IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0295562.html

Self-report assessment of Positive Appraisal Style (PAS): Development of a process-focused and a content-focused questionnaire for use in mental health and resilience research

Author

Listed:
  • Papoula Petri-Romão
  • Haakon Engen
  • Anna Rupanova
  • Lara Puhlmann
  • Matthias Zerban
  • Rebecca J Neumann
  • Aliaksandr Malyshau
  • Kira F Ahrens
  • Anita Schick
  • Bianca Kollmann
  • Michèle Wessa
  • Henrik Walker
  • Michael M Plichta
  • Andreas Reif
  • Andrea Chmitorz
  • Oliver Tuescher
  • Ulrike Basten
  • Raffael Kalisch

Abstract

Positive Appraisal Style Theory of Resilience posits that a person’s general style of evaluating stressors plays a central role in mental health and resilience. Specifically, a tendency to appraise stressors positively (positive appraisal style; PAS) is theorized to be protective of mental health and thus a key resilience factor. To this date no measures of PAS exist. Here, we present two scales that measure perceived positive appraisal style, one focusing on cognitive processes that lead to positive appraisals in stressful situations (PASS-process), and the other focusing on the appraisal contents (PASS-content). For PASS-process, the items of the existing questionnaires Brief COPE and CERQ-short were analyzed in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA, CFA) in independent samples (N = 1157 and N = 1704). The resulting 10-item questionnaire was internally consistent (α = .78, 95% CI [.86, .87]) and showed good convergent and discriminant validity in comparisons with self-report measures of trait optimism, neuroticism, urgency, and spontaneity. For PASS-content, a newly generated item pool of 29 items across stressor appraisal content dimensions (probability, magnitude, and coping potential) were subjected to EFA and CFA in two independent samples (N = 1174 and N = 1611). The resulting 14-item scale showed good internal consistency (α = .87, 95% CI [.86, .87]), as well as good convergent and discriminant validity within the nomological network. The two scales are a new and reliable way to assess self-perceived positive appraisal style in large-scale studies, which could offer key insights into mechanisms of resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Papoula Petri-Romão & Haakon Engen & Anna Rupanova & Lara Puhlmann & Matthias Zerban & Rebecca J Neumann & Aliaksandr Malyshau & Kira F Ahrens & Anita Schick & Bianca Kollmann & Michèle Wessa & Henrik, 2024. "Self-report assessment of Positive Appraisal Style (PAS): Development of a process-focused and a content-focused questionnaire for use in mental health and resilience research," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(2), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0295562
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295562
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295562
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295562&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0295562?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fabio Alexis Rincón Uribe & Cristian Ariel Neira Espejo & Janari da Silva Pedroso, 2022. "The Role of Optimism in Adolescent Mental Health: A Systematic Review," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 815-845, February.
    2. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    3. John Horn, 1965. "A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 30(2), pages 179-185, June.
    4. Patrick Ring & Christian Kaernbach, 2015. "Sensitivity towards Fear of Electric Shock in Passive Threat Situations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-11, March.
    5. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    6. Raffael Kalisch & Dewleen G. Baker & Ulrike Basten & Marco P. Boks & George A. Bonanno & Eddie Brummelman & Andrea Chmitorz & Guillén Fernàndez & Christian J. Fiebach & Isaac Galatzer-Levy & Elbert Ge, 2017. "The resilience framework as a strategy to combat stress-related disorders," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(11), pages 784-790, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvia Mariela Méndez-Prado & Vanessa Rodriguez & Kevin Peralta-Rizzo & Patricia Everaert & Martin Valcke, 2023. "An Assessment Tool to Identify the Financial Literacy Level of Financial Education Programs Participants’ Executed by Ecuadorian Financial Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Holendro Singh Chungkham & Constanze Leineweber & Linda Magnusson Hanson & Hugo Westerlund & Göran Kecklund, 2025. "The Long-Lasting Stress Scale (LLSS): Psychometric evaluation of a brief stress scale in the SLOSH cohort study," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 46(3), pages 766-785, August.
