Reliability and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of a Paper- Versus App-Administered Resilience Scale in Scottish Youths: Comparative Study

Background

Adequately measuring resilience is important to support young people and children who may need to access resources through social work or educational settings. A widely accepted measure of youth resilience has been developed previously and has been shown to be suitable for vulnerable youth. While the measure is completed by the young person on paper, it has been designed to be worked through with a teacher or social worker in case further clarification is required. However, this method is time consuming and, when faced with large groups of pupils who need assessment, can be overwhelming for schools and practitioners. This study assesses app software with a built-in avatar that can guide young persons through the assessment and its interpretation.

Objective

Our primary objective is to compare the reliability and psychometric properties of a mobile software app to a paper version of the Child and Youth Resilience measure (CYRM-28). Second, this study assesses the use of the CYRM-28 in a Scottish youth population (aged 11-18 years).

Methods

Following focus groups and discussion with teachers, social workers, and young people, an avatar was developed by a software company and integrated into an android smartphone app designed to ask questions via the device’s inbuilt text-to-voice engine. In total, 714 students from 2 schools in North East Scotland completed either a paper version or app version of the CYRM-28. A cross-sectional design was used, and students completed their allocated version twice, with a 2-week period in between each testing. All participants could request clarification either from a guidance teacher (paper version) or from the in-built software glossary (app version).

Results

Test and retest correlations showed that the app version performed better than the paper version of the questionnaire (paper version: r₃₀₃=0.81; P<.001; 95% CI 0.77-0.85; app version: r₄₁₃=0.84; P<.001; 95% CI 0.79-0.89). Fisher r to z transformation revealed a significant difference in the correlations (Z=–2.97, P<.01). Similarly, Cronbach α in both conditions was very high (app version: α=.92; paper version: α=.87), suggesting item redundancy. Ordinarily, this would lead to a possible removal of highly correlated items; however, our primary objective was to compare app delivery methods over a pen-and-paper mode and was hence beyond the scope of the study. Fisher r to z transformation revealed a significant difference in the correlations (Z=–3.69, P<.01). A confirmatory factor analysis supported the 3-factor solution (individual, relational, and contextual) and reported a good model fit (χ²₁₅=27.6 [n=541], P=.24).

Conclusions

ALEX, an avatar with an integrated voice guide, had higher reliability when measuring resilience than a paper version with teacher assistance. The CFA reports similar structure using the avatar when compared against the original validation.

Next Directions in Measurement of the Home Mathematics Environment: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective

This article synthesizes findings from an international virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focused on the home mathematics environment (HME). In light of inconsistencies and gaps in research investigating relations between the HME and children's outcomes, the purpose of the conference was to discuss actionable steps and considerations for future work. The conference was composed of international researchers with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds. Presentations and discussions during the conference centered broadly on the need to better operationalize and measure the HME as a construct - focusing on issues related to child, family, and community factors, country and cultural factors, and the cognitive and affective characteristics of caregivers and children. Results of the conference and a subsequent writing workshop include a synthesis of core questions and key considerations for the field of research on the HME. Findings highlight the need for the field at large to use multi-method measurement approaches to capture nuances in the HME, and to do so with increased international and interdisciplinary collaboration, open science practices, and communication among scholars.

Response-irrelevant number, duration, and extent information triggers the SQARC effect: Evidence from an implicit paradigm

Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) and Spatial-Quantity Association of Response Codes (SQARC) effects are evident when people produce faster left-sided responses to smaller numbers, sizes, and durations and faster right-sided responses to larger numbers, sizes, and durations. SQARC effects have typically been demonstrated in paradigms where the explicit processing of quantity information is required for successful task completion. The current study tested whether the implicit presentation of task-irrelevant magnitude information could trigger a SQARC effect as has been demonstrated previously when task-irrelevant information triggers a SNARC effect. In Experiment 1, participants (n = 20) made orientation judgements for triangles varying in numerosity and physical extent. In Experiment 2, participants (n = 20) made orientation judgements for triangles varying in numerosity and for a triangle preceded by a delay of varying duration. SNARC effects were observed for the numerosity conditions of Experiments 1 and 2 replicating Mitchell et al. SQARC effects were also demonstrated for physical extent and for duration. These findings demonstrate that SQARC effects can be implicitly triggered by the presentation of the task-irrelevant magnitude.

Learning from where 'eye' remotely look or point: Impact on number line estimation error in adults

In this article, we present an investigation into the use of visual cues during number line estimation and their influence on cognitive processes for reducing number line estimation error. Participants completed a 0-1000 number line estimation task before and after a brief intervention in which they observed static-visual or dynamic-visual cues (control, anchor, gaze cursor, mouse cursor) and also made estimation marks to test effective number-target estimation. Results indicated that a significant pre-test to post-test reduction in estimation error was present for dynamic-visual cues of modelled eye-gaze and mouse cursor. However, there was no significant performance difference between pre- and post-test for the control or static anchor conditions. Findings are discussed in relation to the extent to which anchor points alone are meaningful in promoting successful segmentation of the number line and whether dynamic cues promote the utility of these locations in reducing error through attentional guidance.