Scales with varying degrees of measurement reliability are often used in the context of multistage sampling, where variance exists at multiple levels of analysis (e.g., individual and group). Because methodological guidance on assessing and reporting reliability at multiple levels of analysis is currently lacking, we discuss the importance of examining level-specific reliability. We present a simulation study and an applied example showing different methods for estimating multilevel reliability using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis and provide supporting Mplus program code. We conclude that (a) single-level estimates will not reflect a scale's actual reliability unless reliability is identical at each level of analysis, (b) 2-level alpha and composite reliability (omega) perform relatively well in most settings, (c) estimates of maximal reliability (H) were more biased when estimated using multilevel data than either alpha or omega, and (d) small cluster size can lead to overestimates of reliability at the between level of analysis. We also show that Monte Carlo confidence intervals and Bayesian credible intervals closely reflect the sampling distribution of reliability estimates under most conditions. We discuss the estimation of credible intervals using Mplus and provide R code for computing Monte Carlo confidence intervals.

Interests in the strengths of youth, the plasticity of human development, and the concept of resilience coalesced in the 1990s to foster the development of the concept of positive youth development ( PYD ). As discussed by Hamilton (1999), the concept of PYD was understood in at least three interrelated but nevertheless different ways: (1) as a developmental process; (2) as a philosophy or approach to youth programming; and (3) as instances of youth programs and organizations focused on fostering the healthy or positive development of youth. We use concepts drawn from relational developmental systems theories and the tripartite conception of PYD suggested by Hamilton as frames to review the literature on (a) the different theoretical models of the PYD developmental process; (b) philosophical ideas about, or conceptual approaches to, the nature of youth programming with a special emphasis on the model of PYD with the most extensive empirical support, the Five Cs Model of PYD ; and (c) key instances of programs aimed at promoting PYD. We also discuss the conceptual and practical problems in integrating these three facets of PYD scholarship, and conclude by explaining why understanding complex development requires multimethod integration as well as an integration of ideographic and nomothetic perspectives.

As developmental scientists seek to index the strengths of adolescents and adopt the positive youth development (PYD) perspective, psychometrically sound measurement tools will be needed to assess adolescents' positive attributes. Using a series of exploratory factor analyses and CFA models, this research creates short and very short versions of the scale used to measure the Five Cs of PYD in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. We created separate forms for earlier versus later adolescence and ensured that items displayed sufficient conceptual overlap across forms to support tests of factorial invariance. We discuss implications for further scale development and advocate for the use of these convenient tools, especially in research and applications pertinent to the Five Cs model of PYD. AbstractAs developmental scientists seek to index the strengths of adolescents and adopt the Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective, psychometrically sound measurement tools will be needed to assess adolescents' positive attributes. Using a series of EFA and CFA models, this research creates short and very short versions of the scale used to measure the Five Cs of PYD in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. We created separate forms for earlier versus later adolescence and ensured that items displayed sufficient conceptual overlap across forms to support tests of factorial invariance. We discuss implications for further scale development and advocate for the use of these convenient tools, especially in research and applications pertinent to the Five Cs model of PYD.Keywords: positive youth development, scale validation, short form, five Cs DEVELOPMENT OF SHORT PYD SCALES 3The Creation and Validation of Short and Very Short Measures of PYD Over the past two decades, the development and use of positive indicators of child wellbeing have increased substantially (Lippman et al., 2011;O'Hare, 2012). The primary movement framing this work has been the positive youth development (PYD; J. Lerner, Phelps, Forman, & Bowers, 2009; J. Lerner et al., 2012) perspective. PYD has been conceptualized in several ways and several theoretical frameworks have been posited (for a review, see J. Lerner et al., 2012).As these models become more popular with individuals working to enhance the positive growth of young people (Beets et al., 2009;Duerden, Witt, Fernandez, Bryant, & Theriault, 2012;; Kurtines et al., 2008), it is important that they are empirically useful, can be widely applied, and include constructs that are specific and measurable. However, these models are just beginning to be tested and there is still a great need for indicators of many instantiations of PYD (Lippman et al., 2011;O'Hare, 2012). Recent work has attempted to evaluate youth development frameworks (Heck & Subramaniam, 2009) The purpose of this report is to provide information about a questionnaire developed to assess PYD based on the Lerner and Lerner Five Cs Model of PYD (Bowers et al., 2010;Lerner et al., 2005). This approach employs...

The present study explored the bidirectional and longitudinal associations between executive function (EF) and early academic skills (math and literacy) across 4 waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten using 2 complementary analytical approaches: cross-lagged panel modeling and latent growth curve modeling (LCGM). Participants included 424 children (49% female). On average, children were approximately 4.5 years old at the beginning of the study (M = 4.69, SD = .30) and 55% were enrolled in Head Start. Cross-lagged panel models indicated bidirectional relations between EF and math over preschool, which became directional in kindergarten with only EF predicting math. Moreover, there was a bidirectional relation between math and literacy that emerged in kindergarten. Similarly, LGCM revealed correlated growth between EF and math as well as math and literacy, but not EF and literacy. Exploring the patterns of relations across the waves of the panel model in conjunction with the patterns of relations between intercepts and slopes in the LGCMs led to a more nuanced understanding of the relations between EF and academic skills across preschool and kindergarten. Implications for future research on instruction and intervention development are discussed.