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BACKGROUND: Skepticism has traditionally been associated with critical thinking. However, philosophy has proposed a particular type of skepticism, termed naive skepticism, which may increase susceptibility to misinformation, especially when contrasting information from official sources. While some scales propose to measure skepticism, they are scarce and only measure specific topics; thus, new instruments are needed to assess this construct. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a scale to measure naive skepticism in the adult population. METHOD: The study involved 446 individuals from the adult population. Subjects were randomly selected for either the pilot study (phase 2; n = 126) or the validity-testing study (phase 3; n = 320). Parallel analyses and exploratory structural equation modelling were conducted to assess the internal structure of the test. Scale reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients Finally, a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess invariance, and a Set- Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling was applied to estimate evidence of validity based on associations with other variables. RESULTS: The naive skepticism scale provided adequate levels of reliability (ω > 0.8), evidence of validity based on the internal structure of the test (CFI = 0.966; TLI = 0.951; RMSEA = 0.079), gender invariance, and a moderate inverse effect on attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed naive skepticism scale showed acceptable psychometric properties in an adult population, thus enabling the assessment of naive skepticism in similar demographics. This paper discusses the implications for the theoretical construct and possible limitations of the scale.
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Abstract Background Skepticism has traditionally been associated with critical thinking. However, philosophy has proposed a particular type of skepticism, termed naive skepticism, which may increase susceptibility to misinformation, especially when contrasting information from official sources. While some scales propose to measure skepticism, they are scarce and only measure specific topics; thus, new instruments are needed to assess this construct. Objective This study aimed to develop a scale to measure naive skepticism in the adult population. Method The study involved 446 individuals from the adult population. Subjects were randomly selected for either the pilot study (phase 2; n = 126) or the validity-testing study (phase 3; n = 320). Parallel analyses and exploratory structural equation modelling were conducted to assess the internal structure of the test. Scale reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients Finally, a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess invariance, and a Set- Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling was applied to estimate evidence of validity based on associations with other variables. Results The naive skepticism scale provided adequate levels of reliability (ω > 0.8), evidence of validity based on the internal structure of the test (CFI = 0.966; TLI = 0.951; RMSEA = 0.079), gender invariance, and a moderate inverse effect on attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusions The newly developed naive skepticism scale showed acceptable psychometric properties in an adult population, thus enabling the assessment of naive skepticism in similar demographics. This paper discusses the implications for the theoretical construct and possible limitations of the scale.
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The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Academic Psychological Capital Questionnaire 12 (APCQ-12) in a sample of 2,196 Chilean high school students (51% girls) aged 12 to 17 years (mean 14.83 years). Results showed that: (1) the APCQ-12 produces adequate scores in terms of reliability, (2) the internal structure of the questionnaire obtains adequate fit indices, for a second order model, which is consistent with previous research, and (3) the APCQ-12 proved to be sex and age invariant. Overall, the APCQ-12 proved to be an adequate questionnaire for measuring academic psychological capital in Chilean high school students, producing valid and reliable scores.
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This study aimed to adapt the Flourishing Scale to a Chilean high school context and provide evidence of its validity. Data were collected from 1,348 students (52% girls) from three different Chilean schools. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a one-factor solution, multiple-group CFA supported gender invariance, and structural equation model indicated that the FS is related to positive and negative academic feelings. Overall, the evidence indicates that the Flourishing Scale adapted to the high school context is an instrument that produces valid and reliable scores in our high school Chilean sample.
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Condom use is the most effective preventive behavior against HIV transmission, and its inadequate use is a public health problem that occurs mostly among youth and young adults. Although there are scales that measure condom use, those that exist correspond to English-speaking developments or do not have psychometric evidence to support them, so it is possible that the available adaptations of instruments do not adequately reflect the phenomenon in the Chilean population. Thus, the study aims to develop a scale to assess attitudes toward condom use in Chilean youth and young adults. Initially, a sample of students between 18 and 39 years (n = 520) was used for debugging the instrument. Then, a second sample was taken from the general population aged 18 to 40 (n = 992) to confirm the factor structure of the proposed model. The final scale has 10 items and 3 attitudinal dimensions (affective, cognitive, and behavioral). The results show that the identified structure provides adequate levels (ω > 0.7) or at least sufficient of reliability (ω > 0.6) and presents evidence of validity, based on the internal structure of the test, through ESEM (CFI = 0.993; TLI = 0.984; RMSEA = 0.056). In addition, evidence of validity was obtained based on the relationship with other variables and strong invariance between the scores of men and women. It is concluded that the scale developed has adequate psychometric properties to assess, in brief form, condom use attitudes in equal samples for research and screening purposes.
