SELIGMAN'S LEARNED HELPLESSNESS: ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCT VALIDITY BY A MULTITRAIT-MULTIMETHOD MATRIX.
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 208
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The concept of control has received considerable attention in health related literature from one theoretical perspective or another. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the construct, Learned Helplessness, by exploring its similarity or dissimilarity to constructs felt to be conceptually related: Rotter's Locus of Control and Burger's Desire for Control. Analysis of convergent and divergent validity was accomplished employing the Campbell and Fiske Multitrait-Multimethod matrix. Likert and semantic differential formats were selected because of their acknowledged appropriateness for the measurement of attitudes. Two phases of data collection, a pilot phase and a study phase, were conducted with undergraduate university student populations. Refined scale Alphas ranged from.48 to.93 with the semantic differential format scales consistently higher than the Likert format scales regardless of the construct being measured. Evidence for preliminary construct validity was obtained using an alpha method factor analysis. Construct validity for Learned Helplessness was tested by the extent of agreement between scores generated by the two response formats. Divergent validity was examined through hypothesized relationships where learned helplessness, locus of control and desire for control were measured by the same response format. Divergent validity was also examined through hypothesized relationships where neither construct nor method was in common. Neither convergent nor divergent construct validity was supported for Learned Helplessness. Additional efforts at construct validation were recommended including continued instrument development and the use of populations, other than university students, in a variety of settings. Examination of the state/trait nature of each construct was also recommended.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-08, Section: B, page: 3100.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1986.

School code: 0815.