Cross-country Validity Research Articles

Social Media Literacy Among Adolescents and Young Adults: Results From a Cross-Country Validation Study

When being online, young users are often confronted with insulting, hateful, or misleading messages. To handle these dark forms of participation, it is essential to equip them with resources that support their social literacy in today’s complex online environments. In the present article, we deployed a previously established scale on self-perceived participatory-moral literacy and conducted a broad online survey study with 1,489 adolescents and young adults aged 16–22 years ( M = 19.74; SD = 1.65; 51% female) across eight different European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom). The results provided a configural identical model of participatory-moral abilities, motivation, and behavior across the considered European countries. We could confirm weak invariance, satisfactory psychometric qualities, and convergent validity of the scale across the different countries. Implications for digital literacy research are discussed.

A Cross-Country Validation Between Kosovo and the Netherlands of the Dutch Perceptual-Motor Skills Assessment for Talent Detection in Table Tennis

Background. This study focused on the cross-country validation of the Dutch perceptual-motor skills assessment used for talent detection in table tennis which also could be the basis to create country-specific norm values in young children (aged 7 to 9). Materials and methods. In total, data from 172 children from Kosovo and 219 children from the Netherlands were compared. The data consisted of the outcomes of seven items of the Dutch perceptual-motor skills assessment evaluating gross motor function (i.e., sprint and vertical jump) and ball control (i.e., throwing a ball, speed while dribbling, aiming at target, ball skills and eye-hand coordination). A multivariate GLM analysis revealed significant differences between the two countries with large effect sizes regarding both constructs. Preliminary normative values are presented per country. Results. The results show that perceptual-motor skills can vary between children of the same age and sex between European countries. For that reason, it seems sensible to further investigate the necessity of establishing norm values per country and also the underlying mechanisms that might reveal why and how cross-country differences arise. Conclusions. Moreover, it might make sense to study an international sample of recreational and high performance youth and adult players to create a benchmark for talent detection and talent identification in table tennis. This will likely gain more insight into what the key aspects are to participate in table tennis and what is necessary for the elite level.

Cross-Country Validation of the Arabic Version of the Prodromal Questionnaire–Brief (PQ‐B) in Young Adults from the General Population of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

Cross-Country Validation of the Arabic Version of the Prodromal Questionnaire–Brief (PQ‐B) in Young Adults from the General Population of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

Political bullshit receptivity and its correlates: A cross-country validation of the concept

Philosophers conceptualized bullshit as persuasive communication that has no regard for truth, knowledge, or evidence. In psychology, research mostly investigated pseudo-profound bullshit, but no study has examined bullshit in the political context. In the present research, we operationalized political bullshit receptivity as endorsing vague political statements, slogans, and political bullshit programs. We investigated the relationship of these three measures with pseudo-profound bullshit, ideology (political ideology, support for neoliberalism), populism, and voting behavior. Three pre-registered studies conducted in early 2020 in the U.S., Serbia, and the Netherlands (total N = 534) yielded medium to high intercorrelations between political bullshit measures and pseudo-profound bullshit, and acceptable construct validity (hypothesized one-factor solution). A meta-analysis on these three studies showed that all political bullshit measures positively correlated with support for the free market, while only some positively correlated with social (political statements and programs) and economic conservatism (programs), and populism (programs). In the U.S., the Netherlands, and all countries combined, increased receptivity to political bullshit was associated with a higher probability to vote for right-wing candidates/parties (e.g., Trump in the U.S.). Overall, political bullshit receptivity showed to be a useful construct that opens avenues for research in broad and meaningless political communication.

The rural consumer adoption of sustainable energy: a PLS-SEM-ANN approach of conceptual model development and cross-country validation of Pakistan and Malaysia.

