The cognitive representation of the large-scale environment

This thesis is concerned with the processes involved in the acquisition and use of cognitive representations of the large-scale environment, or 'cognitive mapping'. The first half of the thesis reviews relevant literature in three main sections. Firstly, the historical roots of the subject are described in chapters on early investigations of wayfinding and orientation, theoretical models of behaviour incorporating the concept of subjective knowledge and multidisciplinary studies of environmental images. Secondly, studies of group differences in cognitive mapping and initial theoretical frameworks are reviewed. Finally, the current state of research evidence is assessed in relation to four research areas. These concern methodological issues, the structure of internal representations, the process of acquiring new representations and individual differences in cognitive mapping.The remainder of the thesis reports and discusses four experimental studies of issues which were judged to be inadequately researched on the basis of the literature review. The first compared the utility of freehand sketch-mapping and three-dimensional modelling with educated, adult subjects. The second investigated the rate of acquisition of cognitive maps, particularly during the first days of environmental experience; using a structured mapping task. Objective accuracy, subjective ratings of accuracy and recall order were examined in relation to building usage and spatial experience. The third experiment compared artificial map learning with spatial relations ability, visual imagery ratings and everyday map usage. Additionally, the effect upon learning of stimulus mode (map or verbal list), response mode and stimulus-response mode compatibility was measured. The final experiment compared performance upon the 'real-life' mapping task of the second study with the map learning and spatial ability measures used in the third study. Evidence was found that cognitive mapping. spatial ability and attitudes to navigational problems are positively related. It was concluded that future work should emphasize the process of cognitive mapping and the relationship between map form and practical needs

Propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Violencia de Pareja, versión corta (DVQ-8): una herramienta de evaluación para entornos educativos

Este artículo proporciona información psicométrica de un instrumento de screening de victimización en parejas jóvenes: Dating Violence Questionnaire de 8 ítems. Un primer estudio desarrolló un análisis factorial exploratorio con matrices de correlación policóricas y rotación oblimin con 990 jóvenes universitarios mexicanos con edad promedio de 19.5, de las que dos tercios fueron mujeres, obteniendo una estructura unifactorial con alta confiabilidad para varones y mujeres. El segundo estudio, con una muestra de 355 participantes, proporcionó información sobre la validez del instrumento, encontrando una relación positiva entre el Dating Violence Questionnaire de 8 ítems y victimización percibida, se obtuvieron una significación alta y el tamaño del efecto grande y una relación negativa entre el instrumento y estado de salud, con un efecto moderado. En conclusión, el DVQ-8 incluye indicadores confiables y válidos para la detección temprana de victimización en contextos educativos.This article provides psychometric information from a screening tool for victimization in young couples: the 8-Item Dating Violence Questionnaire. The first study undertook an exploratory factor analysis with polymorphic correlation matrices and oblimin rotation of 990 Mexican university students with an average age of 19.5, two thirds of whom were women, obtaining a unifactorial structure with high reliability for males and females. The second study, with a sample of 355 participants, provided information on the validity of the instrument, finding a positive relationship between the 8-Item Dating Violence Questionnaire and perceived victimization. High significance and a large effect size and negative relationship were obtained between the instrument and state of health, with a moderate effect. In conclusion, the DVQ-8 includes reliable, valid indicators for the early detection of victimization in educational settings

Psychometric Properties of Questionnaires on Functional Health Status in Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction. Questionnaires on Functional Health Status (FHS) are part of the assessment of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Objective. To conduct a systematic review of the literature on the psychometric properties of English-language FHS questionnaires in adults with oropharyngeal dysphagia. Methods. A systematic search was performed using the electronic databases Pubmed and Embase. The psychometric properties of the questionnaires were determined based on the COSMIN taxonomy of measurement properties and definitions for health-related patient-reported outcomes and the COSMIN checklist using preset psychometric criteria. Results. Three questionnaires were included: the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10), the Swallowing Outcome after Laryngectomy (SOAL), and the Self-report Symptom Inventory. The Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) proved to be identical to the Modified Self-report Symptom Inventory. All FHS questionnaires obtained poor overall methodological quality scores for most measurement properties. Conclusions. The retrieved FHS questionnaires need psychometric reevaluation; if the overall methodological quality shows satisfactory improvement on most measurement properties, the use of the questionnaires in daily clinic and research can be justified. However, in case of insufficient validity and/or reliability scores, new FHS questionnaires need to be developed using and reporting on preestablished psychometric criteria as recommended in literature

