The Psychometric Properties of the Adlerian Courage Scale in a Sample of Turkish Adolescents

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 70, 407 - 417, 30.09.2023

Öykü Altıntaş Atay , Nazife Üzbe Atalay , Figen Çok

https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1337002.10

Abstract

Courage has received considerable attention in recent years. However, courage research has been limited due to a lack of appropriate measurement tools for adolescents. In this field, there is a measurement tool for courage from an Adlerian perspective for adults, but it is lacking for adolescents. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Adlerian Courage Scale – Adolescents Form within an adolescent sample in Türkiye. The scale was administered to 618 Turkish adolescents aged between 14-18. The confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the scale's one-dimensional structure was confirmed with high factor loadings for the items. Additionally, the internal reliability coefficient (α = .93) and test-retest reliability score (.95) illustrated that the items of the scale were reliable. Overall, considering reliability and validity results, the findings suggested that Adlerian Courage Scale – Adolescent Form is a valid and reliable measure to investigate the concept of courage in the context of positive psychology within the Turkish adolescent context.

Keywords

Courage, adolescence, scale adaptation, validity, reliability

References

• Acock, A. C. (2013). Discovering structural equation modeling using STATA. STATA Press.
• Adler, A. (2013). The science of living. (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203386750
• Adler, A. (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. H. L. Ansbacher & R. R. Ansbacher (Eds.). Harper Torchbooks.
• Altıntaş, Ö. (2023). Examining resilience, courage, self-compassion and prosocial behavior tendencies in adolescents with low socio-economic status [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Başkent University.
• Aydoğan, D., Terzi, Ş ., Eşici, H., & Tomar, İ. H. (2012, July 2-4). Validation of resilience scale for Turkish youth and adults [Conference presentation]. 33rd International Conference of the Stress and Anxiety Research Society, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
• Blagen, M., & Yang, J. (2009). A tool of facilitating courage: Hope is a choice [Conference presentation]. ACA Annual Conference & Exhibition, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
• Bockorny, K., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2019). Entrepreneurs' courage, psychological capital, and life satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 789. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00789
• Bowen, A. (2016). Encouragement and adjustment: Investigation of the relationship between Adlerian encouragement and military resilience [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Adler University.
• Chiesi, F., Vizza, D., Valente, M., Bruno, R., Lau, C., Campagna, M. R., Lo Iacono, M. & Bruno, F. (2022). Positive personal resources and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: resilience, optimism, hope, courage, trait mindfulness, and self-efficacy in breast cancer patients and survivors. Supportive Care in Cancer, 30(8), 7005–7014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07123-1
• Coleman, J. & Hagell, A. (2007). Adolescence, risk and resilience: Against the odds. John Wiley & Sons.
• Crandall, J.E. (1980). Adler’s concept of social interest: Theory, measurement, and implication for adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 481-95. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.481
• Dahlsgaard, K., Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Shared virtue: The convergence of valued human strengths across culture and history. Review of General Psychology, 9(3), 203–213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.203
• Daniel, K. (2009). What is the good life? A place for positive psychology [Unpublished Distinguished Majors Thesis]. University of Virginia.
• De Vellis, R. F. (2003). Scale development: Theory and applications (2nd ed., Vol. 26). Sage Publications.
• Dinkmeyer, D. C., & Dreikurs, R. (2000). Encouraging children to learn. Psychology Press.
• Embury, P. S. & Saklofske, H. D. (2014). Resilience interventions for youth in diverse populations. Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0542-3
• Ergüner-Tekinalp, B. & Işık, Ş. (2021). Positive psychology applications in education (5. Ed.). Pegem.
• Erkuş, A. (2014). Psikolojide ölçme ve ölçek geliştirme-I: Temel kavramlar ve işlemler [Measurement and scale development in psychology-I: Fundamental concepts and procedures]. Pegem.
• Grau, P.P., Melchert, T.P., Garnier-Villarreal, M., Knobloch-Fedders, L.M., & Wetterneck, C.T. (2021). Change in self-compassion, psychological inflexibility, and interpersonal courage in intensive PTSD treatment: A latent growth curve analysis. Mindfulness, 12(12), 2983-2996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01759-6
• Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (5. Ed.). Sage publications.
• Hannah, S. T., Sweeney, P. J. & Lester, P. B. (2007). Toward a courageous mindset: The subjective act and experience of courage. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701228854
• Hannah, S. T., Sweeney, P. J. & Lester, P. B. (2010). The courageous mind-set: A dynamic personality system approach to courage. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage: Modern research on an ancient virtue. American Psychological Association.
• Howard, M.C. & Alipour, K. K. (2014). Does the courage measure really measure courage? A theoretical and empirical evaluation. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9, 449-459. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.910828
• Karcher, M. J. & Lindwall, J. (2003). Social interest, connectedness, and challenging experiences: What makes high school mentors persist? Journal of Individual Psychology, 59(3), 294-315.
• Kaynak, Ü. & Işık, Ş. (2022). Development of the Social Interest Scale for Turkish adolescents. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 78(2), 221-237. https://doi.org/10.1353/jip.2022.0026
• Kline, R.B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Press.
• Lodi, E., Perrella, L., Zarbo, R. & Patrizi, P. (2022). Courage as mediator between positive resources and general/domain-specific well-Being indices. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 12(8), 1067–1081. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12080076
• Maddi, S. R. (2004). Hardiness: An operationalization of existential courage. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 44(3), 279-298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167804266101
• Maddi, S. R. (2006a). Hardiness: The courage to grow from stress. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3), 160-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760600619609
• Maddi, S. R. (2006b). Hardiness: The courage to be resilient. In M. Hersen & J. C. Thomas (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of personality and psychopathology (pp. 306-321). John Wiley & Sons.
• Magnano, P., Lodi, E., Zammitti, A. & Patrizi, P. (2021). Courage, career adaptability, and readiness as resources to improve well-being during the university-to-work transition in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062919
• Malhotra, N.K. & Dash, S. (2011). Marketing research: An applied orientation (6th ed.), Pearson.
• Manaster, G., Cemalciler, Z. & Knill, M. (2003). Social interest, the individual and society: practical and theoretical considerations. Journal of Individual Psychology, 59(2), 109- 122.
• Marcoulides, G. A., & Schumacker, R. E. (Eds.). (2001). New developments and techniques in structural equation modeling (1st ed.). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410601858
• Masten, A. S., Best, K. M., Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 425-444.
• Niemiec, R. M., & Pearce, R. (2021). The practice of character strengths: Unifying definitions, principles, and exploration of what's soaring, emerging, and ripe with potential in science and in practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 590220. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590220
• Norton, P. J. & Weiss, B. J. (2009). The role of courage on behavioral approach in a fear eliciting situation: A proof-of-concept pilot study. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 212–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.07.002
• Nunnally, J. C. & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3. ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (7th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003117452
• Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
• Pury, C. L., Kowalski, R. M., & Spearman, J. (2007). Distinctions between general and personal courage. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701237962
• Rareshide, M. & Kern, R. (1991). Social interest: The haves and have nots. Individual Psychology: Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research and Practice, 47(4), 464-476.
• Sandage, S. J. ve Hill, P. C. (2001). The virtues of positive psychology: The rapprochement and challenges of an affirmative postmodern perspective. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 31, 3, 214-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00157
• Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Muller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research, 8, 23-74. https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12784
• Scheel, M. J., Davis, C. K., & Henderson, J. D. (2013). Therapist use of client strengths: A qualitative study of positive processes. The Counseling Psychologist, 41(3), 392–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000012439427
• Seligman, M. E. P. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.5
• Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N. & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress. American Psychologist, 60, 410-421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410
• Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. S. (2015). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson Longman.
• Ungar, M. & Liebenberg, L. (2011). Assessing resilience across cultures using mixed methods: Construction of the child and youth resilience measure. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 5, 126–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/155868981140060
• Üzbe-Atalay, N. (2019). Resilience, courage, perceived stress, and perceived social support in LGBT individuals. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Gazi University.
• Wetterneck, C. T., Lee, E. B., Smith, A. H. & Hart, J. M. (2013). Courage, self-compassion, and values in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2, 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2013.09.002
• Wong, Y. J. (2006). Strength-centered therapy: A social constructionist, virtues-based psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(2), 133-146. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.43.2.133
• Woodard, C. R. & Pury, C. L. S. (2007). The construct of courage categorization and measurement. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(2), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.59.2.135
• Woodard, C. R. (2004). Hardiness and the concept of courage. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 56(3), 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.56.3.173
• Yang, J., Milliren A. & Blagen, M. (2009). The psychology of courage: An Adlerian handbook for healthy social living. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203893517