Development of russian-language version of evar risk assessment questionnaire

INTRODUCTION. Risk tolerance is a key component of judgment and decision-making in extreme situations. Based on the results of a study of risk tolerance among military personnel between 1983 and 2015, the EVAR questionnaire is the most frequently used measure of “military risk.” Our article describes the development of a Russian-language version of the   EVAR questionnaire. OBJECTIVE. Verify the Russian version of the EVAR risk assessment questionnaire. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Two groups of young men aged 18-36 participated in the study: the main group (142 applicants to a military university) and the additional group (35 conscripts). The following methods were used: translation of the questionnaire text from English into Russian, conducting a survey using four methods (EVAR, A.G. Shmeleva’s Risk Propensity Study Shmelev’s Risk Propensity Study, the “Module” questionnaire, the “Deviance” questionnaire), determination of the psychometric characteristics of the methodology (calculation of the Alpha Cronbach coefficient, comparison of dependent samples (paired Student’s t-test), correlation analysis (Spearman’s and Student’s t-tests)), factor analysis (rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalization), analysis of data obtained during calculations. Statistical processing was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0. RESULTS. In the study, the following indicators were obtained when calculating descriptive statistics: M(SD) risk propensity 1065.85 (179.7) points. This means that 95.4% of the data for the overall indicator is in the range of 706.5-1425.6 points. The calculations yielded data indicating the high stability of the results obtained using the EVAR methodology when reused and their relative independence from the influence of situational factors. The results also indicate good internal consistency of the prepared Russian-language version of the methodology. In confirmation of the content validity of the methodology, a statistically significant direct correlation of noticeable closeness was found between the EVAR questionnaire indicators and A.G. Shmelev’s Risk Propensity Questionnaire, and two inverse correlations of moderate closeness were found with the Modul and Deviance questionnaires. As a result of statistical processing using the principal component analysis method, seven leading components were extracted: purposefulness, leadership, infantilism, energy, impulsiveness, confidence, and courage. Based on open data, a comparison was made of the risk-taking tendencies of American, French military personnel, and Russian military academy applicants. Test norms were calculated for the Russian sample. DISCUSSION. The lower risk-taking scores in the Russian sample can be explained by the lack of combat experience, as well as by the situation of professional and psychological selection, when subjects strive to present themselves in the best light by giving socially desirable answers. The factor structure of the questionnaire described by French and American specialists was not confirmed in the Russian sample. CONCLUSION. Based on the study, a Russian-language version of the EVAR methodology was prepared and verified, which can be considered a reliable and valid psychodiagnostic tool. The reliability-consistency and retest reliability of the methodology were also proven. Factor analysis justified the validity of the identified 7-factor structure, which differs from the original French version. Content validity testing confirmed that the EVAR questionnaire assesses risk-taking tendencies.

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