Sustainable and alternative energy sources of biofuel and solar power panel have been revolutionizing the lives and economy of many countries. However, these changes mainly occur in the urban areas and the rural population section has long been ignored by policy makers and government in the provision of energy. It is only recently that solar and biofuel are finally making in road to provide cheap and clean energy sources to rural population. As a result, literatures on consumer behavior of rural population towards sustainable energy sources are still very scarce. The present research aims to fulfill this gap by developing a conceptual model to investigate the adoption of solar power and biofuel energy resources in the cross-cultural setting of Malaysia and Pakistan. The data was collected from the rural areas of Pakistan and Malaysia. The two-stage data analysis method of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) have been applied to satisfy both linear and non-linear regression assumptions, respectively. The results show that consumer in rural areas of Pakistan are willing and possess intention to adopt both biofuel and solar power for commercial and domestic use. Additionally, the results confirm that branding, economic, and altruistic factors are important in yielding intention to use towards biofuel and solar power panel in Pakistan which are validated by the results obtained in Malaysia. Other factors such as climate change awareness, retailer services quality, and ease of use are also important. The results offer wide-ranging theoretical and managerial implications.

Physical activity differences between two European countries: does motivation matter?

This study has two main goals: (a) to compare whether objective and self-reported PA levels, and motivational regulations were similar among European adolescents with different cultural norms, and (b), to analyse whether the associations between those motivational regulations towards objective and self-reported PA levels vary across Spanish and French cultures. Data were collected from 637 adolescents (50.9% Spanish, 40.8% girls). Participants completed questionnaires on motivational variables and subjective PA. Objective PA was assessed by accelerometer. Data were analysed by structural equation modelling and invariance tests. Cross-country differences were found in objective PA levels and motivational factors, with Spanish obtaining higher values than French adolescents. Association of motivational factors with PA was similar regardless of the cultural origin of subjects. This study reinforces the premises of SDT according to cross-country validity. Intervention strategies should focus on encouraging the most self-determined motivational forms regardless of the culture of origin.

The Individual Water Insecurity Experiences (IWISE) Scale: reliability, equivalence and validity of an individual-level measure of water security

ObjectiveThe lack of a validated and cross-culturally equivalent scale for measuring individual-level water insecurity has prevented identification of those most vulnerable to it. Therefore, we developed the 12-item Individual Water...

The EURO-D Measure of Depressive Symptoms in the Aging Population: Comparability Across European Countries and Israel

Most of the countries in Europe are experiencing a rapid aging of their populations and with this an increase in mental health challenges due to aging. Comparative research may help countries to assess the promotion of healthy aging in general, and mentally healthy aging in particular, and explore ways for adapting mental health policy measures. However, the comparative study of mental health indicators requires that the groups understand the survey questions inquiring about their mental health in the same way and display similar response patterns. Otherwise, observed differences in perceived mental health may not reflect true differences but rather cultural bias in the health measures. To date, research on cross-country equivalence of depression measures among older populations has received very limited attention. Thus, there is a growing need for the cross-country validation of existing depression measures using samples of the older population and establishing measurement equivalence of the assessment tools. Indeed, insights on mental health outcomes and how they compare across societies is paramount to inform policy makers seeking to improve mental health conditions of the populations. This study, therefore, aims to examine measurement equivalence of self-reported depressive symptoms among older populations in 17 European countries and Israel. The data for the current analysis are from the sixth wave (2015) of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and consist of the population of respondents 50 years of age and older. The measurement of depression is based on the EURO-D scale, which was developed by a European consortium. It identifies existing depressive symptoms and consists of the 12 items: depression, pessimism, suicidality, guilt, sleep, interest, irritability, appetite, fatigue, concentration, enjoyment, and tearfulness. We examine the cross-country comparability of these data by testing for measurement equivalence using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) and alignment. Our findings reveal partial equivalence thus allowing us to draw meaningful conclusions on similarities and differences among the older population across 18 countries on the EURO-D measure of depression. Findings are discussed in light of policy implications for universal access to mental health care across countries.

