Involving adolescents with intellectual disability in the adaptation of self-reported subjective well-being measures:participatory research and methodological considerations

BACKGROUND: The measurement of subjective well-being is challenging with samples of adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) given the cognitive and linguistic difficulties they face in comprehending standardised measures, and as such is primarily based on proxy reports. The lack of appropriate tools needs to be addressed so that adolescents with ID can self-report on their own well-being. The current study reports on the use of participatory research methods to adapt and modify two standardised self-report measures of subjective well-being suitable for completion by adolescents with ID. METHOD: Two special schools were recruited for this study. At each school, staff (n = 15) and pupils aged 11-17 years (n = 35) participated. A series of co-design workshops were conducted to adapt two standardised subjective well-being measures: Kidscreen-10 and short-form Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. RESULTS: Specific aspects for measure adaption were identified: simplifying the item wording and phrasing; inclusion of pictorial communication symbols and visual prompts to represent the meaning of items; changing of tense of questions from past to present; asking questions rather than statements; reducing 5-point Likert scales to 3-point or dichotomous; presenting one item at a time during administration; and developing alternate formats of the survey to ensure inclusivity. CONCLUSIONS: This paper illustrates the value of using participatory research methods when working alongside adolescents with ID and offers methodological, as well as practical, guidance in the context of adapting subjective self-report measures for this target group, serving as a guide to fellow researchers and clinicians interested in modifying or developing self-report measures for adolescents with ID

Protocol for a systematic review exploring the psychometric properties of self-report health-related quality of life and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND: Whilst there are studies that have systematically reviewed the psychometric properties of quality of life measures for children and young people with intellectual disabilities, these narrowly focus on disease or health conditions. The objective of this planned systematic review is therefore to collate, summarise, and critically appraise the psychometric properties of self-report health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents (aged 11-16) with an intellectual disability. METHODS: We designed and registered a study protocol for a systematic review of studies which explores the psychometric properties of self-report HRQoL and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Electronic databases including PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and ERIC will be searched using predefined search terms to identify relevant studies. Quantitative and mixed-methods studies, and studies published in peer-reviewed journals or grey literature, will be included. Review papers, editorials, and case studies will be excluded. Eligible studies should identify self-report measures which assess HRQoL and subjective wellbeing among adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed by applying the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist. The quality of the evidence (i.e. the total body of evidence used for the overall ratings on each psychometric property of an instrument) will be evaluated in accordance with the modified GRADE guidelines. DISCUSSION: This systematic review will be among the first to systematically explore the psychometric properties of self-report HRQoL and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities. By providing evidence-based knowledge about measures being used in HRQoL and subjective wellbeing research amongst this population, and more importantly how reliable and valid these measures are, the most suitable for use will be identified. Our findings will be of potential interest to clinicians, researchers, and service providers who need information about the methodological quality and the characteristics of measures to make informed decisions about the most reliable and valid tool for a specific purpose. The findings from this study will contribute to the knowledge surrounding available and appropriate measures to use for measuring HRQoL and subjective wellbeing of adolescents with intellectual disabilities, which are necessary to inform intervention development and future health policy. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: The protocol has been registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The registration number is CRD42021231697

Diatom Diversity and Community Structure Along a Thermal Gradient in the Maple River of Northern Michigan

Articlehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96973/1/UMURF-Issue04_2007-AMaguire.pd

Speed of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation of Pictures, Numbers and Words Affects Event-Related Potential-Based Detection Accuracy

Rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can detect target images among a continuous stream of rapidly presented images, by classifying a viewer’s event related potentials (ERPs) associated with the target and non-targets images. Whilst the majority of RSVP-BCI studies to date have concentrated on the identification of a single type of image, namely pictures , here we study the capability of RSVP-BCI to detect three different target image types: pictures, numbers and words . The impact of presentation duration (speed) i.e., 100–200ms (5–10Hz), 200–300ms (3.3–5Hz) or 300–400ms (2.5–3.3Hz), is also investigated. 2-way repeated measure ANOVA on accuracies of detecting targets from non-target stimuli (ratio 1:9) measured via area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUC) for ${N}={15}$ subjects revealed a significant effect of factor Stimulus-Type ( pictures, numbers, words ) (F (2,28) = 7.243, ${p} = {0.003}$ ) and for Stimulus-Duration (F (2,28) = 5.591, p = 0.011). Furthermore, there is an interaction between stimulus type and duration: F (4,56) = 4.419, ${p} = {0.004}$ ). The results indicate that when designing RSVP-BCI paradigms, the content of the images and the rate at which images are presented impact on the accuracy of detection and hence these parameters are key experimental variables in protocol design and applications, which apply RSVP for multimodal image datasets

The effectiveness of psychological interventions for people experiencing homelessness:A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Homelessness is a complex social, economic and psychological issue, and compared with the general population, people experiencing homelessness suffer disproportionately from mental health and substance use issues. Evidence suggests that psychological interventions can improve the quality‐of‐life of people experiencing homelessness. A systematic review and meta‐analysis were conducted on studies identified in five databases. Global studies published before July 2023 were included. A total of 35 studies were identified from 30 independent trials conducted in five countries. Outcomes were divided into six domains: substance use, mental health, psychological wellbeing, health behaviour, antisocial behaviour and social outcomes. A meta‐analysis was performed on data from 22 studies investigating outcomes of substance use, abstinence, anxiety, depression and PTSD. Evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of psychological interventions for a range of outcomes affecting people experiencing homelessness. Cognitive behaviour therapy and motivational interviewing were deemed particularly effective across a range of outcomes and were also considered a cost‐effective option. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement