Adaptive Measurement of Change in the Context of Item Parameter Drift.

Adaptive measurement of change (AMC) uses computerized adaptive testing (CAT) to measure and test the significance of intraindividual change on one or more latent traits. The extant AMC research has so far assumed that item parameter values are constant across testing occasions. Yet item parameters might change over time, a phenomenon termed item parameter drift (IPD).

Robustness of Adaptive Measurement of Change to Item Parameter Estimation Error.

Adaptive measurement of change (AMC) is a psychometric method for measuring intra-individual change on one or more latent traits across testing occasions. Three hypothesis tests-a test, likelihood ratio test, and score ratio index-have demonstrated desirable statistical properties in this context, including low false positive rates and high true positive rates. However, the extant AMC research has assumed that the item parameter values in the simulated item banks were devoid of estimation error.

Heywood you go away! Examining causes, effects, and treatments for Heywood cases in exploratory factor analysis.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a popular method for elucidating the latent structure of data. Unfortunately, EFA models can sometimes produce improper solutions with nonsensical results. For example, improper EFA solutions can include one or more Heywood cases, where common factors account for 100% or more of an observed variable's variance.

A Multivariate Study of Human Mate Preferences: Findings from the California Twin Registry.

Much research examining the biological and social-cultural underpinnings of human mate preferences has focused on univariate or bivariate analyses of demographic variables and personality constructs. In this paper, we argue that a multivariate approach more effectively highlights the multifaceted structure and correlates of human mate preferences. To support this claim, we applied several multivariate techniques to data from a large adult sample to (1) examine the major dimensions underlying individual differences in mate preferences, and (2) elucidate how these preferences relate to individual differences in personality.

Effects of a two-generation human capital program on low-income parents' education, employment, and psychological wellbeing.

Two-generation human capital programs for families provide education and workforce training for parents simultaneously with education for children. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a model two-generation program, CareerAdvance, which recruits parents of children enrolled in Head Start into a health care workforce training program. After 1 year, CareerAdvance parents demonstrated higher rates of certification and employment in the health care sector than did matched-comparison parents whose children were also in Head Start.