The Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12): Psychometric Development and Validation

33 Pages Posted: 12 Aug 2021

See all articles by Nikolay Petrov

Nikolay Petrov

University of Oxford

Oliver Robinson

University of Greenwich - School of Human Sciences

Jeffrey J. Arnett

Clark University

Date Written: July 14, 2021

Abstract

Developmental crisis is a construct that is central to many theories of psychosocial adult development, yet there is currently no validated psychometric measure of adult developmental crisis that can be used across adult age groups. To address this gap in the literature, we developed and validated an age-independent measure of adult developmental crisis for research and applied purposes, entitled the Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted separately on different samples. A three-factor structure emerged as the best fit with the data; (1) Disconnection and Distress; (2) Lack of Clarity and Control; (3) Transition and Turning Point. The DCQ-12 showed predictive validity with measures of self-esteem, locus of control, authentic living, optimism, presence of and search for meaning, turning points and a related crisis measure. Four-week test-retest reliability ranged from 0.78 to 0.89 across subscales,. As well as research uses, the DCQ-12 measure has potential application in practice, given that assessment of developmental crisis has relevance to professionals working in clinical and non-clinical roles to support and coach adults through periods of transition.

Note:
Funding Information: No external funding received.

Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing or conflicting interests.

Ethics Approval Statement: Participants read an information sheet and consented to take part in the research.

Keywords: Crisis, developmental, psychometric, questionnaire, assessment

Suggested Citation

Petrov, Nikolay and Robinson, Oliver and Arnett, Jeffrey J., The Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12): Psychometric Development and Validation (July 14, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3886295 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3886295

Nikolay Petrov

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Oliver Robinson (Contact Author)

University of Greenwich - School of Human Sciences ( email )

Jeffrey J. Arnett

Clark University ( email )

950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
United States

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