Construct Validity of Dimensions of Adaptive Behavior: A Multitrait-Multimethod Evaluation.

The construct validity of four dimensions of adaptive and maladaptive behavior was investigated using the multitrait-multimethod matrix procedure of Campbell and Fiske (1959). Measures off our traits cognitive competence, social competence, social maladaption, and personal maladaption were obtained on a sample of 157 persons with moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation using each of three methods of measurement-standardized assessment instrument, day shift staff ratings, and evening shift staff ratings. Applying the Campbell and Fiske rules of thumb and recently proposed structural equation modeling techniques to the data demonstrated strong convergent validity, clear discriminant validity, and only moderate levels of method variance in the observed measures. implications of the results for the assessment of adaptive behavior and its dimensional structure were discussed

National 4-H Common Measures: Initial Evaluation from California 4-H

Evaluation is a key component to learning about the effectiveness of a program. This article provides descriptive statistics of the newly developed National 4-H Common Measures (science, healthy living, citizenship, and youth development) based on data from 721 California 4-H youth. The measures were evaluated for their reliability and validity of individual items and overall measures using exploratory factor analysis. The measures overall appear to assess what they are intended to assess, but there are several methodological issues, such as cross-loading items and low variance. Recommendations for scale refinement and modifications are made

Detección de funcionamiento diferencial del ítem en indicadores conductuales de formas paralelas

Background: Despite the crucial importance of the notion of parallel forms within Classical Test Theory, the degree of parallelism between two forms of a test cannot be directly verified due to the unobservable nature of true scores. We intend to overcome some of the limitations of traditional approaches to analyzing parallelism by using the Differential Item Functioning framework. Method: We change the focus on comparison from total test scores to each of the items developed during test construction. We analyze the performance of a single group of individuals on parallel items designed to measure the same behavioral criterion by several DIF techniques. The proposed approach is illustrated with a dataset of 527 participants that responded to the two parallel forms of the Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Scale (Caterino, Gómez-Benito, Balluerka, Amador-Campos, & Stock, 2009). Results: 12 of the 18 items (66.6%) show probability values associated with the Mantel χ2 statistic of less than .01. The standardization procedure shows that half of DIF items favoured Form A and the other half Form B. Conclusions: The “differential functioning of behavioral indicators” (DFBI) can provide unique information on parallelism between pairs of items to complement traditional analysis of equivalence between parallel test forms based on total scores.Antecedentes: a pesar de la importancia crucial del concepto de formas paralelas en la Teoría Clásica de los Tests, el grado de paralelismo entre dos formas paralelas no puede comprobarse directamente debido al carácter inobservable de las puntuaciones verdaderas. Nuestra propuesta pretende superar algunas de las limitaciones de los métodos tradicionales utilizando el esquema del Funcionamiento Diferencial del Item. Método: cambiamos el objeto de la comparación de las puntuaciones totales a cada uno de los ítems individuales. Analizamos las puntuaciones de un único grupo de participantes en ítems paralelos diseñados para medir los mismos criterios comportamentales. Ejemplificamos la propuesta con las respuestas de 527 participantes a las dos formas paralelas de la “Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Scale” (Caterino, Gómez-Benito, Balluerka, Amador-Campos, & Stock, 2009).Resultados: 12 de los 18 ítems (66,6%) muestran valores de probabilidad asociados con el estadístico Mantel χ2 menores de .01. El procedimiento de Estandarización muestra que la mitad de los ítems con DIF favorecen a la Forma A y la otra mitad a la Forma B. Conclusiones: el procedimiento “differential functioning of behavioral indicators” (DFBI) puede aportar información única sobre el paralelismo entre parejas de ítems complementando el análisis tradicional de la equivalencia de formas paralelas.This study was partially funded by the Andalusia Regional Government under the Excellent Research Fund (Project nº SEJ- 6569, Project nº SEJ-5188), and the Agency for the Management of University and Research Grant of the Government of Catalonia (2014 SGR-1139)

Sample size in factor analysis: The role of model error

This article examines effects of sample size and other design features on correspondence between factors obtained from analysis of sample data and those present in the population from which the samples were drawn. We extend earlier work on this question by examining these phenomena in the situation in which the common factor model does not hold exactly in the population. We present a theoretical framework for representing such lack of fit and examine its implications in the population and sample. Based on this approach we hypothesize that lack of fit of the model in the population will not, on the average, influence recovery of population factors in analysis of sample data, regardless of degree of model error and regardless of sample size. Rather, such recovery will be affected only by phenomena related to sampling error which have been studied previously. These hypotheses are investigated and verified in two sampling studies, one using artificial data and one using empirical data

