Tieteellinen ajattelu yliopisto-opinnoissa : haastattelututkimus psykologian, teologian ja farmasian opiskelijoista

The aim of this dissertation is to explore the academic thinking and personal epistemology of university students. More specifically, the aim is to understand and promote students’ research and academic skills as a central goal of academic studies in the research-intensive university of Helsinki. Two of the four studies examine the personal epistemology of psychology students in different study phases, and the variation in personal epistemology among final-year psychology, theology and pharmacy students. Furthermore, personal epistemology was explored as a phenomenon among the student groups. In the fourth study the individual answers of the students interviewed are investigated in more detail. The main focus is on examining students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowledge acquisition as a representation of their personal epistemology. Study I presents a model which describes the main elements and aspects of teaching and learning in pharmacy education. Firstly, the meaning of quality of teaching and learning is explored. On the basis of this information, the study concentrates on the pedagogical implications of changing pharmacy teaching to improve the quality of learning. Study II describes the results of a cross-sectional study of psychology students participating in undergraduate and master’s level psychology programmes. The students (N = 53) were interviewed concerning their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, the aim being to explore students’ responses about thinking and reasoning. The results are analysed using content analysis to create categories of personal epistemology and comparisons among the students according to the phase of their studies. Study III examines interdisciplinary differences in final-year psychology, pharmacy and theology students’ (N = 52) academic thinking and personal epistemology. The aims of study IV are to examine and compare the consistency of personal epistemology profiles among university students (N = 87) representing three academic disciplines. The individual answers are examined and rated on a scale from absolutist to evaluativist thinking. On the basis of this data, three personal epistemology profiles are identified: a) absolutist profiles; b) relativistic profiles; and c) evaluativist profiles consisting of the subgroups entitled “limited” and “sophisticated”. The results of the studies clearly demonstrate that personal epistemology varies between students in different age groups, study phases, and disciplines. Three categories, including several subcategories, emerge to describe the personal epistemology of students. Furthermore, three personal epistemology profiles can be identified from the data. The comparison between students reveals interesting differences and similarities among student groups, and developmental trends of personal epistemology.

Assessing university students' prior knowledge

The aim of this dissertation was to explore how different types of prior knowledge influence student achievement and how different assessment methods influence the observed effect of prior knowledge. The project started by creating a model of prior knowledge which was tested in various science disciplines. Study I explored the contribution of different components of prior knowledge on student achievement in two different mathematics courses. The results showed that the procedural knowledge components which require higher-order cognitive skills predicted the final grades best and were also highly related to previous study success. The same pattern regarding the influence of prior knowledge was also seen in Study III which was a longitudinal study of the accumulation of prior knowledge in the context of pharmacy. The study analysed how prior knowledge from previous courses was related to student achievement in the target course. The results implied that students who possessed higher-level prior knowledge, that is, procedural knowledge, from previous courses also obtained higher grades in the more advanced target course. Study IV explored the impact of different types of prior knowledge on students’ readiness to drop out from the course, on the pace of completing the course and on the final grade. The study was conducted in the context of chemistry. The results revealed again that students who performed well in the procedural prior-knowledge tasks were also likely to complete the course in pre-scheduled time and get higher final grades. On the other hand, students whose performance was weak in the procedural prior-knowledge tasks were more likely to drop out or take a longer time to complete the course. Study II explored the issue of prior knowledge from another perspective. Study II aimed to analyse the interrelations between academic self-beliefs, prior knowledge and student achievement in the context of mathematics. The results revealed that prior knowledge was more predictive of student achievement than were other variables included in the study. Self-beliefs were also strongly related to student achievement, but the predictive power of prior knowledge overruled the influence of self-beliefs when they were included in the same model. There was also a strong correlation between academic self-beliefs and prior-knowledge performance. The results of all the four studies were consistent with each other indicating that the model of prior knowledge may be used as a potential tool for prior knowledge assessment. It is useful to make a distinction between different types of prior knowledge in assessment since the type of prior knowledge students possess appears to make a difference. The results implied that there indeed is variation between students’ prior knowledge and academic self-beliefs which influences student achievement. This should be taken into account in instruction.