Assessing safety climate in acute hospital settings: a systematic review of the adequacy of the psychometric properties of survey measurement tools

Background: The perceived importance of safety culture in improving patient safety and its impact on patient outcomes has led to a growing interest in the assessment of safety climate in healthcare organizations; however, the rigour with which safety climate tools were developed and psychometrically tested was shown to be variable. This paper aims to identify and review questionnaire studies designed to measure safety climate in acute hospital settings, in order to assess the adequacy of reported psychometric properties of identified tools. Methods: A systematic review of published empirical literature was undertaken to examine sample characteristics and instrument details including safety climate dimensions, origin and theoretical basis, and extent of psychometric evaluation (content validity, criterion validity, construct validity and internal reliability). Results: Five questionnaire tools, designed for general evaluation of safety climate in acute hospital settings, were included. Detailed inspection revealed ambiguity around concepts of safety culture and climate, safety climate dimensions and the methodological rigour associated with the design of these measures. Standard reporting of the psychometric properties of developed questionnaires was variable, although evidence of an improving trend in the quality of the reported psychometric properties of studies was noted. Evidence of the theoretical underpinnings of climate tools was limited, while a lack of clarity in the relationship between safety culture and patient outcome measures still exists. Conclusions: Evidence of the adequacy of the psychometric development of safety climate questionnaire tools is still limited. Research is necessary to resolve the controversies in the definitions and dimensions of safety culture and climate in healthcare and identify related inconsistencies. More importance should be given to the appropriate validation of safety climate questionnaires before extending their usage in healthcare contexts different from those in which they were originally developed. Mixed methods research to understand why psychometric assessment and measurement reporting practices can be inadequate and lacking in a theoretical basis is also necessary

The characteristics of cognitive neuroscience tests in a schizophrenia cognition clinical trial: Psychometric properties and correlations with standard measures.

In comparison to batteries of standard neuropsychological tests, cognitive neuroscience tests may offer a more specific assessment of discrete neurobiological processes that may be aberrant in schizophrenia. However, more information regarding psychometric properties and correlations with standard neuropsychological tests and functional measures is warranted to establish their validity as treatment outcome measures. The N-back and AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) are two promising cognitive neuroscience tests designed to measure specific components of working memory and contextual processing respectively. In the current study, we report the psychometric properties of multiple outcome measures from these two tests as well as their correlations with standard neuropsychological measures and functional capacity measures. The results suggest that while the AX-CPT and N-back display favorable psychometric properties, they do not exhibit greater sensitivity or specificity with functional measures than standard neurocognitive tests

Systematic review of the psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures for foot and ankle in rheumatoid arthritis

Background Foot problems and pain are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patient-reported outcome measures provide a standardized method of capturing patients’ perspectives of their functional status and wellbeing. There are many instruments specific to people with feet affected by rheumatoid arthritis but knowledge of their psychometric validation or methodological quality is lacking Objectives To identify patient-reported outcome measures specific to the foot and ankle and rheumatoid arthritis and investigate their methodological quality and psychometric properties Design Systematic review. Data source : A search was conducted for psychometric or validation studies on patient-reported outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis published in different languages, by examining the Pubmed; Scopus, CINAHL; PEDro and Google Scholar databases. Review methods . The systematic review performed was based on the following inclusion criteria: psychometric or clinimetric validation studies on patient-reported outcomes specific to the foot and ankle that included patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. Two authors independently assessed the quality of the studies and extracted datas Results Of the initial 431 studies, fourteen instruments met the inclusion criteria. Significant methodological flaws were detected in most with only SEFAS met the COSMIN quality criteria. Conclusion SEFAS had the best quality and was ranked most appropriate for use with patients living with Rheumatoid Arthriti

Psychometric precision in phenotype definition is a useful step in molecular genetic investigation of psychiatric disorders

Affective disorders are highly heritable, but few genetic risk variants have been consistently replicated in molecular genetic association studies. The common method of defining psychiatric phenotypes in molecular genetic research is either a summation of symptom scores or binary threshold score representing the risk of diagnosis. Psychometric latent variable methods can improve the precision of psychiatric phenotypes, especially when the data structure is not straightforward. Using data from the British 1946 birth cohort, we compared summary scores with psychometric modeling based on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) scale for affective symptoms in an association analysis of 27 candidate genes (249 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)). The psychometric method utilized a bi-factor model that partitioned the phenotype variances into five orthogonal latent variable factors, in accordance with the multidimensional data structure of the GHQ-28 involving somatic, social, anxiety and depression domains. Results showed that, compared with the summation approach, the affective symptoms defined by the bi-factor psychometric model had a higher number of associated SNPs of larger effect sizes. These results suggest that psychometrically defined mental health phenotypes can reflect the dimensions of complex phenotypes better than summation scores, and therefore offer a useful approach in genetic association investigations

Measuring mental health and wellbeing outcomes for children and adolescents to inform practice and policy:a review of child self-report measures

There is a growing appetite for mental health and wellbeing outcome measures that can inform clinical practice at individual and service levels, including use for local and national benchmarking. Despite a varied literature on child mental health and wellbeing outcome measures that focus on psychometric properties alone, no reviews exist that appraise the availability of psychometric evidence and suitability for use in routine practice in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) including key implementation issues. This paper aimed to present the findings of the first review that evaluates existing broadband measures of mental health and wellbeing outcomes in terms of these criteria. The following steps were implemented in order to select measures suitable for use in routine practice: literature database searches, consultation with stakeholders, application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, secondary searches and filtering. Subsequently, detailed reviews of the retained measures’ psychometric properties and implementation features were carried out. 11 measures were identified as having potential for use in routine practice and meeting most of the key criteria: 1) Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment, 2) Beck Youth Inventories, 3) Behavior Assessment System for Children, 4) Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale, 5) Child Health Questionnaire, 6) Child Symptom Inventories, 7) Health of the National Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents, 8) Kidscreen, 9) Pediatric Symptom Checklist, 10) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, 11) Youth Outcome Questionnaire. However, all existing measures identified had limitations as well as strengths. Furthermore, none had sufficient psychometric evidence available to demonstrate that they could reliably measure both severity and change over time in key groups. The review suggests a way of rigorously evaluating the growing number of broadband self-report mental health outcome measures against standards of feasibility and psychometric credibility in relation to use for practice and policy

The role of psychometrics in individual differences research in cognition: A case study of the AX-CPT

Investigating individual differences in cognition requires addressing questions not often thought about in standard experimental designs, especially regarding the psychometric properties of the task. Using the AX-CPT cognitive control task as a case study example, we address four concerns that one may encounter when researching the topic of individual differences in cognition. First, we demonstrate the importance of variability in task scores, which in turn directly impacts reliability, particularly when comparing correlations in different populations. Second, we demonstrate the importance of variability and reliability for evaluating potential failures to replicate predicted correlations, even within the same population. Third, we demonstrate how researchers can turn to evaluating psychometric properties as a way of evaluating the feasibility of utilizing the task in new settings (e.g., online administration). Lastly, we show how the examination of psychometric properties can help researchers make informed decisions when designing a study, such as determining the appropriate number of trials for a task

Measuring pathways to care in first-episode psychosis : a systematic review

Background Adequately understanding and measuring pathways to care is a prerequisite for early detection and effective treatment of first-episode psychosis. Method We conducted a systematic review of studies on pathways to care in first-episode psychosis to establish what measures currently exist to assess pathways in first-episode psychosis and to compare these measures. Results We identified 15 studies which had used six different measures of pathways to care. Differences in aims, methodology and lack of psychometric data did not allow a direct comparison of pathways measures but certain common themes emerged. Discussion Pathways to care in first-episode psychosis are diverse and varied. There is no measure with established psychometric properties that has been devised on a well-developed theoretical or conceptual framework and had its psychometric properties established. The conflict between exploring the patient's narrative and journey through the healthcare system and developing an empirical measure of pathways with optimal outcomes has hindered the development of such a measure