Adolescent Social Emotional Health, Empathy, and Self-esteem: Preliminary Validation of the Lithuanian Version of the SEHS-S Questionnaire

• Main Authors: Ala Petrulytė, Virginija Guogienė, Vaiva Rimienė
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University 2019-12-01
• Series: Psychology in Russia: State of Art
• Subjects: junior and senior adolescents in lithuania; age and gender diferences; social emotional health survey(sehs-s); empathy and self-esteem; correlation analysis; regression analysis; confrmatory factor analysis
• Online Access: http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2019_4/Psychology_4_2019_196-209_Petrulyt%C4%97.pdf

Background. Te priority for today’s educational psychologists in Lithuanian schools is to promote psycho-educational activities aimed at fostering children’s well-being. School psychologists are to provide services for, and consult with, children and adolescents with mental health challenges, in order to facilitate their transitions to positive developmental trajectories. Terefore, it is important to test the construct validity of the adolescent social emotional health survey (SEHS-S) in a Lithuanian sample. Objective. To investigate the social emotional health, empathy, and selfesteem of a Lithuanian adolescent sample using the adolescent Social Emotional Health Survey (SEHS-S), as well as to perform regression and confrmatory factor analysis. Design. We used the Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S) (Furlong et al., 2014), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1980), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) (M. Rosenberg, 1989). Te sample was comprised of 935 students (12–18 years old) from various Lithuanian schools: 482 boys and 453 girls. Results. Te self-esteem of the adolescent boys was higher than that of the adolescent girls. A positive correlation between the adolescents’ social emotional health and their self-esteem and empathy was identifed. Te strongest predictors of the adolescents’ social and emotional health included empathic concern, self-esteem, and perspective-taking. Te confrmatory factor analysis confrmed the validity of the structural model of the Lithuanian version of the SEHS-S survey. Conclusion. Te fndings of the regression and confrmatory factor analysis supported the use of the SEHS-S as a valid and reliable instrument for mental health research with Lithuanian adolescents. School psychologists will be able to use the Lithuanian version of SEHS–S survey to monitor adolescent social emotional health.