An investigation of the Status quo of China's Contemporary Youth’s Affective Quality

Abstract

A large-scale investigation on the affective quality of youth population in China is a significant though challenging endeavor. Followed from the youth affective quality theory and developmental affection with classified thoughts, current study developed an original investigative tool with good reliability and validity—"Questionnaire on Youth's Affective Quality". This instrument dealt with the complexities in affect measurement and is of great theoretical and practical significance. The questionnaire was used to investigate youth affect development on twenty-nine different affects, including patriotism, affectionateness, integrity, responsibility, learning happiness, self-confidence, achievements, exploration, curiosity; aesthetic for craftwork, aesthetic for nature, aesthetic for art, aesthetic for environments, aesthetic for science; well-being, self-reliance, passion, cherish, cooperation, gregariousness, affiliation, trustworthiness, intimacy, forgiveness, emotionally appealing, emotional cognition, emotional experience, emotional evaluation, emotional adjustment. They belong to six categories (moral affection, rational affection, esthetic affection, interpersonal affection, life affection and emotional intelligence) that evolve from the identity level of affection and the operational level of affection. Item analysis, analysis of reliability and validity and the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis all verified that the questionnaire met with the criterion of an effective measurement tool. Based on the analysis of the sub-questionnaires, we also carried out the high-order factor analysis which confirmed the presence of a higher-order factor - the "affective quality". This finding strongly supports the definition and the theoretical basis of "affective quality". The questionnaire is administered to 25,485 students of primary schools, junior schools, high schools and vocational schools. The geological regions encompasses those of well-developed, developed and less developed regions in China including 117 schools in urban and suburban areas of nine major cities(Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changchun, Zhengzhou, Xian, Xining, Guiyang, Haikou). The results showed: 1) As a whole, the affective quality of youth in China are positive, but still needs to be improved. 2) A structural difference mainly exists between males and females. 3) From the elementary, junior to high school, affective quality exhibited a downward trend, in which learning happiness and self-confidence has reached significance level. 4) Affective quality was correlated positively with students' self-evaluation of learning performance and their parents' educational levels. 5) Good teacher-student relationships, enthusiasm of teachers' classroom teaching facilitated directly and importantly to the development in all aspects of students' affective quality. This investigation crucially supplies first-hand information for educators on how to improve the affective quality of youth students as well as for academics on the theoretical implications for affective quality research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)