    3. Md. Mominur Rahman & Bilkis Akhter, 2021. "The impact of investment in human capital on bank performance: evidence from Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Andreea-Ionela Puiu & Anca Monica Ardeleanu & Camelia Cojocaru & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Exploring the Effect of Status Quo, Innovativeness, and Involvement Tendencies on Luxury Fashion Innovations: The Mediation Role of Status Consumption," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Allen, Jaime & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2019. "On evasion behaviour in public transport: Dissatisfaction or contagion?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 626-651.
    6. Sai-fu Fung & Esther Oi-wah Chow & Chau-kiu Cheung, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of a Brief Wisdom Development Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Elise Verot & Paul Bonjean & Robin Chaux & Julie Gagnaire & Amandine Gagneux-Brunon & Bruno Pozzetto & Philippe Berthelot & Elisabeth Botelho-Nevers & Franck Chauvin, 2022. "Development and Validation of the COVID-19 Knowledges and Behavior Questionnaire in a French Population (CoVQuest-CC)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Zaitun Mohd Saman & Ab Hamid Siti-Azrin & Azizah Othman & Yee Cheng Kueh, 2021. "The Validity and Reliability of the Malay Version of the Cyberbullying Scale among Secondary School Adolescents in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-12, November.
    9. Hauck, Jana & Suess-Reyes, Julia & Beck, Susanne & Prügl, Reinhard & Frank, Hermann, 2016. "Measuring socioemotional wealth in family-owned and -managed firms: A validation and short form of the FIBER Scale," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 133-148.
    10. Md. Nazmul Hasan & Naznine Akter, 2023. "Determinants of academic major choice: a comparative study of business programs in Bangladesh," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(9), pages 416-427, December.
    11. Bednall, Timothy Colin, 2025. "Variance Explained (Vx): A General, Model-Based Approach for Explaining and Partitioning Variance," OSF Preprints us346, Center for Open Science.
    12. Leonie Kuen & Fiona Schürmann & Daniel Westmattelmann & Sophie Hartwig & Shay Tzafrir & Gerhard Schewe, 2023. "Trust transfer effects and associated risks in telemedicine adoption," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Vitor Ciampolini & Fernando Santos & Ricardo Teixeira Quinaud & Martin Camiré & Maurício de Oliveira Migliano & Juarez Vieira do Nascimento & Michel Milistetd, 2021. "Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Coaching Life Skills in Sport Questionnaire," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    14. Carlos Miguel Lemos & Ross Joseph Gore & Ivan Puga-Gonzalez & F LeRon Shults, 2019. "Dimensionality and factorial invariance of religiosity among Christians and the religiously unaffiliated: A cross-cultural analysis based on the International Social Survey Programme," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-36, May.
    15. Cromwell, Johnathan R. & Harvey, Jean-François, 2025. "A problem half-solved is a problem well-stated: Increasing the rate of innovation through team problem discovery," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(3).
    16. Fred van Raaij, W. & Riitsalu, Leonore & Põder, Kaire, 2023. "Direct and indirect effects of self-control and future time perspective on financial well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Raveenajit Kaur A. P. & Kalvant Singh & Alberto Luis August, 2021. "Exploring the Factor Structure of the Constructs of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK): An Exploratory Factor Analysis Based on the Perceptions of TESOL Pre-Service Teachers at a British Private University in Malaysia," Research Journal of Education, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 7(2), pages 103-115, 06-2021.
    18. Attanasio, Orazio & Blundell, Richard & Conti, Gabriella & Mason, Giacomo, 2020. "Inequality in socio-emotional skills: A cross-cohort comparison," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    19. Angel M. Dzhambov & Peter Lercher & Drozdstoy Stoyanov & Nadezhda Petrova & Stoyan Novakov & Donka D. Dimitrova, 2021. "University Students’ Self-Rated Health in Relation to Perceived Acoustic Environment during the COVID-19 Home Quarantine," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-21, March.
    20. Simon Foster & Meichun Mohler-Kuo, 2020. "The proportion of non-depressed subjects in a study sample strongly affects the results of psychometric analyses of depression symptoms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0295562. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.