Disruptive behavior scale for adolescents (DISBA): development and psychometric properties.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence indicates that if disruptive behavior is left unidentified and untreated, a significant proportion of these problems will persist and may develop into problems linked with delinquency, substance abuse, and violence. Research is needed to develop valid and reliable measures of disruptive behavior to assist recognition and impact of treatments on disruptive behavior. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a scale for disruptive behavior in adolescents. METHODS: Six hundred high school students (50% girls), ages ranged 15-18 years old, selected through multi stage random sampling. Psychometrics of the disruptive behavior scale for adolescents (DISBA) (Persian version) was assessed through content validity, explanatory factor analysis (EFA) using Varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability of this scale was assessed via internal consistency and test-retest reliability. RESULTS: EFA revealed four factors accounting for 59% of observed variance. The final 29-item scale contained four factors: (1) aggressive school behavior, (2) classroom defiant behavior, (3) unimportance of school, and (4) defiance to school authorities. Furthermore, CFA produced a sufficient Goodness of Fit Index > 0.90. Test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities were acceptable at 0.85 and 0.89, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study suggest that the Iranian version of DISBA questionnaire has content validity. Further studies are needed to evaluate stronger psychometric properties for DISBA.

Cultural universality and specificity of student engagement in school: The results of an international study from 12 countries.

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive understanding of the contextual factors that are linked to student engagement requires research that includes cross-cultural perspectives. AIMS: This study investigated how student engagement in school is associated with grade, gender, and contextual factors across 12 countries. It also investigated whether these associations vary across countries with different levels of individualism and socio-economic development. SAMPLES: The participants were 3,420 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. METHODS: The participants completed a questionnaire to report their engagement in school, the instructional practices they experienced, and the support they received from teachers, peers, and parents. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to examine the effects at both student and country levels. RESULTS: The results across countries revealed a decline in student engagement from Grade 7 to Grade 9, with girls reporting higher engagement than boys. These trends did not vary across the 12 countries according to the Human Development Index and Hofstede's Individualism Index. Most of the contextual factors (instructional practices, teacher support, and parent support) were positively associated with student engagement. With the exception that parent support had a stronger association with student engagement in countries with higher collectivism, most of the associations between the contextual factors and student engagement did not vary across countries. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate both cultural universality and specificity regarding contextual factors associated with student engagement in school. They illustrate the advantages of integrating etic and emic approaches in cross-cultural investigations.

Understanding and measuring student engagement in school: the results of an international study from 12 countries.

The objective of the present study was to develop a scale that is appropriate for use internationally to measure affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of student engagement. Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data of 3,420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) from 12 countries (Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The intraclass correlation of the full-scale scores of student engagement between countries revealed that it was appropriate to aggregate the data from the 12 countries for further analyses. Coefficient alphas revealed good internal consistency. Test-retest reliability coefficients were also acceptable. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the data fit well to a second-order model with affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement as the first-order factors and student engagement as the second-order factor. The results support the use of this scale to measure student engagement as a metaconstruct. Furthermore, the significant correlations of the scale with instructional practices, teacher support, peer support, parent support, emotions, academic performance, and school conduct indicated good concurrent validity of the scale. Considerations and implications regarding the international use of this student engagement in school measure are discussed.

Do girls and boys perceive themselves as equally engaged in school? The results of an international study from 12 countries.

This study examined gender differences in student engagement and academic performance in school. Participants included 3420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th graders) from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results indicated that, compared to boys, girls reported higher levels of engagement in school and were rated higher by their teachers in academic performance. Student engagement accounted for gender differences in academic performance, but gender did not moderate the associations among student engagement, academic performance, or contextual supports. Analysis of multiple-group structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of teacher support and parent support, but not peer support, were related indirectly to academic performance through student engagement. This partial mediation model was invariant across gender. The findings from this study enhance the understanding about the contextual and personal factors associated with girls' and boys' academic performance around the world.

Disruptive Behavior Scale Professed by Students (DBS-PS): Development and Validation

This study presents both the construction procedures and the results obtained with a 16- items Disruptive Behavior Scale Professed by Students (DBS-PS) for Portuguese students. The sample was made of 915 subjects from the 7th, the 8th, and the 9th grades. Results obtained with that self-report instrument were analyzed, and measures of reliability and of construct and concurrent discrimination were estimated. Three specific factors were identified for the school disruption through varimax-rotation factor analysis. These factors accounted for 51 per cent of the total variance. Reliability coefficients ranged between .67 and .88 for different factors and groups (socio-economic status, residential zone, sex, age and grade). Concurrent validity coefficients were satisfactory. Results were in accordance with the psychometric theory of psychological evaluation (AU)

El estudio presenta el proceso de construcción y los resultados obtenidos con el cuestionario Conductas Disruptivas Manifestadas por los Estudiantes (DBS-PS) en estudiantes portugueses. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 915 participantes de séptimo, octavo y noveno cursos. Se analizaron los resultados obtenidos con este instrumento de autoinforme, y se calcularon medidas de fiabilidad y de validez concurrente y de constructo. Tres factores fueron identificados de conductas disruptivas mediante análisis factorial de rotación Varimax. Estos factores explican el 51 por ciento del total de varianza. El coeficiente de fiabilidad varió entee el 0,67 y 0,88 en función de diferentes factores y grupos (nivel socioeconómico, zona residencial, sexo, edad y curso). El coeficiente de validez concurrente fue satisfactorio. Los resultados fueron acordes con la teoría psicométrica de la evaluación psicológica (AU)