. Cultural factors may not be accounted for in the development of screening instruments. Further research in this field can help inform public health policies to address social, educational and occupational inclusion for refugee women in different contexts.

Analysis of the psychometric properties of the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-13) in patients with cardiovascular risk factors: a study of the method effects associated with negatively worded items

Purpose

The objectives of this study were to analyze the psychometric properties of the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-13), determine the role of the method effect in the performance of the instrument, and identify the relationship with health perception, quality of life, and sleep quality in patients at cardiovascular risk.

Methods

The final sample consisted of 293 patients at cardiovascular risk, with a mean age of 61.9 years (SD = 8.8), 49.8% of whom were women. The SOC-13, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale (MOS-Sleep) were administered. In addition, the participant's self-perceived health and quality of life were also evaluated. All analyses were carried out with SPSS 26.0 and EQS 6.1 statistical software.

Results

The results showed adequate reliability for the SOC-13, with a Cronbach's alpha of .789. The fit of the structures was not adequate in any of the cases (.26 to .62 for one factor, .26 to.73 for three factors, .20 to .54 for one second-order factor, and .25, .42, and .54 for three first-order factors). The three structure models showed an improved fit when adding a latent factor resulting from the method effect (.6 to .85 for one factor, .11 to.90 for three factors, and .11 to .96 for one second-order factor). Moreover, positive correlations were found with health perception, perceived quality of life, and perceived sleep quality.

Conclusion

The SOC-13 is a suitable instrument for patients with cardiovascular risk in Spain, and it is also an indicator of health perception, quality of life, and perceived quality of sleep. Control of the method effect improves the fit of the instrument’s structure. As a future direction, it is recommended to conduct new studies in this and other samples and using different versions of the SOC.

Trial registration

International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number: ISRCTN76069254, 08/04/2015 retrospectively registered.

Psychometric Properties of the SOC-13 Scale in Colombian Adults

The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SOC-13 in Colombian adults. The SOC-13 questionnaire was administered to 489 individuals aged ≥18 years who were in lockdown from March to July 2020 in Nariño County, Colombia. Psychometric properties of the scale were examined using a cross-validation method via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Additionally, configural and metric invariance were tested. To determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire, McDonald’s omega (ω), Cronbach’s alpha (α), and composite reliability (CR) coefficients were estimated. The EFA determined that a three-factor structure best fit the data (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness) and CFA confirmed this three-factor model structure showing a good fit (χ²_S-B = 188.530, χ²_S-B/(62) = 3.615, p = 0.001; NNFI = 0.959; CFI = 0.968; RMSEA = 0.052 (90% CI [0.041–0.063]) and SRMR = 0.052).The invariance analysis indicated the same underlying theoretical structure between genders. Additionally, (ω), (α), and (CR) coefficients confirmed a high internal consistency of the instrument. The SOC-13 scale, reflecting comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the sense of coherence in Colombian populations.

Measuring mental health in humanitarian crises: a practitioner's guide to validity

Background

There are ongoing methodological advances in measuring mental health in humanitarian crises. This Special Section describes numerous innovations. Here we take a practitioner's view in understanding the key issues related to assessment of mental health in humanitarian contexts and how the innovations contribute to the field.

Main body

In this guide for practitioners, we address the following issues: (1) clarifying the intended purpose of conducting mental health assessment in humanitarian crises: why is this information collected and for what intended purposes?; (2) determining what type of tool should be selected and the types of psychometric properties that are important for tools serving this particular purpose; (3) when a validated tool is not available, considering how qualitative and quantitative methods should be used to generate information on validity; and finally, (4) how to report on validity and its implications for interpreting information for humanitarian practitioners, governments, care providers, and other stakeholders supporting people affected by humanitarian emergencies.

Conclusion

Ultimately, mental health assessment tools are not independent of the group with which they were designed, nor are the psychometric properties of the tools or their utility universal across purposes. Therefore, organizations and stakeholders will optimize their positive impact when choosing tools wisely, appropriately adapting and validating tools, and providing guidance on how to interpret those findings to best serve populations in need.

Motivation and Continuance Intention towards Online Instruction among Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effect of Burnout and Technostress

In-service teachers have various emotional and motivational experiences that can influence their continuance intention towards online-only instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a significant stress factor for their workplace. Derived from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Job Demands–Resources Model (JD–R), and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the present research model includes technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) self-efficacy (SE), intrinsic (IM) and extrinsic (EM) work motivation, and occupational stress (OS) (i.e., burnout and technostress which have been examined in tandem) as key dimensions to explain the better continuance intention among in-service teachers to use online-only instruction (CI). Data for the research model were collected from 980 in-service teachers during the COVID-19 outbreak between April and May 2020. Overall, the structural model explained 70% of the variance in teachers’ CI. Motivational practices were directly and indirectly linked through OS with CI. The findings showed that IM has the most directly significant effect on teachers’ CI, followed by TPK-SE, and OS as significant, but lower predictors. IM was positively associated with TPK-SE and negatively associated with EM. The results offered valuable insights into how motivation constructs were related to OS and to a better understanding online instruction in an unstable work context, in order to support teachers in coping during working remotely.

Validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Depression is among the top mental health problems with a major contribution to the global burden of disease. This study aimed at identifying the latent factor structure and construct validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A cross-sectional survey of 562 adults aged 18 years and above who were randomly selected from the Eritrean refugee community living in the Mai-Aini refugee camp, Ethiopia.

MEASURES

The CES-D Scale, Primary Care PTSD (PC-PTSD) screener, premigration and postmigration living difficulties checklist, Oslo Social Support Scale (OSS-3), Sense of Coherence Scale (SoC-13), Coping Style Scale and fast alcohol screening test (FAST) were administered concurrently. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test prespecified factor structures of CES-D.

RESULT

First-order two factors with second-order common factor structure of CES-D (correlated error terms) yielded the best fit to the data (Comparative Fit Index =0.975; root mean square error of approximation=0.040 [90% CI 0.032 to 0.047]). The 16 items defining depressive affect were internally consistent (Cronbach's α=0.932) and internal consistency of the 4 items defining positive affect was relatively weak (Cronbach's α=0.703). These two latent factors have a weaker standardised covariance estimate of 33% (24% for women and 40% for men), demonstrating evidence of discriminant validity. CES-D is significantly associated with measures of adversities, specifically, premigration living difficulties (r=0.545, p<0.001) and postmigration living difficulties (r=0.47, p<0.001), PC-PTSD (r=0.538, p<0.001), FAST (r=0.197, p<0.001) and emotion-oriented coping (r=0.096, p˂0.05) providing evidence of its convergent validity. It also demonstrated inverse association with measures of resilience factors, specifically, SoC-13 (r=-0.597, p<0.001) and OSS-3 (r=-0.319, p<0.001). The two correlated factors model of CES-D demonstrated configural, metric, scalar, error variance and structural covariance invariances (p>0.05) for both men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

Unlike previous findings among Eritreans living in USA, second-order two factors structure of CES-D best fitted the data for Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia; this implies that it is important to address culture for the assessment and intervention of depression.