Evaluating current practices in measuring and modeling adolescent alcohol frequency data

Substance use is a significant health risk behavior from both developmental and public health perspectives. In recent years, there has been substantial growth in the theoretical conceptualization of pathways to substance use during adolescence. However, in order to test these developmental theories researchers must be able to validly measure and model substance use. This project evaluated the current standard practices in measuring and modeling adolescent alcohol frequency data. Using a simulation study and empirical demonstration, I investigated the degree to which the quantitative characteristics of ordinal measures and ordinal scoring approaches impact researchers' ability to draw valid inferences from standard linear models. My results showed that ordinal alcohol frequency measures interacted with scoring approaches to substantially reduce statistical power and led to different patterns of effects. There was no clearly superior ordinal scoring approach and, in some conditions, the performance of scoring approaches depended on which measure was used

Validity Concerns With Multiplying Ordinal Items Defined by Binned Counts: An Application to a Quantity-Frequency Measure of Alcohol Use

Social and behavioral scientists often measure constructs that are truly discrete counts by collapsing (or binning) the counts into a smaller number of ordinal responses. While prior quantitative research has identified a series of concerns with similar binning procedures, there has been a lack of study on the consequences of multiplying these ordinal items to create a desired index. This measurement strategy is incorporated in many research applications, but it is particularly salient in the study of substance use where the product of ordinal quantity (number of drinks) and frequency (number of days) items is used to create an index of total consumption. In the current study, we demonstrate both analytically and empirically that this multiplicative procedure can introduce serious threats to construct validity. These threats, in turn, directly impact the ability to accurately measure alcohol consumption

Research Reports From Status Report: Identification of Appropriate Standards for Corrective Action for a Release from Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks

This document is a collection of research reports: Cost of Closure and Remediation for Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks Assessment of Number and Distribution of USTs Analysis of Potable Water Sources in Kentucky Analysis of Well Data and Soil Parameters as Related to the STATSGO Kentucky General Soil Map Petroleum Products: Chemical Composition, Tocxicological and Environmental Data Health Risk Analysis for Selected Petroleum Compounds Summary of Analytical Methods Soil Volume Calculations for UST Installations Generic Organic Containment Pathway Analysis for Components of Petroleum in Soil and Groundwate

The separation of between-person and within-person components of individual change over time: A latent curve model with structured residuals.

Although recent statistical and computational developments allow for the empirical testing of psychological theories in ways not previously possible, one particularly vexing challenge remains: how to optimally model the prospective, reciprocal relations between two constructs as they developmentally unfold over time. Several analytic methods currently exist that attempt to model these types of relations, and each approach is successful to varying degrees. However, none provide the unambiguous separation of between-person and within-person components of stability and change over time, components that are often hypothesized to exist in the psychological sciences. The goal of our paper is to propose and demonstrate a novel extension of the multivariate latent curve model to allow for the disaggregation of these effects

Urinary ATP as an indicator of infection and inflammation of the urinary tract in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms

BACKGROUND: Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is a neurotransmitter and inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathophysiology of lower urinary tract disease. ATP additionally reflects microbial biomass thus has potential as a surrogate marker of urinary tract infection (UTI). The optimum clinical sampling method for ATP urinalysis has not been established. We tested the potential of urinary ATP in the assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms, infection and inflammation, and validated sampling methods for clinical practice. METHODS: A prospective, blinded, cross-sectional observational study of adult patients presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and asymptomatic controls, was conducted between October 2009 and October 2012. Urinary ATP was assayed by a luciferin-luciferase method, pyuria counted by microscopy of fresh unspun urine and symptoms assessed using validated questionnaires. The sample collection, storage and processing methods were also validated. RESULTS: 75 controls and 340 patients with LUTS were grouped as without pyuria (n = 100), pyuria 1-9 wbc ?l(-1) (n = 120) and pyuria ?10 wbc ?l(-1) (n = 120). Urinary ATP was higher in association with female gender, voiding symptoms, pyuria greater than 10 wbc ?l(-1) and negative MSU culture. ROC curve analysis showed no evidence of diagnostic test potential. The urinary ATP signal decayed with storage at 23°C but was prevented by immediate freezing at ??-20°C, without boric acid preservative and without the need to centrifuge urine prior to freezing. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary ATP may have a role as a research tool but is unconvincing as a surrogate, clinical diagnostic marker

A Moderated Nonlinear Factor Model for the Development of Commensurate Measures in Integrative Data Analysis

Integrative data analysis (IDA) is a methodological framework that allows for the fitting of models to data that have been pooled across two or more independent sources. IDA offers many potential advantages including increased statistical power, greater subject heterogeneity, higher observed frequencies of low base-rate behaviors, and longer developmental periods of study. However, a core challenge is the estimation of valid and reliable psychometric scores that are based on potentially different items with different response options drawn from different studies. In Bauer and Hussong (2009) we proposed a method for obtaining scores within an IDA called moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA). Here we move significantly beyond this work in the development of a general framework for estimating MNLFA models and obtaining scale scores across a variety of settings. We propose a five step procedure and demonstrate this approach using data drawn from n=1972 individuals ranging in age from 11 to 34 years pooled across three independent studies to examine the factor structure of 17 binary items assessing depressive symptomatology. We offer substantive conclusions about the factor structure of depression, use this structure to compute individual-specific scale scores, and make recommendations for the use of these methods in practice

Kentucky UST Field Manual

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky. Goals for the study included: To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles. To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (2) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment. To address all compounds individually and collectively known as petroleum. To produce a report that shall be scientifically defensible

Status Report: Identification of Appropriate Standards for Corrective Action for a Release from Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks, Volume 1

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky: To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles. To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by a release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (b) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment. To address all compounds individually and collectively known as petroleum. To produce a report that shall be scientifically defensible

Guidelines of the International Headache Society for Controlled Clinical Trials in Cluster Headache

In 1995, a committee of the International Headache Society developed and published the first edition of the Guidelines for Controlled Trials of Drugs in Cluster Headache. These have not been revised. With the emergence of new medications, neuromodulation devices and trial designs, an updated version of the International Headache Society Guidelines for Controlled Clinical Trials in Cluster Headache is warranted. Given the scarcity of evidence-based data for cluster headache therapies, the update is largely consensus-based, but takes into account lessons learned from recent trials and demands by patients. It is intended to apply to both drug and neuromodulation treatments, with specific proposals for the latter when needed. The primary objective is to propose a template for designing high quality, state-of-the-art, controlled clinical trials of acute and preventive treatments in episodic and chronic cluster headache. The recommendations should not be regarded as dogma and alternative solutions to particular methodological problems should be explored in the future and scientifically validated

Motorsports Involvement Among Adolescents and Young Adults with Childhood ADHD

Though children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for impulsive, health-endangering behavior, few studies have examined non-substance use-related risk-taking behaviors. This study examined whether adolescents and young adults with ADHD histories were more likely than those without ADHD histories to report frequent engagement in motorsports, a collection of risky driving-related activities associated with elevated rates of physical injury. Path analyses tested whether persistent impulsivity, comorbid conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder (CD/ASP), and heavy alcohol use mediated this association. Analyses also explored whether frequent motorsporting was associated with unsafe and alcohol-influenced driving