The Development and Validation of a New Measure of Adolescent Purpose

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

This goal of this study was to develop a quantitative measure that captures the dimensions of youth purpose (intention, engagement, and prosocial reasoning; Damon, Menon, and Bronk, 2003), focusing on students’ life goals and aspirations. We tested the construct validity of our new measure using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (B ESEM), assuming that the construct of youth purpose may be best measured as a G factor that allows items to freely cross-load in the model (Morin, Arens, & Marsh, 2016). The G factor model was better fitting than a traditional confirmatory factor analysis or ESEM. Additionally the G factor was correlated with aspects of students’ civic engagement and mastery components of academic achievement motivation. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)47-71
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Experimental Education
Volume88
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2020

Keywords

  • Cognitive processes/development
  • factor analysis
  • goals
  • high school
  • motivation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Development and Validation of a New Measure of Adolescent Purpose'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this