Development and validation of a Social Images Evaluation Questionnaire for youth in residential care.

Diniz Lopes,Joana Nunes Patrício,Maria Manuela Calheiros,Margarida Vaz Garrido

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0179890

Diniz Lopes, Joana Nunes Patrício + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179890

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jun 29, 2017
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Abstract

Social images are defined as prevailing shared ideas about specific groups or societies without concrete or objective evidence of their accuracy or truthfulness. These images frequently have a negative impact on individuals and groups. Although of outmost importance, the study of the social images of youth in residential care is still scarce. In this article we present two studies for the development and validation of the Social Images Evaluation Questionnaire (SIEQ). In study 1, participants were asked to freely generate words that could be associated to youth in residential care in order to obtain a list of attributes to be used in the SIEQ. In study 2, the main psychometric characteristics of the SIEQ were tested with samples of laypeople and professionals. The main results support the proposal of a new and psychometrically sound measurement–the SIEQ–to analyze the social images of youth in residential care.

Highlights

Social images are normally defined as prevailing shared ideas regarding specific groups or societies without concrete or objective evidence of their accuracy or truthfulness [1]
In this article we present the development and validation of a questionnaire examining social images associated with youth in residential care–the Social Images Evaluation Questionnaire (SIEQ)
In this article we present two studies aiming at developing a measure to evaluate the social images of youth in residential care–the SIEQ

Summary

Introduction

Social images are normally defined as prevailing shared ideas regarding specific groups or societies without concrete or objective evidence of their accuracy or truthfulness [1]. They constitute shared social beliefs about the characteristics (i.e., personality traits, behaviors, values) of specific social groups and its members, independently of their veracity [1,2,3]. Negative social images are potentially more stigmatizing and can affect individuals through processes of expectancy confirmation, discrimination, negative interactions, automatic activation of stereotypes, or even identity threats [5]. The impact of social images may as well vary according to personal characteristics of individuals and their coping strategies (e.g., stigma)

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