A Test of the Adequacy of Three Common Core Youth Measures With Latino Immigrant Youth

This paper examined the factor structure and reliability of the following three psychosocial measures commonly used in Positive Youth Development studies: social conscience, caring, and family cohesion. The goal was to determine the appropriateness of their use with Latino immigrant youth. Results showed that social conscience and caring scales are not robust measurements to be used for Latino adolescents, although strong invariance found in family cohesion scale legitimizes its use among Latino youth. Based on these findings, it is not always advisable to assume the validity and reliability of an established measurement in a particular population without actually assessing it.

Is It Still Possible to Collect Nationally Representative Data in the United States? A Case Study From the CREATE Project

The United States is undergoing impressive and transformational social change related to marriage. Social scientists’ ability to study such changes are contingent upon being able to collect such data. Given the expected low response rates in survey research these days, it is natural to ask whether it is even possible to still collect high-quality, nationally representative survey data on marriage and family. This paper discusses our process of collecting nationally representative data, how we obtained our sampling frame, the process for selecting and contacting couples, response rates, matching the sample obtained with national characteristics, and our plans for longitudinal follow-up.