Advocates for All Youth (ALLY)

The PROMIS Emotional Distress Anxiety and PROMIS Emotional Distress Depressive Symptoms scales (Irwin et al., 2010) were used to assess negative affectivity. Each 8-item short form elicits responses from the student on a 5-point Likert scale from "never" to "always" over the past 7-day period. The items are summed for a score ranging from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating more elevated negative affectivity. Scores are then translated to T-scores, with T-scores below 55 classified as "normal," T-scores between 55 and 60 classified as "mild," T-scores between 60 and 70 classified as "moderate," and T-scores above 70 classified as "severe." The measure demonstrated satisfactory goodness of fit and adequate internal reliability (α = 0.85) in children and adolescents aged 8-17 years (Irwin et al., 2010). Elevated negative affectivity was endorsed in cases when students scored mild or higher for symptoms of both depression and anxiety on each of the PROMIS scales.

The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) validated among adolescents aged 12-19 years was used to assess self-efficacy (Muris, 2001). This 24-item survey assesses three key domains of self-efficacy: (1) social self-efficacy, defined as perceived capability for peer relationships and assertiveness; (2) academic self-efficacy, which is the perceived capability to manage one's own learning behavior, to master academic subjects, and to fulfill academic expectations; and (3) emotional self-efficacy, which is the perceived capability of coping with negative emotions. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "not at all" to "very well." Subscale scores and an overall or total self-efficacy score are obtained by summing respective items, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy.