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Validation of the Polish adaptation of the Students' Punishment Sensitivity Scale in an educational context
Katarzyna Tomaszek1, Agnieszka Muchacka-Cymerman2
1Institute of Psychology, Uniwersytet Rzeszowski, Rzeszów, Poland.
Background:
Reinforcement sensitivity theory highlights the crucial role of two systems: the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and the behavioral activation system (BAS) in explaining one's tendency to respond to positive or adverse stimuli in diverse contexts, including educational. However, there is a lack of measurements that capture the punishment mechanism underlying students' reactions when confronted with others' opinions on their school failures. The research project aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the students' punishment sensitivity (SPS-PL) in the educational context, originally developed for a Turkish sample.
Methods:
A sample of 548 students aged 12-15 years (53.1% boys) from randomly chosen public schools participated in the study. We used instruments that measure students' punishment sensitivity (SPS-PL Scale) and school burnout (ESSBS). The factor structure (CFA), reliability, and validity analyses were performed. We also tested measurement invariance across gender.
Results:
CFA indicated acceptable goodness of fit indexes for the three-factor structure of the Students Punishment Sensitivity construct with domains such as: Inhibition due to punishment (IDP), Negative attitudes towards punishment contexts (NATPC), Regulatory Effect of Punishment (REP). The SPS-PL Total Score and IDP demonstrated acceptable reliability (α/ɷ over 0.80), while for NATCP and REP were α ≥ 0.67/ɷ ≥ 0.68. We evidenced its discriminant and convergent validity, i.e., the HTMT correlations over 0.30, and positive correlations between punishment sensitivity indicators and school burnout. A higher punishment sensitivity was related to poor quality of relationships with classmates, teachers, and parents. Full configural and metric invariance, a well as partial scalar and strict invariance across gender were confirmed. The findings also indicate that girls scores higher in SPS - PL Total score, IDP, and REP than boys.
Conclusion:
Studies on students' punishment sensitivity in the context of school failure are scarce. At the same time, these adverse experiences may directly affect young people's educational outcomes and seriously reduce their chances for flourishing development in the future. The research will enable scholars with a valid instrument that allows for a better understanding of this phenomenon.
