A psychometric examination of the Learned Helplessness Questionnaire in a sample of Italian school students.

The aim of this study is to verify the factor structure of a self-report filled out by students to assess Learned Helplessness (LH) and Mastery Orientation (MO) in a school environment. Two separate studies were undertaken to accomplish these purposes. Through exploratory factor analysis, Study 1 aims to explore factor structure of the new Learned Helplessness Questionnaire (LHQ) and examine the distinction between LH and MO in a sample of 488 school students (198 males and 290 females) between 11 and 18 years old. Furthermore, the reliability and the criterion validity of the instrument are examined. The primary purpose of Study 2 was to confirm in a new sample the factor structure of the LHQ and to examine the internal consistency, reliability, and concurrent validity with measures of self-efficacy, student’s quality of life, and school decision-making in a sample of 378 school students (212 males and 166 females) between 11 and 18 years old. Results reveal that the 12-item LHQ shows a good two-factor structure that represents the two subscales of the theoretical framework model (MO and LH). The two factors show very good internal reliability and good criterion and concurrent validity. Practical implications for school psychology are discussed.