Cross-country validity of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale using a Brazilian sample

BackgroundPrevious validity studies of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), using raw scores and percentile curves for group comparisons, showed that infants in Brazil achieved gross motor milestones at later ages. Validity of the AIMS norms were later reassessed using a logistic regression model that placed the AIMS items on an age scale. ObjectivesOur study examined the validity of the AIMS norms for Brazilian infants using the recommended method for calculating and comparing item locations. MethodsData from 732 Brazilian infants (2009–11), 3 days to 18 months old, were compared to the AIMS normative sample (n=2202). Logistic regression placed the AIMS items of both samples on age scales representing the age at which 50% of infants passed an item and compared the two datasets. Pearson correlation coefficient tested the association across samples. Results47 of the 58 AIMS items met the criterion for stable regression to calculate item locations of the Brazilian dataset. Based on the age when 50% of the infants passed a criterion, most of the items from the Brazilian sample (n=28) differed by two weeks or less compared to the Canadian normative sample. ConclusionThe sequence and age for the emergence of AIMS items were similar between the Brazilian and Canadian samples. Canadian norms are appropriate for clinical decisions and research with Brazilian infants.

Association between school climate and bullying victimization: Advancing integrated perspectives from parents and cross-country comparisons.

To advance our scientific understanding about school climate and bullying victimization from the perspectives of both parents and cross-country comparisons, the present study examined the cross-country similarities and differences of the associations between overall school climate and 3 forms of bullying victimization between United States (U.S.; N = 1,251) and Chinese (N = 999) parents across elementary, middle, and high schools. Confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance tests were first conducted to examine the cross-country validity of the Delaware Bullying Victimization Survey-Home (DBVS-H) between U.S. and Chinese parents. Comparison of latent means of bullying victimization revealed that U.S. parents reported higher frequencies of social/relational and verbal bullying victimization compared with Chinese parents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to examine the cross-country differences of the relationship between school climate and bullying victimization. For parents in both China and the U.S., school climate was found to be significantly associated with 3 types of bullying victimization (i.e., physical, verbal, and social/relational). The negative associations between school climate and all 3 types of bullying victimization reported by U.S. parents were significantly stronger than those found in Chinese parents. Implications for bullying prevention efforts involving parents from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Identification with all humanity-A test of the factorial structure and measurement invariance of the scale in five countries.

Identification with all humanity measured as an individual characteristic is an important factor related to social and international relations, such as concern for global issues and human rights, prosocial attitudes, intergroup forgiveness, attitudes toward immigrants, solving global problems, reactions to hate crimes and dehumanisation. We examine the factorial structure, psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale in student samples from five countries (the United States, Poland, France, Mexico and Chile; N=1930). Separate confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) for each country showed a second-order model of one superordinate factor with two subfactors. The cross-country validation of the scale, based on multigroup CFA, confirmed configural and metric invariance between countries for raw scores, and full metric invariance for "pure" scores. This study showed that the IWAH scale can be successfully used for cross-country research and the results from different countries can be compared and integrated.

Cross-Country Validation of the Association Between Oral Health and General Health in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

ObjectiveOral health is known to be associated with general health, but longitudinal relationships between oral health and general health indicators have not yet been fully explored in international research. Setting and participantsThe sample consisted of 3 longitudinal databases: a sample from Belgium from the Protocol 3 project (n = 8359), a combined sample from 6 European countries (n = 2501) from the IBenC study (Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands), and a sample from New Zealand (n = 15,012). All clients were 65 years or older and received long-term home care services. MethodsBayesian models were used to analyze the associations between 3 oral health indicators (chewing difficulty, nonintact teeth, and dry mouth) and 4 aspects of general health (activities of daily living functioning, cognition, depression, and health instability). In addition, the models explored the associations between current oral health and general health status and future oral health and general health status. ResultsClients who had poorer oral health had a higher risk of suffering from poor general health. Especially chewing difficulty was associated with all general health indicators in all data sets (odds ratios > 1). Dry mouth and nonintact teeth showed significant associations with almost all general health indicators. Additionally, having poor oral health (respectively general health) was predictive of poor general health (respectively oral health) at future assessments (significant cross-lagged parameters). Conclusions/ImplicationsThe results point out the need of the inclusion of oral health assessment and advice from dentists or oral health practitioners into the multidisciplinary conversation. In addition, identifying older people with oral health problems is essential in order to provide treatment and monitoring. Raising awareness for oral health is important, and policy makers should foster oral health promotion and care for older adults in order to keep them in good health.

