Constructing an Outcome Measure of Occupational Experience: An Application of Rasch Measurement Methods.

Rasch methods were used to evaluate and further develop the Daily Experiences of Pleasure, Productivity, and Restoration Profile (PPR Profile) into a health outcome measure of occupational experience. Analyses of 263 participant PPR Profiles focused on rating scale structure, dimensionality, and reliability. All rating scale categories increased with the intended meaning of the scales, but only 20 of the 21 category measures fit the Rasch rating scale model (RRSM).

Is it possible to develop a cross-country test of social interaction?

Objective: The Evaluation of Social Interaction (ESI) is used in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. What is considered to be appropriate social interaction, however, differs amongst countries. If social interaction varies, the relative difficulty of the ESI items and types of social exchange also could vary, resulting in differential item functioning (DIF) and test bias in the form of differential test functioning (DTF).

Cross-regional validation of the School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills.

Objective: The objective was to determine whether the School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) is valid when used to evaluate students in different world regions.

Method: Participants were 984 students, ages 3-13 yr, from North America, Australia and New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the Nordic countries, matched for age and diagnoses. We used FACETS many-faceted Rasch analyses to generate item difficulty calibrations by region and evaluate for significant differential item functioning (DIF) and differential test functioning (DTF).

Evaluation of social interaction during occupational engagement.

The Evaluation of Social Interaction (ESI; Fisher & Griswold, 2008) assesses a person's performance of social interaction skills in the natural context with typical social partners during any area of occupation. We used Rasch analysis of 175 observations of 128 people, ages 4-73, to examine internal scale validity, the items' skill hierarchy and intended purpose, and the ESI's ability to differentiate between people with and without disabilities. The ESI demonstrated validity for 24 of 27 skills and six intended purposes, with a hierarchy of performance.