The Reliability and Specificity of Delta Versus Residualized Change as Measures of Cardiovascular Reactivity to Behavioral Challenges

ABSTRACT The statistical parameters that influence the reliability of delta and residualized change were examined in the context of the assessment of cardiovascular reactivity. A comparison of the relative reliabilities of these two quantification methods was performed using systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate data from two samples of 134 and 109 subjects observed during baseline and either two or four behavioral challenges. The results indicated that both delta and residualized change scores can yield reliable measures of blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to behavioral challenges, and that their reliabilities will be comparable under the conditions observed in laboratory reactivity studies. Correlations between baseline and delta did not indicate that these two measures were systematically related. Finally, delta scores are more appropriate than residuals when assessing the generalizability of responses across a variety of tasks

Random Item IRT Models

random effects, generalizability, measurement, LLTM, DIF,

Organization-Level Mentoring and Organizational Performance Within Substance Abuse Centers

Individual benefits to those who have been mentored are well documented. The present study demonstrates that organization-level mentoring relates to overall organizational performance. In a study of 589 employees of 39 substance abuse treatment agencies, the authors found that agencies with a greater proportion of mentored employees also reported greater overall agency performance. Organization-level mentoring also related to organization-level job satisfaction, organization-level organizational citizenship behavior, and organization-level learning. Results provide justification for organizational investment of time and resources into efforts designed to facilitate mentoring, as well as support the notion that mentoring may provide a competitive advantage to organization