Validation of the Cognitive Assessment of Later Life Status (CALLS) instrument: a computerized telephonic measure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brief screening tests have been developed to measure cognitive performance and dementia, yet they measure limited cognitive domains and often lack construct validity. Neuropsychological assessments, while comprehensive, are too costly and time-consuming for epidemiological studies. This study's aim was to develop a psychometrically valid telephone administered test of cognitive function in aging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a sequential hierarchical strategy, each stage of test development did not proceed until specified criteria were met. The 30 minute Cognitive Assessment of Later Life Status (CALLS) measure and a 2.5 hour in-person neuropsychological assessment were conducted with a randomly selected sample of 211 participants 65 years and older that included equivalent distributions of men and women from ethnically diverse populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the CALLS test was 0.81. A principal component analysis of the CALLS tests yielded five components. The CALLS total score was significantly correlated with four neuropsychological assessment components. Older age and having a high school education or less was significantly correlated with lower CALLS total scores. Females scored better overall than males. There were no score differences based on race.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The CALLS test is a valid measure that provides a unique opportunity to reliably and efficiently study cognitive function in large populations.</p

Enhancing Mate Selection through the Internet: A Comparison of Relationship Quality between Marriages arising from an Online Matchmaking System and Marriages arising from Unfettered Selection

The current work investigates the effects of a broadly adopted online matchmaking site on the nature and quality of married couples formed. Measures of personality, emotion, interests, values and marital adjustment were collected from a sample of married couples who had been introduced by an online matchmaking service, and from a sample of married couples who had met through unfettered choice. Results showed that couples introduced by the online matchmaking site were more similar, and that such similarity in general using the current measures was a strong predictor of marital adjustment in both online matched and comparison couples. Marriages resulting from the online matchmaking service were observed to have significantly higher scores for marital adjustment. We conclude that online matchmaking services based on predictive inference and proscribed selection can be observed to have a significant and meaningful impact on marital qualit

Place and health as complex systems: A case study and empirical test

The history of public health has focused on direct relationships between problems and solutions: vaccinations against diseases, ad campaigns targeting risky behaviors. But the accelerating pace and mounting intricacies of our lives are challenging the field to find new scientific methods for studying community health. The complexities of place (COP) approach is emerging as one such promising method. Place and Health as Complex Systems demonstrates how COP works, making an empirical case for its use in for designing and implementing interventions. This brief resource reviews the defining characteristics of places as dynamic and evolving social systems, rigorously testing them as well as the COP approach itself. The study, of twenty communities within one county in the Midwest, combines case-based methods and complexity science to determine whether COP improves upon traditional statistical methods of public health research. Its conclusions reveal strengths and limitations of the approach, immediate possibilities for its use, and challenges regarding future research. Included in the coverage: Characteristics of places and the complexities of place approach. The Definitional Test of Complex Systems. Case-based modeling using the SACS toolkit. Methods, maps, and measures used in the study. Places as nodes within larger networks. Places as power-based conflicted negotiations. Place and Health as Complex Systems brings COP into greater prominence in public health research, and is also valuable to researchers in related fields such as demography, health geography, community health, urban planning, and epidemiology.https://digitalcommons.kent.edu/facultybooks/1005/thumbnail.jp