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ARTICLES

A Reliability Generalization Study of Coefficient Alpha for the Life Orientation Test

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Pages 362-370 | Received 01 Dec 2008, Accepted 23 Feb 2010, Published online: 14 Jun 2010
 

Abstract

Dispositional optimism is a widely studied construct in social science and medicine associated with a variety of important psychological and physiological outcomes. Our purpose in this study was to examine coefficient alpha for a popular optimism measure: The Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier & Carver, 1985). We utilized a meta-analytic procedure known as reliability generalization to provide an aggregate estimate of coefficient alpha across empirical studies that have employed the scale over time and across populations. Furthermore, we identified sample and demographic characteristics associated with variance in coefficient alpha. We discuss conditions associated with variability in coefficient alpha and provide suggestions for continued research for the LOT.

Notes

a Indicates the percentage of studies containing the coded characteristic.

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