An Initial Application of a Biopsychosocial Framework to Predict Posttraumatic Stress Following Pediatric Injury

Objectives—Each year millions of children suffer from unintentional injuries that result in poor emotional and physical health. This study examined selected biopsychosocial factors (i.e., child heart rate, peritrauma appraisals, early coping, trauma history) to elucidate their roles in promoting emotional recovery following injury. The study evaluated specific hypotheses that threat appraisals (global and trauma-specific) and coping would predict subsequent posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), that coping would mediate the association between early and later PTSS, and that heart rate would predict PTSS and appraisals would mediate this association. Method—Participants were 96 children hospitalized for injury and assessed at 3 time points: T1 (within 2 weeks of injury), T2 (6-week follow-up), and T3 (12-week follow-up). Participants completed measures of trauma history and appraisals at T1, coping at T2, and PTSS at T1, T2, and T3. Heart rate was abstracted from medical records. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate study hypotheses. Results—Heart rate was not associated with PTSS or appraisals. Models including trauma history, appraisals, coping, and PTSS were constructed to test other study hypotheses and fit the data well. T1 global and trauma-specific threat appraisals were associated with T1 PTSS; T2 avoidant coping was a significant mediator of the relation between T1 and T3 PTSS. Conclusions—Findings confirm a role for appraisals and coping in the development of PTSS over the weeks following pediatric injury. Early appraisals and avoidant coping may be appropriate targets for prevention and early intervention. Future researchers should further explicate the utility of a biopsychosocial framework in predicting PTSS

General health status of youth with autism with and without intellectual disabilities transitioning from special education, and its relationship to personal and family circumstances:Longitudinal cohort study

Objective: Transition from school to early adulthood incurs many changes and may be associated with deterioration in general health in youth with autism. We aimed to investigate this. Method: The National Longitudinal Transitions Study-2 is a USA nationally representative sample of youth receiving special education services, aged 13–17 at wave 1, followed-up over 10 years in five data collection waves. We conducted random-effects ordered logistic regressions to determine the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals of wave, age, sex, ethnicity/race, additional intellectual disabilities, parental/guardian relationship status, and household income being associated with general health status in youth with autism. Results: Across waves, only between 74.3%–69.6% had excellent/very good health (71.7%–58.8% in those with co-occurring intellectual disabilities), but wave was not associated with health status. Associations were with age OR = 1.18 (1.04, 1.33), co-occurring intellectual disabilities OR = 1.56 (1.00, 2.44), and household income OR = 0.61 (0.40, 0.94) at $30,001–$50,000, OR = 0.44 (0.27, 0.72) at $50,001–$70,000, and OR = 0.34 (0.20, 0.56) at $70,001+. Sex, ethnicity/race, and parental/guardian relationship status were not associated with health status. Conclusion: There was little change in general health status longitudinally across the transitional period, but the proportion with excellent/very good health was low at each wave. Transitional planning should consider co-occurring intellectual disabilities, and the wider socioeconomic context in which children/youth with autism are raised. Lack of other longitudinal studies indicates a need for replication

General health status in young people with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome in, and transitioning from, special education: findings from the National Longitudinal Transitions Study‐2