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This brief report assessed the psychometric validity and gender invariance of the School Burnout Inventory (SBI) -a measure of students' exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy- in a convenience sample of 972 high school Chilean students ranging between 12 and 18 years old. The results showed that: (1) the SBI produces adequate scores in terms of reliability; (2) two models (one solution of three related factors and one of second-order and three first-order factors) fitted adequately fit to our sample and was invariant across gender; and (3) the SBI scores were significantly related to other related constructs (i.e., study-related emotions, academic psychological capital, and academic engagement). Overall, the SBI was found to be a reliable and valid inventory to assess school burnout in Chilean high school students.
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This brief report proposes a model in which academic psychological capital (PsyCap) mediates between the satisfaction of student's basic psychological needs and their academic performance, as assessed by students' GPA. Participants were 407 adolescents, aged 12-18, recruited from three Chilean schools. Through structural equation modeling, direct and indirect effects were calculated. Results show that academic PsyCap (assessed at time 2) fully mediates the relationship between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (assessed at time 1) and academic performance (assessed at time 3). This means that students whose basic psychological needs are satisfied at school experience more hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (PsyCap), which, in turn, leads to better academic performance. Both theoretical and practical implications of the results are addressed, as well as strengths and weaknesses and directions for future research.
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This brief report examines the within-network construct validity of the UWES-9S in a convenience sample of 1502 Chilean students (52% were female) ranging between 18 and 25 years old. The results of confirmatory factor analysis supported a solution with three related factors that fit significantly better than a one-factor solution. The three subscales (i.e., vigor, dedication, and absorption) and the overall UWES-9S showed satisfactory internal consistency. The results of multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis supported gender invariance. Overall, the UWES-9S was found to be a reliable and valid scale to assess academic engagement in Chilean undergraduate university students.
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Academic Psychological Capital, or PsyCap, - a set of positive psychological resources encompassing hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism - has begun to gain attention in academia, showing positive relationships with desirable academic outcomes. However, studies in the field have paid limited attention to the social factors that may increase PsyCap and therefore may lead to positive outcomes. In the present study, we examine whether academic PsyCap mediates between teacher-student relationships and academic performance as assessed by student's GPA, using a three-wave longitudinal design. Through structural equation modeling, as expected, a statistically significant indirect effect was found between teacher-student relationships and academic performance via academic PsyCap. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed; strengths and weaknesses are mentioned; and future research directions are proposed.
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BACKGROUND: Traumatic experiences, such as natural disasters, produce multiple and serious impacts on people. Despite the traditional focus on negative consequences, in many cases there are also positive consequences, such as posttraumatic growth. Tedeschi and Calhoun proposed a model of posttraumatic growth that emphasizes the role of rumination after the basic beliefs breakdown due to the occurrence of a traumatic experience. METHOD: A total of 238 volunteers affected by two major earthquakes and tsunami alerts in northern Chile on April 1 and 2, 2014, responded to an online survey measuring subjective severity, basic beliefs change, social share of emotion, rumination, posttraumatic stress, and posttraumatic growth. RESULTS: Path analyses reveal that posttraumatic stress goes through a negative change in basic beliefs, intrusive rumination, and deliberated rumination, meanwhile posttraumatic growth is only achieved directly from a positive change in basic beliefs and deliberated rumination. DISCUSSION: The model is consistent with the empirical model obtained in Chilean people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on 27 February, 2010, but it is slightly different and in a form that is more consistent with Tedeschi and Calhoun's theoretical model. Both models remark on the role of deliberated rumination in posttraumatic growth and failure to progress from intrusive to deliberated rumination in posttraumatic stress, but the proposed one is more parsimonious and assumes subjective severity as an antecedent to basic belief changes. These conclusions must be considered in light of limitations that a cross-sectional design and the correlational nature of the statistical analysis carried out impose. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ARTICLE: Role of subjective severity, change of basic beliefs, social sharing of emotion, and rumination on posttraumatic stress and growth were modeled from responses of people affected by the April 1-2, 2014, northern Chilean earthquakes. Posttraumatic stress goes through negative changes in basic beliefs, intrusive rumination, and deliberated rumination. Posttraumatic growth is achieved from positive changes in basic beliefs and deliberated rumination. Deliberated rumination and moving from intrusive to deliberated rumination appear as cornerstones in posttraumatic processing.