Teaching in Higher Education : From Content-focused to Learning-focused Approaches to Teaching

The aim of this dissertation was to explore teaching in higher education from the teachers’ perspective. Two of the four studies analysed the effect of pedagogical training on approaches to teaching and on self-efficacy beliefs of teachers on teaching. Of these two studies, Study I analysed the effect of pedagogical training by applying a cross-sectional setting. The results showed that short training made teachers less student-centred and decreased their self-efficacy beliefs, as reported by the teachers themselves. However, more constant training enhanced the adoption of a student-centred approach to teaching and increased the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers as well. The teacher-focused approach to teaching was more resistant to change. Study II, on the other hand, applied a longitudinal setting. The results implied that among teachers who had not acquired more pedagogical training after Study II there were no changes in the student-focused approach scale between the measurements. However, teachers who had participated in further pedagogical training scored significantly higher on the scale measuring the student-focused approach to teaching. There were positive changes in the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers among teachers who had not participated in further training as well as among those who had. However, the analysis revealed that those teachers had the least teaching experience. Again, the teacher-focused approach was more resistant to change. Study III analysed approaches to teaching qualitatively by using a large and multidisciplinary sample in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were found: the learning-focused and the content-focused approach to teaching. The results implied that the purpose of teaching separates the two categories. In addition, the study aimed to identify different aspects of teaching in the higher-education context. Ten aspects of teaching were identified. While Study III explored teaching on a general level, Study IV analysed teaching on an individual level. The aim was to explore consonance and dissonance in the kinds of combinations of approaches to teaching university teachers adopt. The results showed that some teachers were clearly and systematically either learning- or content-focused. On the other hand, profiles of some teachers consisted of combinations of learning- and content-focused approaches or conceptions making their profiles dissonant. Three types of dissonance were identified. The four studies indicated that pedagogical training organised for university teachers is needed in order to enhance the development of their teaching. The results implied that the shift from content-focused or dissonant profiles towards consonant learning-focused profiles is a slow process and that teachers’ conceptions of teaching have to be addressed first in order to promote learning-focused teaching.

Happily ever after: Romance, gender and the building blocks of domestic violence

My sister describes the state of something being a psychological or personal 'issue' - such as a trauma, compulsion, phobia, or obsession - as having 'brain spaghetti'. For example, apparently she has spaghetti about me pinning her down as a child and tickling her until she screamed for mercy. She knows this because when her spouse tried to do the same, the experience she had as a child came flooding back as a complex tangle of fears, feelings, and mental images. Notwithstanding the trauma inflicted on a sibling in my youth, the spaghetti metaphor is a simple but useful tool for explaining how complex our experiences are, and I bring it up here because I believe a lot of people have spaghetti about love. So much so, that often love becomes distorted, sometimes to the point of making one completely blind to manipulation and abuse. Part of the blame for 'love spaghetti' can be allotted to media depictions of romance and gender, which helps entrench and maintain our deeply held beliefs about what relationships should look like.

Lasten vaikeiden ja stressaavien tilanteiden hallinta yläkouluun siirtymisen vaiheessa

This study examined year seven students´ proactive coping, self-efficacy and social support seeking. Proactive coping was defined as a behaviour where obstacles are seen as a challenge. In proactive coping, individuals set goals, build up resources and regulate their behaviour to achieve the goals. Self-efficacy can be seen as people’s beliefs about their capabilities. Social support seeking was divided into instrumental support seeking and emotional support seeking. According to the theoretical frame of this study self-efficacy and social support seeking were seen as resources to proactive coping (Greenglass 2002). The participants were 445 year seven students (Mo= 13 years) from seven secondary schools. The data was collected in March-May 2008. The survey consisted 37 Likert-scaled items from the Proactive Coping Inventory and from the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The survey consisted of four scales: Proactive Coping, Instrumental Support Seeking, Emotional Support Seeking and General Self-Efficacy. The participants' age, gender and studying in specialist streams were asked as background information. As a result, most of the participants (62 % girls, 38 % boys) reported fairly strong proactive coping: they can see obstacles as a challenge and they set goals and regulate their behaviour to achieve the goals. Most of the participants reported that they seek instrumental and emotional support when having troubles. Girls reported more social support seeking than did boys and the mean difference was statistically significant. Most of the participants had fairly high sense of self-efficacy. However, 4 % of the participants reported that they don’t believe in their capabilities. Some of these participants reported that they neither use proactive coping nor seek informational or emotional support when having troubles. Proactive coping correlated positively with self-efficacy and with social support seeking. In this study self-efficacy and social support seeking explained 47 % of proactive coping. It was discussed that children’s high sense of self-efficacy and social relationships can act as protective factors in transition to secondary school. When supporting children’s self-efficacy and social relationships one also assists children’s proactive coping. Proactive coping can be seen to support children’s personal growth.

