Journal of Individual Differences 

About: Journal of Individual Differences is an academic journal published by Hogrefe Verlag. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Personality & Big Five personality traits. It has an ISSN identifier of 1614-0001. Over the lifetime, 490 publications have been published receiving 11397 citations. The journal is also known as: JID (Göttingen. Internet) & JID.

Gender Differences in Coping Strategies in Children and Adolescents

Abstract: . The present study focuses on gender effects and interactions between gender, type of stressful situation, and age-group in coping strategies in childhood and adolescence. The sample consisted of N = 1990 children and adolescents (957 boys, 1033 girls; grade levels 3-8). Participants responded to a coping questionnaire (Fragebogen zur Erhebung von Stress und Stressbewaltigung im Kindes- und Jugendalter, SSKJ 3-8; Lohaus, Eschenbeck, Kohlmann, & Klein-Hesling, 2006) with the five subscales: seeking social support, problem solving, avoidant coping, palliative emotion regulation, and anger-related emotion regulation. Repeated measures ANOVAs with Gender and Grade Level as the between-subject factors and Situation (social, academic) as the within-subject factor were performed separately for each of the subscales. In general, girls scored higher in seeking social support and problem solving, whereas boys scored higher in avoidant coping. These three main effects were further modified by significant Ge...

Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS): Adaptation and Validation of the German Version and the Development of a Peer-Rating Form

Abstract: The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005a) is an English-language self-report questionnaire that measures 24 widely-valued character strengths. The pres...

Brief Versions of the NEO-PI-3

Abstract: . Self-report (Form S) and observer rating (Form R) versions of two short forms of the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3) were evaluated. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3 is a 60-item instrument that assesses the five factors. The NEO-PI-3 First Half consists of the first 120 items of the NEO-PI-3, selected to optimally assess its 30 facet scales. Internal consistencies were systematically lower for the brief scales than for the parent scales, but both brief instruments replicated the factor structure and showed cross-observer validity. They appeared to work well in both adolescent and adult samples, and adequately in a middle school-age sample. Norms for the NEO-FFI-3 are provided and it was shown that NEO-PI-3 norms can be used for NEO-PI-3 First Half scores if they are simply doubled. Uses of the NEO-PI-3 First Half are discussed.

Short Scales – Five Misunderstandings and Ways to Overcome Them

Abstract: What do we know about short psychological scales? The idea for this special issue of the Journal of Individual Differences was born out of a common interest in short scales, defined as scales measuring a specific psychological construct with fewer than, say, 10 items. All editors of this special issue were recently either active in short scale construction themselves (Kemper, Beierlein, Kovaleva, & Rammstedt, 2013; Ziegler, Kemper, & Rammstedt, 2013) or evaluated the current status of short scales in the field (Kemper, Brahler, & Zenger, 2013; Kruyen, Emons, & Sijtsma, 2012, 2013a, 2013b, 2014). Based on discussions with other scientists about the challenges and caveats of short scales, they felt a strong need to share contemporary issues regarding short scales with a broader scientific audience. This special issue brings together a variety of researchers who have approached the topic of short scales from different angles. It is our ambition to resolve some misunderstandings and open questions regarding the construction, psychometric quality, and use of short scales by bringing together methodological, statistical, and constructionoriented perspectives. We aim at contributing to an ongoing debate regarding the utility as well as caveats concerning the use of short scales for the measurement of individual differences. At the same time we hope to dispel some existing misunderstandings.

Social Support and Successful Aging: Investigating the Relationships Between Lifetime Cognitive Change and Life Satisfaction

Abstract: . Social networks or support may contribute to successful aging. The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 had their mental ability assessed at age 11 and 79. Almost 500 participants also rated their life satisfaction, social networks, and support at age 80. After controlling for age-11 IQ, sex, years of education, and social class, loneliness was the only social network/support characteristic adding significantly to the prediction of age-79 IQ, explaining about 2% of the variance; in old age, increased loneliness was associated with lower cognitive ability. Social network/support factors accounted for 23% of the variance in satisfaction with life ratings, with the greatest contributions from reduced loneliness (~12%) and having someone to talk to (~6%). Social network/support characteristics explained a greater proportion of the variance in life satisfaction ratings compared with later life cognition, although an individual's level of loneliness emerged as the largest single social support predictor of both ...