The measurement of coping in achievement situations: an international comparison
Abstract English and German versions of a newly developed instrument for measuring coping with achievement stressors (the Mainz Coping Inventory — Ego Threat; MCI-E) were presented to samples of American and German students. Equivalence of the two versions was determined by principal component and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA included a multiple group analysis. This analysis was employed to compare factor patterns, loadings, factor variances and covariances across the two samples. In addition, relationships between the coping instrument and tests which are already established in English and German versions (among others, the NEO Five Factors Inventory, the State-Trait Persona…
The effects of academic stress on health behaviors in young adults
Abstract The present study examined changes in health behaviors as a function of academic stress. One-hundred and thirty-three college undergraduate students completed measures of stress, affect, and health-behaviors during times of low and high academic demands. During the high-stress period, negative affect increased and positive affect decreased significantly, while health behaviors deteriorated. The strongest decrements were observed for exercise. Generally, women scored higher on “routine health behaviors” (i.e., self-care, vehicle safety, drug avoidance), but not on behaviors requiring effort (i.e., exercise, healthy nutrition). Distinct patterns of changes in health behaviors and aff…
The relationship between positive and negative affect in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Abstract The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988 ) is one of the most widely used affect scales. Nevertheless, the relation between its two scales, positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), is still controversial. Previous results that suggest independence between NA and PA were limited to manifest variables. In this study, the relation between PA and NA for both state and trait instructions was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. Two hundred ninety-two participants responded to the PANAS at three occasions of measurement. No association was found between trait PA and NA, but significant negative correlations between state PA and…