Master resilience trainer course quality improvement evaluation.

The Master Resilience Training (MRT) course is the U.S. Army's resilience program of record to develop soldiers as resilience trainers within their home units. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) recently conducted an MRT Quality Improvement Evaluation (QIE) to understand perceptions of the MRT course, determine the effectiveness of the course, and provide revision recommendations for the next iteration of the course. Soldiers who were completing the MRT course were invited to take surveys and participate in interviews. Results from quantitative and qualitative data suggest that most participants felt satisfied with the training and that it was relevant for soldiers. Most participants also agreed that the training would help them become better soldiers and leaders. Along with positive feedback about the course, participants also identified areas that could be improved. Soldier feedback along with program evaluators' observation informed recommendations for improving the overall MRT course and its implementation. Program evaluators recommend MRT participants learn fewer and less complex skills, focus on coach education throughout the course, and highlight leader development by promoting motivation and enhancing effective communication. Program evaluators recommendations for ways to improve buy-in from leaders and graduated MRTs are also discussed.

To Reverse Item Orientation or Not to Reverse Item Orientation, That Is the Question.

To investigate the effect of using negatively oriented items, we wrote semantic reversals of the items in the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the General Belongingness Scale and used them to create four experimental conditions. Participants (N = 2,019) were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Data were assessed for dimensionality, item functioning, instrument properties, and associations with other variables. Regarding dimensionality, although a two-factor model (positively vs. negatively oriented factors) exhibits better fit than a unidimensional model across all conditions, bifactor indices were used to argue that a unidimensional interpretation of the data can be employed. With respect to item functioning, factor loadings were found to be nearly invariant across conditions, but thresholds were not. Concerning instrument properties, inclusion of negatively oriented items results in lower mean scores and higher score variances. Instruments with both positively and negatively oriented items demonstrated lower reliability estimates than those with only one orientation. For associations with other variables, path coefficients in a model where loneliness mediates the effects of belongingness on life satisfaction and self-esteem were found to vary across conditions. Findings suggest that negatively oriented items have minor impact on instrument quality, but influence measurement model and path coefficients.