Psychometrics

Why the HADS is still important: Reply to Coyne & van Sonderen

by Theodore D. Cosco

Validity; Content validity; Criterion validity; Ecological validity.

by Susanne Hempel

Hempel, S. (2005). Validity; Content validity; Criterion validity; Ecological validity. In.: G. Davey (Ed.), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology, Statistic section (Section Ed: A. Field). London: Hodder Arnold.

Reliability

by Susanne Hempel

Hempel, S. (2005). Reliability. In: J. Miles & P. Gilbert (Eds.), A handbook of research methods for clinical & health psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The self-report version of the Liebowtiz Social Anxiety Scale: Psychometric properties of the French version

by Alexandre Heeren

Heeren, A., Maurage, P., Rossignol, M., Vanhaelen, M., Peschard, V., Eeckhout, C., & Philippot, P. (2012). The self-report version of the Liebowtiz Social Anxiety Scale: Psychometric properties of the French version. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 44, 2, 99-107?

Review of the book Uses and Abuses of Intelligence: Studies Advancing Spearman and Raven's Quest for Non-Arbitrary Metrics

by Alexandre Heeren

Heeren, A. (2009). [Review of the book Uses and Abuses of Intelligence: Studies Advancing Spearman and Raven's Quest for Non-Arbitrary Metrics, by John Raven & Jean Raven (Eds.)]. Psychologos, 24, 1, pp. 34.

Development and validation of the Vicarious Distress Questionnaire

by Alexandre Heeren

Grynberg, D., Heeren, A., & Luminet, O. (2012). Development and validation of the Vicarious Distress Questionnaire. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 44, 2, 138-145

Cross-cultural validity of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire: Adaptation and validation in a French-speaking sample

by Alexandre Heeren

Heeren, A., Douilliez, C., Peschard, V., Debrauwere, L., & Philippot, P. (2011). Cross-cultural consistency of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire: Adaptation and validation in a French sample. European Review of Applied Psychology, 61, 147-151.

Assessing reliability of categorical substance use measures with latent class analysis

by Brian Flaherty

Social Work Assessment of Adaptive Functioning Using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Issues of Reliability and Validity

by Elián Cabrera-Nguyen

Cabrera, P., Grimes-Gaa, L., and Thyer, B. A. (1999). Social work assessment of adaptive functioning using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Issues of Reliability and Validity. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2(4):33-50.

The assessment of client adaptive functioning is often an important component of a comprehensive social work... more The assessment of client adaptive functioning is often an important component of a comprehensive social work evaluation. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) are the most commonly used quantitative measures of adaptive functioning for clients meeting the criteria for a wide range of disorders. We review the development of the VABS and current knowledge pertaining to the instrument's reliability and validity. We conclude that the ability to administer and interpret the VABS is an important skill for clinical social workers to acquire.

Keywords: Adaptive functioning; reliability; validity; VABS; clinical social work; treatment; social work assessment

'Pituitary Proms': how and why should we assess pituitary patient satisfaction?

by Sue Jackson

Co-authored with Dr Anna Crown

Diurnal locus as a predictor of daytime optimum and decline in medical staff performance (Суточный локус как предиктор дневного оптимума/спада в работе медицинского персонала

by Sergei Shchebetenko

Shchebetenko, S.A., & Semyonova, P.I. (2011). Diurnal locus as a predictor of daytime optimum and decline in medical staff performance. Psychology. Journal of the Higher School of Economics, 8, 130-138. (in Russian).

The possibility of predicting performance rise/decline among medical staff during their working shift is shown in the... more The possibility of predicting performance rise/decline among medical staff during their working shift is shown in the article. Theoretical backgrounds are briefly discussed. 189 medical staff members in Perm, Russia participated in the study. A self-report 6-item Diurnal Locus Scale was invented exhibiting an acceptable internal consistency as well as its construct (CFA), discriminant (regarding Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale), and predictive validity. Diurnal locus did not correlate with participants’ gender, t(187)<1, professional status (doctor vs. paramedical personnel), t(187)=1.29, p=.2, participants’ age, r=-.05, and general internality, r=.06. Meanwhile, Diurnal Locus correlated moderately with professional internality, r=.18, p=.013, such that the higher professional internality is, more morning-oriented locus is. Of importance, diurnal locus highly significantly predicted the assessment by managers of participants performance rise/decline during their working shift, r=.52, p<.001. Finally, diurnal locus fully mediated the positive correlation between professional internal locus of control and morning performance increase/evening performance decrease, Sobel’s test, Z=.2.42, p=.03. The results and limitations are further discussed in the article.

Development and Validation of the Vicarious Distress Questionnaire

by Delphine Grynberg

Grynberg, D., Heeren, A., & Luminet, O. (2012). Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science. Accepted for publication.

The ability to empathize with other people’s feelings of distress has been widely studied in psychology. However, no... more The ability to empathize with other people’s feelings of distress has been widely studied in psychology. However, no questionnaire to date has been developed in order to measure such distress responses and their behavioural correlates. Three studies describe the development and the validation of the Vicarious Distress Questionnaire (VDQ), which is a self-report measure that assesses participants’ distress responses as well as their consequences (support or avoidance) in response to another’s distress. In Study 1, we developed items and assessed the factor structure of the VDQ. Study 2 presented a confirmatory factor analysis that supported the three-factor model (Distress, Support, and Avoidance factors) and showed good scale score reliability. Study 3 showed significant correlations among the factors of the VDQ and measures of affective empathy, anxiety disorders, alexithymia, and mood disorders. The Distress factor of the VDQ also showed satisfactory discriminant validity with the cognitive factors of empathy (i.e., Perspective Taking and Fantasy). Taken together, these results provide comprehensive support for the validity and reliability of the VDQ.

