A Taxometric Analysis and External Validation of the Latent Structure of Student Risks and Needs.

The present study applied taxometric analyses to the Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students (WARNS)-an instrument designed to assess multiple domains of functioning related to justice system involvement arising from school disengagement-a trajectory referred to as . Previous taxometric studies of constructs related to juvenile justice system involvement found dimensional rather than taxonic (dichotomous) latent structures. Participants were 5008 students from 89 Washington school districts who completed the WARNS as part of standard educational practices.

Differential Item Functioning Effect Size Use for Validity Information.

There has been an emphasis on effect sizes for differential item functioning (DIF) with the purpose to understand the magnitude of the differences that are detected through statistical significance testing. Several different effect sizes have been suggested that correspond to the method used for analysis, as have different guidelines for interpretation. The purpose of this simulation study was to compare the performance of the DIF effect size measures described for quantifying and comparing the amount of DIF in two assessments.

Psychometric Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability of MoCA in American Indian Adults: The Strong Heart Study.

Standardized neuropsychological instruments are used to evaluate cognitive impairment, but few have been psychometrically evaluated in American Indians. We collected Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in 403 American Indians 70 to 95 years, as well as age, sex, education, bilingual status, depression symptoms, and other neuropsychological instruments. We evaluated inferences of psychometric validity, including scoring inference using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, generalizability inference using reliability coefficient, and extrapolation inference by examining performance across different contexts and substrata.

The Global Temperament Project: Parent-reported temperament in infants, toddlers, and children from 59 nations.

Data from 83,423 parent reports of temperament (surgency, negative affectivity, and regulatory capacity) in infants, toddlers, and children from 341 samples gathered in 59 countries were used to investigate the relations among culture, gender, and temperament. Between-nation differences in temperament were larger than those obtained in similar studies of adult personality, and most pronounced for negative affectivity. Nation-level patterns of negative affectivity were consistent across infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood, and patterns of regulatory capacity were consistent between infancy and toddlerhood.

Psychometric reliability, validity, and generalizability of 3MSE scores among American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study.

Objective: Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) is often used to screen for dementia, but little is known about psychometric validity in American Indians.

Methods: We recruited 818 American Indians aged 65-95 for 3MSE examinations in 2010-2013; 403 returned for a repeat examination in 2017-2019. Analyses included standard psychometrics inferences for interpretation, generalizability, and extrapolation: factor analysis; internal consistency-reliability; test-retest score stability; multiple indicator multiple cause structural equation models.

Measuring Food Security among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults: Validity Evidence Supports the Use of the US Department of Agriculture Module.

Background: Inequities in access, availability, and affordability of nutritious foods produced by settler colonialism contribute to high rates of food insecurity among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) households. Efforts to understand the influences of food security programming among AI/AN individuals in the United States are constrained by the absence of validity evidence for food security assessments for this population.

Objective: This study assessed whether AI/AN adult responses on the Food Security Survey Module provide an accurate assessment of food security prevalence, especially when compared with other racial and ethnic groups.

Latent profile similarity of middle and high school youth risk and needs.

Research concerning school success and completion has grown increasingly complex with the number of proposed associated risk and needs domains. As the number of domains expands, various data analytical techniques have been employed to understand them, including the modeling of latent profiles, to better understand how risks and needs aggregate at the level of individual persons. Latent profile analysis helps identify individuals' subgroups based on salient combinations of characteristics.

Psychometric Properties of Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) Test and Associations With Education and Bilingualism in American Indian Adults: The Strong Heart Study.

The Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) test is used to assess phonemic fluency and executive function. Formal validation of test scores is important for accurate cognitive evaluation. However, there is a dearth of psychometric validation among American Indian adults.

A Comparison of Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Network Models for Measurement Invariance Assessment When Indicator Residuals are Correlated.

Social science research is heavily dependent on the use of standardized assessments of a variety of phenomena, such as mood, executive functioning, and cognitive ability. An important assumption when using these instruments is that they perform similarly for all members of the population. When this assumption is violated, the validity evidence of the scores is called into question.

Relations between bedtime parenting behaviors and temperament across 14 cultures.

Objectives: The present study examined parental sleep-supporting practices during toddlerhood in relation to temperament across 14 cultures. We hypothesized that passive sleep-supporting techniques (e.g.

Contributions of causal reasoning to early scientific literacy.

Although early causal reasoning has been studied extensively, inconsistency in the tasks used to assess it has clouded our understanding of its structure, development, and relevance to broader developmental outcomes. The current research attempted to bring clarity to these questions by exploring patterns of performance across several commonly used measures of causal reasoning, and their relation to scientific literacy, in a sample of 3- to 5-year-old children from diverse backgrounds (N = 153). A longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis revealed that some measures of causal reasoning (counterfactual reasoning, causal learning, and causal inference), but not all of them (tracking cause-effect associations and resolving confounded evidence), assess a unidimensional factor and that this resulting factor was relatively stable across time.