Opettajan uskomukset opetustyön lähtökohtana : näkökulmia pedagogiseen ajatteluun

The purpose of this research was to examine teacher’s pedagogical thinking based on beliefs. It aimed to investigate and identify beliefs from teachers’ speech when they were reflecting their own teaching. Placement of beliefs in levels of pedagogical thinking was also examined. The second starting point for a study was the Instrumental Enrichment -intervention, which aims to enhance learning potential and cognitive functioning of students. The goal of this research was to investigate how five main principles of the intervention come forward in teachers’ thinking. Specifying research question was: how similar teachers’ beliefs are to the main principles of intervention. The teacher-thinking paradigm provided the framework for this study. The essential concepts of this study are determined exactly in the theoretical framework. Model of pedagogical thinking was important in the examination of teachers’ thinking. Beliefs were approached through the referencing of varied different theories. Feuerstein theory of Structural cognitive modifiability and Mediated learning experience completed the theory of teacher thinking. The research material was gathered in two parts. In the first part two mathematics lessons of three class teachers were videotaped. In second part the teachers were interviewed by using a stimulated recall method. Interviews were recorded and analysed by qualitative content analysis. Teachers’ beliefs were divided in themes and contents of these themes were described. This part of analysis was inductive. Second part was deductive and it was based on theories of pedagogical thinking levels and Instrumental Enrichment -intervention. According to the research results, three subcategories of teachers’ beliefs were found: beliefs about learning, beliefs about teaching and beliefs about students. When the teachers discussed learning, they emphasized the importance of understanding. In teaching related beliefs student-centrality was highlighted. The teachers also brought out some demands for good education. They were: clarity, diversity and planning. Beliefs about students were divided into two groups. The teachers believed that there are learning differences between students and that students have improved over the years. Because most of the beliefs were close to practice and related to concrete classroom situation, they were situated in Action level of pedagogical thinking. Some teaching and learning related beliefs of individual teachers were situated in Object theory level. Metatheory level beliefs were not found. Occurrence of main principles of intervention differed between teachers. They were much more consistent and transparent in the beliefs of one teacher than of the other two teachers. Differences also occurred between principles. For example reciprocity came up in every teacher’s beliefs, but modifiability was only found in the beliefs of one teacher. Results of this research were consistent with other research made in the field. Teachers’ beliefs about teaching were individual. Even though shared themes were found, the teachers emphasized different aspects of their work. Occurrence of beliefs that were in accordance with the intervention were teacher-specific. Inconsistencies were also found within teachers and their individual beliefs.

Representing the epistemic nature of teachers’ practical knowledge : The case of class teachers’ general pedagogy

The present study addressed the epistemology of teachers’ practical knowledge. Drawing from the literature, teachers’ practical knowledge is defined as all teachers’ cognitions (e.g., beliefs, values, motives, procedural knowing, and declarative knowledge) that guide their practice of teaching. The teachers’ reasoning that lies behind their practical knowledge is addressed to gain insight into its epistemic nature. I studied six class teachers’ practical knowledge; they teach in the metropolitan region of Helsinki. Relying on the assumptions of the phenomenographic inquiry, I collected and analyzed the data. I analyzed the data in two stages where the first stage involved an abductive procedure, and the second stage an inductive procedure for interpretation, and thus developed the system of categories. In the end, a quantitative analysis nested into the qualitative findings to study the patterns of the teachers’’ reasoning. The results indicated that teachers justified their practical knowledge based on morality and efficiency of action; efficiency of action was found to be presented in two different ways: authentic efficiency and naïve efficiency. The epistemic weight of morality was embedded in what I call “moral care”. The core intention of teachers in the moral care was the commitment that they felt about the “whole character” of students. From this perspective the “dignity” and the moral character of the students should not replaced for any other “instrumental price”. “Caring pedagogy” was the epistemic value of teachers’ reasoning in the authentic efficiency. The central idea in the caring pedagogy was teachers’ intentions to improve the “intellectual properties” of “all or most” of the students using “flexible” and “diverse” pedagogies. However, “regulating pedagogy” was the epistemic condition of practice in the cases corresponding to naïve efficiency. Teachers argued that an effective practical knowledge should regulate and manage the classroom activities, but the targets of the practical knowledge were mainly other “issues “or a certain percentage of the students. In these cases, the teachers’ arguments were mainly based on the notion of “what worked” regardless of reflecting on “what did not work”. Drawing from the theoretical background and the data, teachers’ practical knowledge calls for “praxial knowledge” when they used the epistemic conditions of “caring pedagogy” and “moral care”. It however calls for “practicable” epistemic status when teachers use the epistemic condition of regulating pedagogy. As such, praxial knowledge with the dimensions of caring pedagogy and moral care represents the “normative” perspective on teachers’ practical knowledge, and thus reflects a higher epistemic status in comparison to “practicable” knowledge, which represents a “descriptive” perception toward teachers’ practical knowledge and teaching.

