The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SEL
b
) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures that were developed to efficiently assess the SEL competencies of school-age youth in the United ...States. Recently, the SSIS SEL
b
was translated into multiple languages for use in a multi-site study across six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania). The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and predictive evidence for the SEL Composite scores from the translated versions of the SSIS SEL
b
Scales. Results indicated that SSIS SEL
b
Composite scores demonstrated expected positive concurrent and predictive relationships with scores from the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and negative relationships with scores from the problem behavior scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Although there were a few exceptions, these patterns generally were consistent across informants (parents, teachers, and students) and samples providing initial validity evidence for the Composite score from the translated versions of the SSIS SEL
b
Scales. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Objectives:
Based on Sardjito Hospital surveillance data in 2020, the incidence of SSI in orthopedic implant surgery was 46 cases (4.7%), mostly in the outpatient clinic. We evaluated some of the ...potential risks and proposed redesign of infection prevention and control measures in April 2021 to improve the overall clean care at the orthopedic outpatient clinic.
Methods:
We conducted an operational study to redesign various components of clean care using a before-and-after evaluation of infection risk. The study was led by an IPC nurse and was supported by all levels of stakeholders at Sardjito Hospital, a referral and academic hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, during May–September 2021.
Results:
The redesigned components covered continuing professional development (CPD) through a workshop on clean care and wound care for doctors and nurses. The workshop also encouraged high-level management to make several important changes: (1) to redistribute medical staff schedules, (2) to start online patient registration to better distribute and decrease patient loads, (3) to set up the waiting room as well as the dressing room with strictly separate between dirty and clean areas, (4) to schedule daily general disinfection at noon during service hours, and (5) to perform routine air disinfection after daily clinic services as well as placing an additional portable HEPA filter for continuous air disinfection. After the these changes, during 2021, 7 SSIs occurred among postoperative orthopedic implant patients, a decrease of 85%. We observed more clean and neat rooms without patient overcrowding as well as easy and comfortable flow of patients and staff. Environmental pathogen germ counts decreased significantly.
Conclusions:
A redesign project at the orthopedic outpatient clinic reduced the incidence of postoperative SSIs and reduced the number of environmental pathogens. Overall clean care is a basic strategy in IPC for improving patient safety.
The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) screening tool has not previously been used to evaluate risk for gambling disorder (GD). We aimed to assess the level at which ...each specific substance involvement score (SSIS), measured by ASSIST, most optimally predicted GD among U.S. college students. Data were analyzed for 141,769 students from the National College Health Assessment (fall 2019-spring 2021) utilizing multivariable logistic regression models. Sensitivities and specificities were utilized to find optimal cutoffs that best identified those with GD, overall and by biological sex and age group. Lower threshold of substance risk related to prescription opioids, cocaine, and hallucinogens (all with SSIS cutoffs of 4) predicts gambling disorder compared to sedatives (SSIS cutoff of 19). Younger students had lower thresholds of substance risk predicting GD than older students for heroin, but for all other substance classifications students 25 years and older had lower thresholds of SSIS predicting GD than students 18-24 years old. This study aids in the understanding that substance use behavior may put students at risk for other addictive behaviors such as GD. This study is the first to utilize the ASSIST tool to predict GD among U.S. college students, extending its application beyond substance use disorders. The identification of optimal cutoffs for each SSIS provides a novel approach to concurrently screen for GD and substance use disorders. This unique contribution could enhance early detection and intervention strategies for GD in the college student population.
Since its development over a decade ago, the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) has been one of the most widely used measures of social skills in children. However, evidence of its structural ...validity has been scant. The current study examined the original seven-factor and more recent five-factor structure (SSIS-SEL) of the self-report SSIS in a sample of English elementary school students (N = 3,331) aged 8 to 10 years (M = 8.66, SD = 0.59). A problematic fit was found for both structures with poor discriminant validity. Using exploratory graph analysis and bifactor-(S − 1) modeling, we found support for a four-factor structure, the variation of which was captured by a general factor defined by “empathy and prosocial skills.” Future researchers, particularly those interested in using specific domains of the SSIS, are urged to assess its structure in their studies, if their findings are to be theoretically meaningful.
Measurement Invariance of Children's SEL Competencies Anthony, Christopher J.; Lei, Pui-Wa; Elliott, Stephen N. ...
European journal of psychological assessment : official organ of the European Association of Psychological Assessment,
05/2024, Volume:
40, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Although children use social and emotional learning
skills (SEL) across the world, the expression of these skills may vary across
cultures and developmental levels. Such variability complicates the ...process of
assessing SEL competencies with consequences for understanding differences in
SEL skills and developing interventions. To address these challenges, the
current study examined the measurement invariance of translated versions of a
brief, multi-informant (Teacher, Parent, Student) measure of SEL skills
developed in the US with data from six European countries (Croatia, Greece,
Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania; n = 10,602;
8,520; 6,611, for the SSIS SELb - Teacher, Parent, and
Student versions, respectively). In addition to cross-country invariance
testing, we conducted measurement invariance testing across ages (Primary and
Secondary students) for the Teacher and Student forms of the measure. Results
revealed a high degree of measurement invariance across countries (Scalar for
the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the Parent and Student form) and
developmental levels (Scalar for the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the
Student form), supporting the use of translated versions of the SSIS
SELb for international research across these countries and
developmental levels. Implications are discussed for assessment and promoting
children's SEL competencies globally.
