| Titel: | Breaking the Code of Consciousness: A Validation Study for the Troyer Level of Consciousness Inventory |
|---|---|
| Autor: | Troyer, Julie A. |
| Mediengruppe: | dissertation |
| Herausgeber: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering |
| Jahr: | 2009 |
| Band: | 70 |
| Heft: | --- |
| Seiten: | --- |
| Sprache: | English |
| Abstract: | Until now, no instruments to measure levels of consciousness (LOC) have been validated in normal and/or normally functioning individuals. LOC is a measurement of a person's responsiveness and arousability to external stimulus (Kandel, Jessell, & Shwartz, 2000). The only existing instruments, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale or the Grady Coma Scale, assess severe deficits in consciousness such as being comatose, stuporous, obtunded, delirious, or confused; grouping everything else within the category of normal consciousness (forth, 2007). It was postulated here that if there are gradations that are measurable on the bottom end of the LOC scale then alternately there are also gradations within the upper end of normal consciousness. This study investigated six research questions surrounding the creation and validation of a reliable instrument to measure LOC. The first was dedicated to uncovering the constructs underlying consciousness to generate an item pool for the Troyer Level of Consciousness Inventory (TLOCI). The second queried the factor structure of the TLOCI and the third the internal consistency indices for the total and subscales of the TLOCI. The last three research questions investigated construct validity of the TLOCI. Research questions four and five analyzed construct validity through correlation with two existing measures, the Mindful Attention Awareness Survey (MAAS) and the Situational Self-Awareness Survey (SSAS). Research question six probed whether individuals who participate in consciousness raising activities (martial arts, meditation, yoga, or religious/spiritual) had higher scores on the TLOCI. The qualitative analysis of academic literature did uncover 10 constructs and processes as possibly being components of LOC. A pool of 90 items was generated to represent the 10 components identified in the qualitative analysis. The TLOCI was administered to 646 individuals above the age of 18 and had access to the Internet across the United States with a final N = 450 after cleaning and screening the data. Through conducting a Principal Factor Analysis (PFA) with a Varimax rotation, the TLOCI did reveal four reliable and interpretable components that emerged in the quantitative data set related to consciousness with 23 items loading above .45. The four scales of MetaSelf-Awareness, Reflection, Openness, and Helping Others and the Total TLOCI scale all had high (> .70) internal consistency indices, with an overall internal consistency index of .91. There were positive correlations between the TLOCI total score and the Mindful Attention Awareness Survey (MAAS) score, supporting external construct validity. There were significant correlations with the Situational Self-Awareness Survey (SSAS) scales and the TLOCI scales, adding further to external construct validity. Additionally, engagement in consciousness raising activities (yoga, meditation, martial arts, involvement in spiritual practice or a religion) does have a positive correlation with higher levels of LOC for TLOCI total score as well as scores on the subscales of MetaSelf-Awareness, Reflection, Openness, and to a less extent Helping Others. All this evidence combined, strongly supports the underlying construct validity and reliability of the TLOCI as a viable means of measuring LOC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) |