The designed environment and how it affects brain morphology and mental health

Background The environment is inextricably related to mental health. Recent research replicates findings of a significant, linear correlation between a childhood exposure to the urban environment and psychosis. Related studies also correlate the urban environment and aberrant brain morphologies. These findings challenge common beliefs that the mind and brain remain neutral in the face of worldly experience. Aim There is a signature within these neurological findings that suggests that specific features of design cause and trigger mental illness. The objective in this article is to work backward from the molecular dynamics to identify features of the designed environment that may either trigger mental illness or protect against it. Method This review analyzes the discrete functions putatively assigned to the affected brain areas and a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is the primary target of most antipsychotic medications. The intention is to establish what the correlations mean in functional terms, and more specifically, how this relates to the phenomenology of urban experience. In doing so, environmental mental illness risk factors are identified. Conclusions Having established these relationships, the review makes practical recommendations for those in public health who wish to use the environment itself as a tool to improve the mental health of a community through design.

Shifting the Focus. Incorporating knowledge about Aboriginal engineering into main stream content

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT The concept of 'Aboriginal engineering' has had little exposure in conventional engineering education programs, despite more than 40,000 years of active human engagement with the diverse Australian environment. The work reported in this paper began with the premise that Indigenous Student Support Through Indigenous Perspectives Embedded in Engineering Curricula (Goldfinch, et al 2013) would provide a clear and replicable means of encouraging Aboriginal teenagers to consider a career in engineering. Although that remains a key outcome of this OLT project, the direction taken by the research had led to additional insights and perspectives that have wide implications for engineering education more generally. There has only been passing reference to the achievements of Aboriginal engineering in current texts, and the very absence of such references was a prompt to explore further as our work developed. PURPOSE OR GOAL Project goals focused on curriculum-based change, including development of a model for inclusive teaching spaces, and study units employing key features of the model. As work progressed we found we needed to understand more about the principles and practices informing the development of pre-contact Aboriginal engineering strategies for sustaining life and society within the landscape of this often harsh continent. We also found ourselves being asked 'what engineering did Aboriginal cultures have?' Finding that there are no easy-to- access answers, we began researching the question, while continuing to engage with specific curriculum trials. APPROACH Stakeholders in the project had been identified as engineering educators, potential Aboriginal students and Aboriginal communities local to Universities involved in the project. We realised, early on, that at least one more group was involved - all the non-Aboriginal students in engineering classes. This realisation, coupled with recognition of the need to understand Aboriginal engineering as a set of viable, long term practices, altered the focus of our efforts. Rather than focusing primarily on finding ways to attract Aboriginal engineering students, the shift has been towards evolving ways of including knowledge about Aboriginal practices and principles in relevant engineering content. DISCUSSION This paper introduces the model resulting from the work of this project, explores its potential influence on engineering curriculum development and reports on implementation strategies. The model is a static representation of a dynamic and cyclic approach to engaging with Aboriginal engineering through contact with local communities in regard to building knowledge about the social beliefs underlying Aboriginal engineering principles and practices. Ways to engage engineering educators, students and the wider community are evolving through the continuing work of the project team and will be reported in more detail in the paper. RECOMMENDATIONS/IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION While engineering may be considered by some to be agnostic in regard to culture and social issues, the work of this project is drawing attention to the importance of including such issues into curriculum materials at a number of levels of complexity. The paper will introduce and explore the central concepts of the research completed to date, as well as suggesting ways in which engineering educators can extend their knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal engineering principles in the context of their own specialisations.