Measurement invariance of the WHOQOL-AGE questionnaire across three European countries.

Developing valid and reliable instruments that can be used across countries is necessary. The present study aimed to test the comparability of quality of life scores across three European countries (Finland, Poland, and Spain). Data from 9987 participants interviewed between 2011 and 2012 were employed, using nationally representative samples from the Collaborative Research on Ageing in Europe project. The WHOQOL-AGE questionnaire is a 13-item test and was employed to assess the quality of life in the three considered countries. First of all, two models (a bifactor model and a two-correlated factor model) were proposed and tested in each country by means of confirmatory factor models. Second, measurement invariance across the three countries was tested using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis for that model which showed the best fit. Finally, differences in latent mean scores across countries were analyzed. The results indicated that the bifactor model showed more satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices than the two-correlated factor model and that the WHOQOL-AGE questionnaire is a partially scalar invariant instrument (only two items do not meet scalar invariance). Quality of life scores were higher in Finland (considered as the reference category: mean = 0, SD = 1) than in Spain (mean = - 0.547, SD = 1.22) and Poland (mean = - 0.927, SD = 1.26). Respondents from Finland, Poland, and Spain attribute the same meaning to the latent construct studied, and differences across countries can be due to actual differences in quality of life. According to the results, the comparability across the different considered samples is supported and the WHOQOL-AGE showed an adequate validity in terms of cross-country validation. Caution should be exercised with the two items which did not meet scalar invariance, as potential indicator of differential item functioning.

Is it possible to develop a cross-country test of social interaction?

Objective: The Evaluation of Social Interaction (ESI) is used in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. What is considered to be appropriate social interaction, however, differs amongst countries. If social interaction varies, the relative difficulty of the ESI items and types of social exchange also could vary, resulting in differential item functioning (DIF) and test bias in the form of differential test functioning (DTF). Yet, because the ESI scoring criteria are designed to account for culture, the ESI should be free of DIF and DTF. The purpose, therefore, was to determine whether the ESI demonstrates DIF or DTF related to country.Methods: A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study of 9811 participants 2–102 years, 55% female, from 12 countries was conducted using many-facet Rasch analyses. DIF analyses compared paired item and social exchange type values by country against a critical effect size (±0.55 logit). DTF analyses compared paired ESI measures by country to 95% confidence intervals.Results: All paired social exchange types and 98.3% of paired items differed by less than ±0.55 logit. All persons fell within 95% confidence intervals.Conclusions: Minimal DIF resulted in no test bias, supporting the cross-country validity of the ESI.

An Empirical Investigation of Brand Equity: A Cross-Country Validation Analysis

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to propose and test a model in order to better understand brand equity. The goal of this research is to identify the drivers and determine how they influence brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to develop a more effective brand strategy. Quantitative data collected are used to test a model of brand value in the context of the food industry. The findings of this research provided evidence that the customer-based brand equity model can be applied to the food industry context and be used to guide marketing activities internationally. Brand awareness has a positive influence on brand associations and perceived quality. Brand associations have a positive influence on brand loyalty. Finally, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations all have a positive effect on brand equity. This study contributes to the scarce international brand equity literature by testing the proposed model using data from a sample of consumers in two European countries.

