Research Article
Assessing College Students’ Social and Emotional Strengths: A Cross-Cultural Comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain

Michael J. Furlong , José A. Piqueras, Leticia Chacón-Gutiérrez, Erin Dowdy, Karen Nylund-Gibson, Meiki Chan, Victoria Soto-Sanz, Juan C. Marzo, Tíscar Rodríguez-Jiménez, Agustín E. Martínez-González

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Furlong MJ, Piqueras JA, Chacón-Gutiérrez L, Dowdy E, Nylund-Gibson K, Chan M, Soto-Sanz V, Marzo JC, Rodríguez-Jiménez T, Martínez-González AE. Assessing college students’ social and emotional strengths: A cross-cultural comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain. European J Psychol E. 2021;4(2):123-137. doi: 10.12973/ejper.4.2.123
Furlong, M. J., Piqueras, J. A., Chacón-Gutiérrez, L., Dowdy, E., Nylund-Gibson, K., Chan, M., Soto-Sanz, V., Marzo, J. C., Rodríguez-Jiménez, T. ., & Martínez-González, A. E. (2021). Assessing college students’ social and emotional strengths: A cross-cultural comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain. European Journal of Psychology and Educational Research, 4(2), 123-137. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejper.4.2.123
Furlong Michael J., José A. Piqueras, Leticia Chacón-Gutiérrez, Erin Dowdy, Karen Nylund-Gibson, Meiki Chan, Victoria Soto-Sanz, Juan C. Marzo, Tíscar Rodríguez-Jiménez, and Agustín E. Martínez-González. "Assessing College Students’ Social and Emotional Strengths: A Cross-Cultural Comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain ," European Journal of Psychology and Educational Research 4, no. 2 (2021): 123-137. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejper.4.2.123
Furlong, MJ Piqueras, JA Chacón-Gutiérrez, L Dowdy, E Nylund-Gibson, K Chan, M Soto-Sanz, V Marzo, JC Rodríguez-Jiménez, T & Martínez-González, A 2021, 'Assessing college students’ social and emotional strengths: A cross-cultural comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain', European Journal of Psychology and Educational Research, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 123-137. Furlong, Michael J. et al. "Assessing College Students’ Social and Emotional Strengths: A Cross-Cultural Comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain." European Journal of Psychology and Educational Research, vol. 4, no. 2, 2021, pp. 123-137, https://doi.org/10.12973/ejper.4.2.123.

Abstract

Endeavors supporting college students’ positive psychosocial development are gaining attention and investment in various countries and social contexts. Higher education experiences provide new academic, social, and vocational advancement opportunities at a critical developmental stage. However, higher education can also cause distress due to the challenges and stressors present during this new stage of increased independence. The Social Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) assesses the core psychosocial strengths of individuals transitioning from secondary schools into institutions of higher education (IHE) to aid campus student support services. The present study sought to extend the SEHS-HE research by examining its application with college student samples from Mexico (n = 4,207), United States (n = 1,638), and Spain (n = 1,734). Confirmatory factor analyses investigated the hypothesized SEHS-HE higher-order factor model. The Mexico sample returned an acceptable model fit, but the USA and Spain samples had a suboptimal fit; hence, we explored alternative models. A two-level structure had full invariance for all three samples. This study extends the current scholarship on the conceptual model and psychometric properties of SEHS-HE. The discussion focuses on implications for future research to enhance SEHS-HE in national and cross-national research and practice.

Keywords: Covitality, higher education, measurement invariance, Social Emotional Health Survey.


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