Koulutuksellisen syrjäytymisriskin ennustettavuus yhteishakuvalintojen kautta tarkasteltuna : koulupudokkuusriskin yhteys oppilaan kognitiiviseen kompetenssiin, koulumenestykseen sekä itseä ja vanhempia koskeviin uskomuksiin

The objective of this study was to find factors that could predict educational dropout. Dropout risk was assessed against pupil’s cognitive competence, success in school, and personal beliefs regarding self and parents, while taking into account the pupil’s background and gender. Based on earlier research, an assumption was made that a pupil’s gender, success in school, and parent’s education would be related with dropping out. This study is part of a project funded by the Academy of Finland and led by Professor Jarkko Hautamäki. The project aims to use longitudinal study to assess the development of pupils’ skills in learning to learn. The target group of this study consisted all Finnish speaking ninth graders of a municipality in Southern Finland. There were in total 1534 pupils, of which 809 were girls and 725 boys. The assessment of learning to learn skills was performed about ninth graders in spring 2004. “Opiopi” test material was used in the assessment, consisting of cognitive tests and questions measuring beliefs. At the same time, pupils’ background information was collected together with their self-reported average grade of all school subjects. During spring 2009, the pupils’ joint application data from years 2004 and 2005 was collected from the Finnish joint application registers. The data were analyzed using quantitative methods assisted by the SPSS for Windows computer software. Analysis was conducted through statistical indices, differences in grade averages, multilevel model, multivariate analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis. Based on earlier research, dropouts were defined as pupils that had not been admitted to or had not applied to second degree education under the joint application system. Using this definition, 157 students in the target group were classified as dropouts (10 % of the target group): 88 girls and 69 boys. The study showed that the school does not affect the drop-out risk but the school class explains 7,5 % of variation in dropout risk. Among girls, dropping out is predicted by a poor average grade, a lack of beliefs supporting learning, and an unrealistic primary choice in joint application system compared to one’s success in school. Among boys, a poor average grade, unrealistic choices in joint application system, and the belief of parent’s low appreciation of education were related to dropout risk. Keywords educational exclusion, school dropout, success in school, comprehensive school, learning to learn

Impact of online privacy concerns and brand reputation on consumer willingness to provide personal information

The aim of this research was to identify the role of brand reputation in encouraging consumer willingness to provide personal data online, for the benefits of personalisation. This study extends on Malhotra, Kim and Agarwal’s (2004) Internet Users Information Privacy Concerns Model, and uses the theoretical underpinning of Social Contract Theory to assess how brand reputation moderates the relationship between trusting beliefs and perceived value (Privacy Calculus framework) with willingness to give personal information. The research is highly relevant as most privacy research undertaken to date focuses on consumer related concerns. Very little research exists examining the role of brand reputation and online privacy. Practical implications of this research include gaining knowledge as to how to minimise online privacy concerns; improve brand reputation; and provide insight on how to reduce consumer resistance to the collection of personal information and encourage consumer opt-in.

Young Men s Sexual Behaviour in Finland and Estonia : Opportunities for prevention of sexually transmitted infections

Background: The incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in most EU states has gradually increased and the rate of newly diagnosed HIV cases has doubled since 1999. STIs differ in their clinical features, prognosis and transmission dynamics, though they do share a common factor in their mode of transmission −that is, human behaviour. The evolvement of STI epidemiology involves a joint action of biological, epidemiological and societal factors. Of the more immediate factors, besides timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, STI incidence is influenced by population patterns of sexual risk behaviour, particularly the number of sexual partners and the frequency of unprotected intercourse. Assessment of sexual behaviour, its sociodemographic determinants and time-trends are important in understanding the distribution and dynamic of STI epidemiology. Additionally, in the light of the basic structural determinants, such as increased level of migration, changes in gender dynamics and impacts from globalization, with its increasing alignment of values and beliefs, can reveal future challenges related to STI epidemiology. STI case surveillance together with surveillance on sexual behaviour can guide the identification of preventive strategies, assess their effectiveness and predict emerging trends. The objective of this study was to provide base line data on sexual risk behaviour, self-reported STIs and their patterns by sociodemographic factors as well as associations of sexual risk behaviour with substance use among young men in Finland and Estonia. In Finland national population based data on adult men s sexual behaviour is limited. The findings are discussed in the context of STI epidemiology as well as their possible implications for public health policies and prevention strategies. Materials and Methods: Data from three different cross-sectional population-based surveys conducted in Finland and Estonia, during 1998 2005, were used. Sexual behaviour- and health-related questions were incorporated in two surveys in Finland; the Health 2000, a large scale general health survey, focussed on young adults, and the Military health behavioural survey on military conscripts participating in the mandatory military training. Through research collaboration with Estonia, similar questions to the Finnish surveys were introduced to the second Estonian HIV/AIDS survey, which was targeted at young adults. All surveys applied mail-returned, anonymous, self-administered questionnaires with multiple choice formatted answers. Results: In Finland, differences in sexual behaviour between young men and women were minor. An age-stratified analysis revealed that the sex-related difference observed in the youngest age group (18 19 years) levelled off in the age group 20 24 and almost disappeared among those aged 25 29. Marital status was the most important sociodemographic correlate for sexual behaviour for both sexes, singles reporting higher numbers of lifetime-partners and condom use. This effect was stronger for women than for men. However, of those who had sex with casual partners, 15% were married or co-habiting, with no difference between male and female respondents. According to the Military health behavioural survey, young men s sexual risk behaviour in Finland did not markedly change over a period of time between 1998 and 2005. Approximately 30−40% of young men had had multiple sex partners (more than five) in their lifetime, over 20% reported having had multiple sex partners (at least three) over the past year and 50% did not use a condom in their last sexual intercourse. Some 10% of men reported accumulation of risk factors, i.e. having had both, multiple sex partners and not used a condom in their last intercourse, over the past year of the survey. When differences and similarities were viewed within Finland and Estonia, a clear sociodemographic patterning of sexual risk behaviour and self-reported STIs was found in Finland, but a somewhat less consistent trend in Estonia. Generally, both, alcohol and drug use were strong correlates for sexual risk behaviour and self-reported STIs in Finland and Estonia, having a greater effect on engagement with multiple sex partners rather than unprotected intercourse or self-reported STIs. In Finland alcohol use, relative to drug use, was a stronger predictor of sexual risk behaviour and self-reported STIs, while in Estonia drug use predicted sexual risk behaviour and self-reported STIs stronger than alcohol use. Conclusions: The study results point to the importance for prevention of sexual risk behaviour, particularly strategies that integrate sexual risk with alcohol and drug use risks. The results point to the need to focus further research on sexual behaviour and STIs among young people; on tracking trends among general population as well as applying in-depth research to identify and learn from vulnerable and high-risk population groups for STIs who are exposed to a combination of risk factors.