Cross-Country Validation of a Cultural Scale in Measuring Trust in Automation

Human automation interaction is a complex process. How autonomous assistance impacts trust in automation as well as how trust affects human calibration and use of automation has been investigated for both dynamic contexts, including the internal variables (e.g., cultural characteristics) and external factors (e.g., system settings). Having standardized measures to capture trust and its antecedents is particularly critical to understanding how factors associated with the human operators and autonomous applications affects the way they are used. This paper reports the development of a trust instrument and several rounds of cross-country validation, including U.S., German, Taiwanese, and Turkish populations. The results confirm that the instrument which was developed reliably measured human trust in automation across cultures.

Consumer susceptibility to credit card misuse and indebtedness

Purpose – Prior research suggests that payment mechanisms are imbued with cues that affect purchase evaluation and future spending behavior. Credit cards are distinguished from other payment mechanisms as they elicit greater willingness to spend, prompt weaker recollections of past credit expenses and overvaluation of available funds – a phenomena the authors call as “credit card effect.” Little is known about the individuals’ differential exposure to the credit card effect. The purpose of this paper is to present a new concept and measure of susceptibility to the credit card misuse and indebtedness (SCCMI). Design/methodology/approach – The study focussed on young credit card users (aged 18-25) from Malaysia, Singapore, and the UK as they represent varying levels of credit card issuance and consumer protection regulations. The authors conducted confirmatory factor analysis and invariance tests to assess the validity, reliability and parsimony of the proposed scale in the three countries. Further, the authors examined the prediction power of SCCMI on consumer tendency to become a revolving credit card debtor. Findings – Results show that the SCCMI scale is valid, reliable and parsimonious across the multi-country context. The paper provided additional validity support through known-group comparison among various payers of credit card bills. Research limitations/implications – The convenience sampling used for the study is the main limitation. The findings bear important implications for more socially responsible marketing practice and better public policies in credit carder regulation for protecting young credit card users. Practical implications – The new concept and measurement scale can be used for identifying the vulnerable individuals in credit card use, assisting consumer knowledge training, improving policies for credit card regulation, and helping credit card providers in socially responsible marketing practice. Social implications – The cross-country validity of the SCCMI scale provides a unique contribution for monitoring and auditing consumer vulnerability in credit card misuse in Asian and European market conditions. Originality/value – SCCMI offers an original concept that is distinct from previous research in that SCCMI focusses solely on the state of likelihood to commit credit card abuse rather than the behavioral manifestations of credit card misuse. SCCMI provides a new tool for marketers and public policy makers for ethically responsible credit card marketing and regulation to protect youths’ benefits.

Brands as Signals: A Cross-Country Validation Study

This article tests how well the information economics view of brand equity explains consumer brand choice in countries that represent different cultural dimensions. In this empirical analysis, the authors use survey and experimental data on orange juice and personal computers collected from respondents in Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. The results provide strong empirical evidence across countries for the role of brands as signals of product positions. In addition, the positive effect of brand credibility on choice is greater for consumers who rate high on either collectivism or uncertainty avoidance. Credible brands provide more value to collectivist consumers because such consumers perceive these brands as being of higher quality (i.e., reinforcing group identity). Credible brands provide more value to high-uncertainty-avoidance consumers because such brands have lower perceived risk and information costs.

Brands as Signals: A Cross-Country Validation Study

Abstract This article tests how well the information economics view of brand equity explains consumer brand choice in countries that represent different cultural dimensions. In this empirical analysis, the authors use survey and experimental data on orange juice and personal computers collected from respondents in Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. The results provide strong empirical evidence across countries for the role of brands as signals of product positions. In addition, the positive effect of brand credibility on choice is greater for consumers who rate high on either collectivism or uncertainty avoidance. Credible brands provide more value to collectivist consumers because such consumers perceive these brands as being of higher quality (i.e., reinforcing group identity). Credible brands provide more value to high-uncertainty-avoidance consumers because such brands have lower perceived risk and information costs.