Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Psychometric Properties Of The Positive Thinking Skills Scale Among College Students, Denise M. Matel-Anderson, Abir K. Bekhet

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Suicide continues to be in the top leading causes of death among college students. Positive thinking has been linked to increasing health outcomes and decreasing the effects of stress. The psychometric properties of the 8-item Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS) has not been tested in American college students. The study used resilience as the theoretical framework. In 131 students, internal consistency and construct validity was supported. The Cronbach's alpha of 0.86 and significant correlation with measures of suicide resilience, perceived social support, and self-esteem demonstrated good reliability and validity. The findings of the study provide directions for future suicide prevention …

Depressive Symptoms And Walking In African‐Americans, Elisa R. Torres, Carolyn M. Sampselle, Harold W. Neighbors, David L. Ronis, Kimberlee A. Gretebeck

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

Although increased frequency of physical activity is associated with fewer depressive symptoms in African‐Americans, most studies do not focus on a specific type of activity. Identifying the activity can provide helpful information for designing interventions that focus on depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to examine the odds of depressive symptoms in relation to walking in African‐Americans.

Design and Sample

A secondary analysis was performed on the National Survey of American Life. The sample was made up of community‐dwelling African‐American women (n = 1,903) and men (n = 1,075) who did not meet the DSM‐IV‐TR …

Psychometric Properties Of The Resourcefulness Scale Among Caregivers Of Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Abir K. Bekhet, Jaclene Zauszniewski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Caregiving for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be very costly to caregivers’ well-being. Resourcefulness interventions have shown increases in positive health outcomes. However, before delivering the intervention, there should be a reliable and a valid measure to test resourcefulness. The psychometric properties of the Resourcefulness Scale (RS) have not been examined among ASD caregivers. This study examined the psychometrics of the 28-item RS in a convenience sample of 204 ASD caregivers. A Cronbach’s alpha of .91 showed the internal consistency of the RS. Construct validity was supported by the emergence of two dimensions of resourcefulness (personal and social) …

Measuring Use Of Positive Thinking Skills: Psychometric Testing Of A New Scale, Abir K. Bekhet, Jaclene A. Zauszniewski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Positive thinking interventions improve adaptive functioning and quality of life in many populations. However, no direct measure of positive thinking skills taught during intervention exists. This psychometric study of a convenience sample of 109 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) caregivers examined a new eight-item Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS), which measures the frequency of use of positive thinking skills. The PTSS was found to be internally consistent (α = .90). Construct validity was supported by significant correlations (p < .01) with positive cognitions (r = .53), resourcefulness (r = .63), depression (r = −.45), and general well-being (r = .40). The findings …

Developing A Screening Measure For Early Detection Of Depressive Symptoms: The Depressive Cognition Scale, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Nearly 10% of American adults experience depressive symptoms each year. Negative thought patterns associated with risk for depression can be identified using a psychometrically sound measure, such as the Depressive Cognition Scale (DCS). However, no meaningful cutoff score has been established for the DCS. This study used a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to establish a DCS cutoff score for risk for depression, using the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D) as the gold standard measure. In a national nondepressed sample of 629 adults, the ROC showed that the DCS accurately discriminated between participants with and without serious depressive thinking …