Threats and Promises: The Promotion of Artificial Lighting to Women Consumers in the United States, 1880s – 1960s

This article examines the development of a specific gendered discourse in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century that united key beliefs about feminine beauty, identity, and the domestic interior with particular electric lighting technologies and effects. Largely driven by the electrical industry’s marketing rhetoric, American women were encouraged to adopt electric lighting as a beauty aid and ally in a host of domestic tasks. Drawing evidence from a number of primary texts, including women’s magazines, lighting and electrical industry trade journals, manufacturer-generated marketing materials, and popular home decoration and beauty advice literature, this study shifts the focus away from lighting as a basic utility, demonstrating the ways in which modern electric illumination was culturally constructed as a desirable personal and environmental beautifier as well as a means of harmonizing the domestic interior.

Development and preliminary validation of the Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q): A purpose-specific instrument for rape-perception research

Background Alcohol expectancies likely play a role in people’s perceptions of alcohol-involved sexual violence. However, no appropriate measure exists to examine this link comprehensively. Objective The aim of this research was to develop an alcohol expectancy measure which captures young adults’ beliefs about alcohol’s role in sexual aggression and victimization. Method Two cross-sectional samples of young Australian adults (18–25 years) were recruited for scale development (Phase 1) and scale validation (Phase 2). In Phase 1, participants (N = 201; 38.3% males) completed an online survey with an initial pool of alcohol expectancy items stated in terms of three targets (self, men, women) to identify the scale’s factor structure and most effective items. A revised alcohol expectancy scale was then administered online to 322 young adults (39.6% males) in Phase 2. To assess the predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity of the scale, participants also completed established measures of personality, social desirability, alcohol use, general and context-specific alcohol expectancies, and impulsiveness. Results Principal axis factoring (Phase 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (Phase 2) resulted in a target-equivalent five-factor structure for the final 66-item Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q). The factors were labeled: - (1) Sexual Coercion - (2) Sexual Vulnerability - (3) Confidence - (4) Self-Centeredness - (5) Negative Cognitive and Behavioral Changes The measure demonstrated effective items, high internal consistency, and satisfactory predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity. Conclusions The DESV-Q is a purpose-specific instrument that could be used in future research to elucidate people’s attributions for alcohol-involved sexual aggression and victimization.

Locus of control

The construct known as locus of control (LOC) was introduced by J. B. Rotter in 1966 and refers to individuals' beliefs about the underlying main causes of events happening in their lives. Individuals with an internal LOC believe that the outcomes they experience are the result of their own actions. They are often described as believing themselves to be the masters of their own fate and to be in control of their own destinies. In contrast, individuals with an external LOC believe that external factors—such as fate, luck, God, or powerful others—determine the outcomes that they experience in their lives. They are often described as taking a passive approach toward their lives.