A Motivational-Developmental Free Response Assessment Through a Bifactor Lens.

The Motivational-Developmental Assessment (MDA) measures a university student's motivational and developmental attributes by utilizing overlapping constructs measured across four writing prompts. The MDA's format may lead to the violation of the local item independence (LII) assumption for unidimensional item response theory (IRT) scoring models, or the uncorrelated errors assumption for scoring models in classical test theory (CTT) due to the measurement of overlapping constructs within a prompt. This assumption violation is known as a testlet effect, which can be viewed as a method effect.

Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Middle School Students: Invariance Properties Related to Gender and Ethnicity.

The middle school version of the Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students (msWARNS) is a self-report instrument designed for use by school personnel to identify barriers to school attendance and school success for sixth- to eighth-grade students. It measures six domains relevant to improving school outcomes that include aggression-defiance, depression-anxiety, substance use, peer deviance, home environment, and school engagement. In the present study, a bifactor S - 1 model, for which the aggression-defiance domain was the reference factor for the general factor and the other domains constituted the subfactors, had good fit and better fit than several other alternative models.

Applicability and Efficiency of a Computerized Adaptive Test for the Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students.

The Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students (WARNS) is a computer-based assessment created to help courts, schools, and youth service providers determine an adolescent's risks and needs that may lead to truancy, drop out, or delinquency from school. Users are advised to consider the WARNS total score to work with youth. A total score estimate based on fewer items than the full item set may result in less respondent burden, administration time, and fatigue, while not hindering accurate decisions.

Item response theory analysis of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure.

This study investigated item and scale functioning in the triarchic psychopathy measure (TriPM) using an item response theory (IRT) analysis. TriPM data collected from 937 (410 men and 527 women) college students and community members were analyzed. A graded response model was utilized to analyze the items comprising the TriPM's three scales.

A multi-centre international study of salivary hormone oestradiol and progesterone measurements in ART monitoring.

Research Question: Ovarian stimulation during IVF cycles involves close monitoring of oestradiol, progesterone and ultrasound measurements of follicle growth. In contrast to blood draws, sampling saliva is less invasive. Here, a blind validation is presented of a novel saliva-based oestradiol and progesterone assay carried out in samples collected in independent IVF clinics.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Temperament: Comparing Paternal ratings of US and Dutch infants.

This study conducted longitudinal comparisons of US and Dutch paternal ratings of temperament, measured via the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire-Revised, at 4 months (US = 99; Dutch 127) and 12 months (US = 66; Dutch 112) of age. US fathers rated their infant higher in the broad temperament trait Surgency, and its subscales vocal reactivity, high-intensity pleasure, and activity level. US fathers also rated their infants higher in Negative Emotionality, and its subscales of sadness, distress to limitations, and fear.

Quantifying Item Invariance for the Selection of the Least Biased Assessment.

An important aspect of educational and psychological measurement and evaluation of individuals is the selection of scales with appropriate evidence of reliability and validity for inferences and uses of the scores for the population of interest. One aspect of validity is the degree to which a scale fairly assesses the construct(s) of interest for members of different subgroups within the population. Typically, this issue is addressed statistically through assessment of differential item functioning (DIF) of individual items, or differential bundle functioning (DBF) of sets of items.

Understanding School Truancy: Risk-Need Latent Profiles of Adolescents.

Washington state requires school districts to file court petitions on students with excessive unexcused absences resulting in thousands of youth becoming involved in the court system. Once in the system, decisions are made about the level of risk each youth has for maladaptive behaviors. The Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students was created to assist youth service providers, courts, and schools to identify an adolescent's needs for social, emotional, or educational intervention.

Item and Structure Evaluation of the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory.

Background And Purpose: Genomic nursing education requires a genomic literacy assessment supported by evidence of reliability and validity. This study applied psychometric analyses to provide support for the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory (GNCI).

Methods: Over nine semesters, baccalaureate nursing students (N = 1,065) completed the GNCI on the first and last days of genomics instruction.

Comparison of Methods for Factor Invariance Testing of a 1-Factor Model With Small Samples and Skewed Latent Traits.

A primary underlying assumption for researchers using a psychological scale is that scores are comparable across individuals from different subgroups within the population. In the absence of invariance, the validity of these scores for inferences about individuals may be questionable. Factor invariance testing refers to the methodological approach to assessing whether specific factor model parameters are indeed equivalent across groups.

Methods for the Comparison of Differential Item Functioning across Assessments.

An important aspect of the educational and psychological evaluation of individuals is the selection of scales with appropriate evidence of reliability and validity for inferences and uses of the scores for the population of interest. One key aspect of validity is the degree to which a scale fairly assesses the construct(s) of interest for members of different subgroups within the population. Typically, this issue is addressed statistically through assessment of differential item functioning (DIF) of individual items, or differential test functioning (DTF) of sets of items within the same measure.