Comparison of 1-and 3-Parameter Item Response Theory Models

by Ngadiman Djaja

Explicit discrimination and health: development and psychometric properties of an assessment instrument

by Roger Keller Celeste

Rev Saúde Pública 2012;46(2):269-78

OBJECTIVE: To develop an instrument to assess discrimination effects on health outcomes and behaviors, capable of... more OBJECTIVE: To develop an instrument to assess discrimination effects on health outcomes and behaviors, capable of distinguishing harmful differential treatment effects from their interpretation as discriminatory events.

METHODS: Successive versions of an instrument were developed based on a systematic review of instruments assessing racial discrimination, focus groups and review by a panel comprising seven experts. The instrument was refi ned using cognitive interviews and pilot-testing. The fi nal version of the instrument was administered to 424 undergraduate college students in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, in 2010. Structural dimensionality, two types of reliability and construct validity were analyzed.

RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis corroborated the hypothesis of the instrument’s unidimensionality, and seven experts verified its face and content validity. The internal consistency was 0.8, and test-retest reliability was higher than 0.5 for 14 out of 18 items. The overall score was higher among socially disadvantaged individuals and correlated with adverse health behaviors/conditions, particularly when differential treatments were attributed to discrimination.

CONCLUSIONS: These fi ndings indicate the validity and reliability of the instrument developed. The proposed instrument enables the investigation of novel aspects of the relationship between discrimination and health

Score Generalizability in Writing Assessment: The Interface Between Applied Linguistics and Psychometrics Research

by Atta Gebril

G theory in language assessment

by Atta Gebril

Gebril, A. (forthcoming). G theory in language assessment. In C. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. xxx-xxx). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. (Invited author).

The factor structure of the revised illness perception questionnaire (IPQ-R) in end-stage renal disease patients

by Sam Norton

Joseph Chilcot, Sam Norton, David Wellsted & Ken Farrington (2012). Psychology, Health & Medicine, in press

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R)... more The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R) in a sample of 374 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. A confirmatory factor analysis of the IPQ-R, including the illness identity subscale, demonstrated adequate model fit for the factor structure as originally defined by (Moss-Morris, R., Weinman, J., Petrie, K. J., Horne, R., Cameron, L. D., & Buick, D. (2002). The revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Psychology & Health, 17 (1), 1–16.) Modifying the a-priori IPQ-R factor structure by removing two items with low factor loadings and specifying a path between personal control and item 23 had marginally better fit. A separate exploratory factor analysis of the causal items indicated three factors relating to Biological, Psychological and Behavioural causes. These findings provide evidence towards the validity and reliability of the IPQ-R as a suitable measure of illness perceptions in the context of ESRD.

Halal Literacy and Intention of Muslim Consumers to Switch from Products Without Halal Label: An Instrument Development and Validation in Indonesia

by Imam Salehudin

ASEAN Marketing Journal, Vol 2 No 1 (June, 2010), ISSN 2085-5044.

Muslim consumers have strict commandments which guides their consumption behavior. However, Muslim individuals may... more Muslim consumers have strict commandments which guides their consumption behavior. However, Muslim individuals may have different compliance regarding the commandments. This difference in compliance may be explained by difference in halal literacy. Halal literacy is the ability to differentiate permissible (halal) and forbidden (haram) goods and services which came from better understanding of Islamic laws (shariah). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of Halal Literacy as well as to develop and validate an instrument to measure Halal Literacy for Muslim consumers.

Halal literacy was measured using two methods. One method using six items of five point Likert self evaluation scale and the other using fifteen true-false test questions with an option to choose doesn’t know. Proportion of correct and incorrect was used as weights in scoring to represent the difficulty of items. Scoring results were then analyzed with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using Weighted Least Square method to test construct validity. Scores were then used to classify cases into high, moderate and low Literacy groups. Self evaluation halal literacy and switching Intentions are compared between groups using ANOVA to determine concurrent validity.

Only ten out of fifteen items are considered valid using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. ANOVA showed that grouping of high, moderate and low literacy score can distinguish differences in perceived halal literacy and switching intentions between the groups. Post hoc tests and descriptive statistics revealed interesting non linear relationship between the halal literacy scores; self evaluated halal literacy and intentions to switch from products without halal labels.

Keywords: Halal literacy, halal label, Muslim consumer, measurement and validation, product switching intention

Rasch analysis supports the use of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales to measure mood in groups but not in individuals with chronic low back pain

by Luke Parkitny

Does IRT Provide More Sensitive Measures of Latent Traits in Statistical Tests? An Empirical Examination

by Jeff Stewart

Stewart, J. (In Press) Shiken Research Bulletin, 16 (1)

It has been frequently stated that Item Response Theory produces interval-scale measures where raw scores can only... more It has been frequently stated that Item Response Theory produces interval-scale measures where raw scores can only provide ordinal measures, and that therefore, researchers should choose IRT measures when selecting variables for common statistical tests, because raw scores may not meet their assumptions (Wright, 1992; Harwell & Gattie, 2001). In this study, this claim is empirically examined by conducting Pearson Correlations and ANOVAs on two data sets using raw scores, Rasch Person Measures and 2-Parameter IRT ability estimates, in order to determine if results differed as a consequence. Raw Scores and Rasch Person Measures were very highly correlated, and lead to extremely similar results in all cases. For a well-constructed, reliable test the same was true of 2PL ability estimates. However, in cases where the test has middling to poor reliability, 2PL ability estimates appear to produce a somewhat more sensitive measure of a latent trait than raw scores, which can result in meaningful differences in statistical tests.