Efficient and intuitive interpretive frameworks for social-emotional learning (SEL) measures are necessary for identifying student needs and informing programming decisions across multitiered systems ...of support in schools. Though familiar to educators and often used with standardized tests of academic achievement, criterion-referenced frameworks are less common in SEL assessment. As such, the current study examined the psychometric evidence for scores from one such framework, the Competency-Referenced Performance Framework, which was developed to inform universal screening decisions based on the SSIS SEL Brief Scales (Elliott et al., 2020). Specifically, we evaluated stability, test-criterion relationships with academic outcomes, and treatment sensitivity of the CRPF using data from an efficacy trial of a universal SEL program. Results provided preliminary supportive evidence for the CRPF.
•LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ youths rated brief, online interventions as equally acceptable.•Hopelessness, agency, and self-hate improved pre- to postprogram equally across groups.•LGBTQ+ youths view ...online single-session mental health supports as acceptable and useful.
Barriers such as stigma, financial costs, and provider shortages prevent large portions of youth with depression and related difficulties from accessing treatment; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning sexual orientation, or other non-heterosexual identity (LGBTQ+) youth are burdened with additional barriers related to minority stress. Single-session interventions (SSIs) have been found to benefit youth and help reduce depression symptoms, and since many SSIs are brief, cost-free, and accessible online, they may circumvent several access barriers. However, prior to recommending non-community-tailored SSIs as a useful resource for minoritized youths, we first assessed whether LGBTQ+ youth respond as positively to SSIs as do cisgender heterosexual youth. In a subsample of youths recruited via online advertisements from September 2019 to August 2020 (N = 258, 81.4% female-assigned sex at birth, 60.5% LGBTQ+, 47.3% youth of color), we investigated whether changes in hopelessness, agency, and self-hate from before to after completing online self-directed SSIs differed as a function of LGBTQ+ identity. We also quantitatively and qualitatively compared intervention acceptability ratings and feedback across LGBTQ+ and cisgender heterosexual youths. Analyses revealed no significant differences between cisgender LGBQ+, trans and gender diverse, and cisgender heterosexual youths for any intervention outcomes. Likewise, no group differences emerged in intervention acceptability ratings or written program feedback. Self-selection bias and underrepresentation of certain populations, such as American Indian and Alaskan Native youths, may limit generalizability of results. Results suggest that online mental health SSIs are equally acceptable and useful to LGBTQ+ and cisgender heterosexual youth alike, even prior to culturally specific tailoring.
Although there is increased interest in social and emotional competence and mental health in Croatia, there are currently limited measurement options available for early childhood settings. Thus, the ...SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb), an efficient measure of social and emotional learning competencies developed in the United States, was translated to Croatian and used by 49 early childhood educators to rate a sample of 685 children (average age 4.3 years) from several counties in Croatia. Regarding measurement invariance, the final model cohered substantially with a CASEL-inspired framework. Overall reliability was also high especially for the SEL Composite (α = .94), with notably lower reliability for subscales. Regarding cross-group concurrent validity, concurrent coefficients were largely similar across age and gender, but there were regional differences in validity. Likewise, validity correlations were in line with expectations, with moderate relationships observed between the SSIS SEL Composite and Child and Youth Resilience Measure scores. In sum, the high level of reliability provided a foundation for applied and research usage of the Croatian SSIS SELb, although further validation research will continue to be necessary before widescale implementation. Limitations to the study are discussed and also point to needed additional research before utilizing the Croatian translated SSIS SELb for applied decisions with young children.
This paper proposes a method of open-loop modal analysis to examine the subsynchronous interactions (SSIs) introduced by the converter control in an ac power system integrated with a multiterminal dc ...network. A control loop of the voltage source converters (VSCs) is selected to derive a closed-loop interconnected model, wherein the selected control loop and the rest of the power system are modeled as two interconnected open-loop subsystems. The analysis in this paper indicates that under the condition of open-loop modal proximity, strong SSIs may be introduced by the selected VSC control loop. It is very likely that the strong SSIs may degrade the damping of power system subsynchronous oscillations (SSOs). It is proposed that the damping degradation be estimated by calculating the open-loop SSO residues. Hence, the modal analysis for the open-loop subsystems can identify the open-loop modal proximity and estimate the degree of stability degradation under the condition of open-loop modal proximity. In addition, the VSC control loops and the synchronous generators contributing to the stability degradation can be identified. The application of the proposed method of open-loop modal analysis is demonstrated through example power systems in this paper.
Although interest in social‐emotional learning (SEL) is growing, there are few efficient measures of SEL constructs, especially those of the popular CASEL Framework. To address this need, the SSIS ...SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) were developed. Initial evidence for the SSIS SELb is promising, but evidence is needed for its structural validity. The purpose of this study was to provide such evidence. We used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate six plausible structures of the SSIS SELb‐Teacher (n = 643) and SSIS SELb‐Student (n = 530) forms with a large sample collected from two Midwestern private/parochial schools. Results indicated each of the models were defensible, but all models pointed to the conclusion that applied use should focus on the overall SEL Composite score. Findings provided support for the SSIS SELb Scales and indicated the need for future research better explicating the theoretical specifics of the CASEL Framework.
Highlights
The study provided evidence of the structural validity of the SSIS SEL Brief Scales – Teacher and Student Forms, two efficient, multi‐rater assessments of Social Emotional Learning competencies.
Using a large sample of private school students, results suggested that multiple structures were plausible for the SSIS SEL Brief Scales, including hierarchical, correlated factors, and bifactor structures.
Applied use should focus on the SSIS SEL Composite as recommended by the test publishers and future research is needed both on the structure of the SSIS SEL Brief scales and the theoretical implications of the CASEL framework.
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