Background: There has been little prior investigation of the general health of young people with intellectual disabilities across transition, nor separately for youth with intellectual disabilities with or without Down syndrome, despite general health being a strong predictor of subsequent health service use, hospital admissions and mortality in the general population. We aimed to investigate general health status in youth with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome over the transitional period and quantify the extent to which personal characteristics, parental relationship and household income are associated with general health status. Methods: The National Longitudinal Transitions Study‐2 includes a nationally representative sample of youth receiving special education services aged 13–17 years at wave 1, followed up over 10 years in five waves of data collection. Data on general health status of youth with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome were obtained from parent reports. We summarised overall demographics and general health status and plotted general health status for those who had health data available for all five waves. We then used random‐effects ordered logistic regression to investigate whether wave of data collection, age, sex, Down syndrome, ethnicity, parental relationship status and household income are associated with general health status. Results: At wave 1, data on intellectual disabilities were available on 9008/9576 (94.1%) young people, and 871/9008 (9.7%) of them had intellectual disabilities, of whom 125/871 (14.4%) had Down syndrome. Youth with intellectual disabilities with or without Down syndrome had low rates of excellent or very good health. Across waves 1–5, there was a shallow gradient in the proportion of youth with intellectual disabilities reporting excellent/very good health, from 57.7% at 13–17 years to 52.6% at 21–25 years, being more marked for those without Down syndrome (57.8% at 13–17 years to 51.8% at 21–25 years). However, contrary to our expectations, an ordinal measure of general health status did not decline over this transitional period and did not differ between youth with and without Down syndrome. There was a gradient with higher income associated with better health, significantly so over $50 001 (odds ratio = 0.559, 95% confidence interval 0.366–0.854). Poorer health was experienced by youth with Hispanic, Latino or Spanish ethnicity (odds ratio = 1.790, 95% confidence interval 1.051–3.048). Female sex and parental relationship status were not associated with health status. Conclusions: Young people with intellectual disabilities have bad health, and require support across all ages, including transition. Schools, teachers and staff in transitional services should consider health, and health care and support during transitional planning due to change in service provision and be aware of ethnicity and the stressful effects of low household income. This is important as interventions based on provision of greater support can prevent adverse consequences

Conscientiousness in the Classroom: A Process Explanation

Although the research literature has established that Conscientiousness predicts task performance across a variety of achievement contexts (e.g., Barrick & Mount, 1991; OﾒConnor & Paunonen, 2007), comparatively less is known about the processes that underlie these relations. To the latter end, the current research examines effortful strategies and achievement goals as mediating factors that might explain why people with higher levels of Conscientiousness are predicted to reach higher levels of academic performance. In a longitudinal study, 347 college students completed measures of personality and achievement goals at the beginning of the class, followed by measures of effortful strategies multiple times throughout the semester. Results support the hypothesis that effortful strategies mediate the association between Conscientiousness and academic performance. Moreover, the statistical effects of Conscientiousness were generally independent of achievement goals, but a small portion of the effect was mediated through approach, not avoidance, achievement goals. These results highlight the importance of examining mediating processes between personality and outcomes, and in the case of Conscientiousness, our results suggest that effortful strategies might serve as a useful target for performance-enhancing interventions. Intelligence and hard work are often viewed as two essential ingredients for success in achievement contexts such as school and work. Consistent with this intuition, there is a well-established literature focusing on the connections between intelligence and performance (e.g., Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998), and a more recent history of research has pointed to the importance of Conscientiousness as a predictor of job performance that is relatively independent of intelligence (e.g., Barrick & Mount, 1991; Judge et al.,1999; Judge, Klinger, Simon, & Yang, 2008; Noftle & Robins, 2007; Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007). Turning to the academic context, a recent meta-analysis found that Conscientiousness, in fact, was the only practically significant personality predictor of postsecondary performance (OﾒConnor & Paunonen, 2007). Additional research is now required to understand why Conscientiousness predicts outcomes by identifying and modeling the mediating mechanisms between Conscientiousness and academic performance outcomes. In the current study, we propose that Conscientiousness is related to the types of goals, study strategies, and work habits that in turn promote success in academic contexts. We test this proposed process-based explanation using longitudinal data collected from college students. Our perspective is informed by McAdams and Pals's (2006) integrative personality framework, which identifies three major levels of personality. The first level, dispositional traits, is probably the most dominant approach in contemporary personality psychology. This level captures ﾓbroad individual differences in behavior, thought, and feeling that account for general consistencies across situations and over timeﾔ (p. 212). The second level, characteristic adaptations, incorporates social-cognitive variables such as goals that are ﾓcontextualized in time, situations, and social rolesﾔ (p. 212). The third and most fine-grained level addresses life narratives, or the construction of life stories and the development of individual identities. Our investigation focuses on the first two levels, in that we use constructs from the achievement goal literature to help explain how Conscientiousness (a dispositional or trait construct) is linked with academic outcomes. Formulating process models that bridge these two levels provides an opportunity to develop a more integrative understanding by moving beyond the study of simple trait-to-outcome correlations in the domains of personality and educational research