A structural model of well-being, spontaneity and self-efficacy: Italian validation between adolescents and young adults

Abstract

Introduction: The passage from adolescence to young adulthood introduces many challenges and chances aimed at promoting independence, financial self-sufficiency, assumption of responsibilities and separation from parents. Literature shows that in the continuum between these two phases of life, many factors intervene, producing significant differentiations. Methods: This study considered three dimensions - well-being, measured through the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM); spontaneity, measured through the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R); and self-efficacy, measured through the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE). The study involved two groups of Italian participants: 495 adolescents, aged between 13 and 19 years, selected at a high school; and 368 young adults, aged between 18 and 30 years, recruited by snowball sampling. Results: Results of confirmatory factor analysis for each instrument in each group indicate the validity of the three instruments for both age groups. No significant differences were found between adolescents and young adults on total or subtotal scores of the CORE-OM, except for the risk factor. Conversely, the mean scores obtained with SAI-R and GSE were very different between adolescents and young adults. Conclusions: The results of path analysis show a significant mediation of spontaneity in the link between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains for adolescents. Instead, there is a significant mediation of spontaneity between self-efficacy and all specific psychological distress domains except the risk domain for young adults.

Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R): The 3-Factor Hypothesis

“…In our study, SAI-R emerges as a short, versatile, and valid instrument when one intends to evaluate spontaneity. As found in previous studies, both with the English [33]) and non-English versions ( [34][35][36][37] SAI-R showed overall good reliability (with Cronbach's alphas not lower than 0.81 and typically above 0.90), and we could confirm that in the present work. Furthermore, both composite and convergent reliabilities were found.…”

Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R): The 3-Factor Hypothesis

“…In our study, SAI-R emerges as a short, versatile, and valid instrument when one intends to evaluate spontaneity. As found in previous studies, both with the English [7]) and non-English versions ( [15,[32][33][34]] SAI-R showed overall good reliability (with Cronbach's alphas not lower than 0.81 and typically above 0.90), and we could confirm that in the present work. Furthermore, both composite and convergent reliabilities were found.…”

Studying the Efficacy of Psychodrama With the Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design: Results From a Longitudinal Study

“…His results with the spontaneity values go in the same direction. From the point of view of psychodramatic theory and practice, this is a particularly interesting finding, as Moreno strongly related individual spontaneity with general health and wellbeing ( Moreno, 1953 ; Kipper and Shemer, 2006 ; Kipper et al, 2010 ; Gonzalez, 2012 ; Testoni et al, 2016 ). John’s PQ ratings showed a decrease during therapy.…”

“…Revised Spontaneity Assessment Inventory is a scale designed to measure spontaneity ( Kipper and Shemer, 2006 ; work in progress Portuguese version by Gonzalez, 2012 and Martins and Gonzalez, 2018 ). Studies have shown this scale to be positively correlated with various dimensions linked with well-being, and negatively related to measures connected to pathological functioning, thus giving empirical support to Moreno’s (1953) thesis of a positive relationship between spontaneity, creativity, and health ( Kipper and Shemer, 2006 ; Kipper et al, 2010 ; Gonzalez, 2012 ; Testoni et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Revised Spontaneity Assessment Inventory is a scale designed to measure spontaneity ( Kipper and Shemer, 2006 ; work in progress Portuguese version by Gonzalez, 2012 and Martins and Gonzalez, 2018 ). Studies have shown this scale to be positively correlated with various dimensions linked with well-being, and negatively related to measures connected to pathological functioning, thus giving empirical support to Moreno’s (1953) thesis of a positive relationship between spontaneity, creativity, and health ( Kipper and Shemer, 2006 ; Kipper et al, 2010 ; Gonzalez, 2012 ; Testoni et al, 2016 ). The SAI-R questionnaire, like the original SAI ( Kipper and Hundal, 2005 ; Christoforou and Kipper, 2006 ) asks one initial question: “How strongly do you have these feelings and thoughts during a typical day?.” The question is followed by a list of 18 items describing different feelings and thoughts, such as “creative,” “happy,” “excited,” “uninhibited,” “satisfied,” and “do anything within the limits.” The participants are asked to respond using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (very weak) to 5 (very strong).…”