Navigating the Bayes maze: The psychologist's guide to Bayesian statistics, a hands-on tutorial with R code.

Bayesian statistics has gained substantial popularity in the social sciences, particularly in psychology. Despite its growing prominence in the psychological literature, many researchers remain unacquainted with Bayesian methods and their advantages. This tutorial addresses the needs of curious applied psychology researchers and introduces Bayesian analysis as an accessible and powerful tool.

Equivalence Testing Based Fit Index: Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual.

A popular measure of model fit in structural equation modeling (SEM) is the standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) fit index. Equivalence testing has been used to evaluate model fit in structural equation modeling (SEM) but has yet to be applied to SRMR. Accordingly, the present study proposed equivalence-testing based fit tests for the SRMR (ESRMR).

Evaluating the performance of existing and novel equivalence tests for fit indices in structural equation modelling.

It has been suggested that equivalence testing (otherwise known as negligible effect testing) should be used to evaluate model fit within structural equation modelling (SEM). In this study, we propose novel variations of equivalence tests based on the popular root mean squared error of approximation and comparative fit index fit indices. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we compare the performance of these novel tests to other existing equivalence testing-based fit indices in SEM, as well as to other methods commonly used to evaluate model fit.

Denouncing the use of field-specific effect size distributions to inform magnitude.

An effect size (ES) provides valuable information regarding the magnitude of effects, with the interpretation of magnitude being the most important. Interpreting ES magnitude requires combining information from the numerical ES value and the context of the research. However, many researchers adopt popular benchmarks such as those proposed by Cohen.

The role of cognitive control and emotion regulation in predicting mental health problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Background: Many youth with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) experience mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or anger, and these are often associated with impairments of cognition and emotion regulation. The mechanisms that may be linking cognitive difficulties, emotion regulation and mental health are not known.

Aims: The current study examined whether adaptive and maladaptive (dysregulated) emotion regulation mediated the link between different cognitive control processes (working memory, inhibition and shifting) and internalizing/externalizing symptoms in children with NDDs.

Evaluating Equivalence Testing Methods for Measurement Invariance.

Measurement Invariance (MI) is often concluded from a nonsignificant chi-square difference test. Researchers have also proposed using change in goodness-of-fit indices ([Formula: see text]GOFs) instead. Both of these commonly used methods for testing MI have important limitations.

Exploring perceptions of meaningfulness in visual representations of bivariate relationships.

Researchers often need to consider the practical significance of a relationship. For example, interpreting the magnitude of an effect size or establishing bounds in equivalence testing requires knowledge of the meaningfulness of a relationship. However, there has been little research exploring the degree of relationship among variables (e.

The role of alexithymia in trauma therapy outcomes: Examining improvements in PTSD, dissociation, and interpersonal problems.

Objective: Alexithymia is a personality trait that reflects deficits in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions (Taylor & Bagby, 2013). It has been closely linked to childhood trauma and reported by individuals presenting with other trauma-related conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociation, and interpersonal problems (Powers, Etkin, Gyurak, Bradley, & Jovanovic, 2015). Addressing the emotional deficits associated with alexithymia is fundamental to resolving issues of childhood trauma and, therefore, is at the core of many trauma therapy models (e.

ANOVA and the variance homogeneity assumption: Exploring a better gatekeeper.

Valid use of the traditional independent samples ANOVA procedure requires that the population variances are equal. Previous research has investigated whether variance homogeneity tests, such as Levene's test, are satisfactory as gatekeepers for identifying when to use or not to use the ANOVA procedure. This research focuses on a novel homogeneity of variance test that incorporates an equivalence testing approach.

Increasing Literacy in Quantitative Methods: The Key to the Future of Canadian Psychology.

Quantitative methods (QM) dominate empirical research in psychology. Unfortunately most researchers in psychology receive inadequate training in QM. This creates a challenge for researchers who require advanced statistical methods to appropriately analyze their data.

Testing for negligible interaction: A coherent and robust approach.

Researchers often want to demonstrate a lack of interaction between two categorical predictors on an outcome. To justify a lack of interaction, researchers typically accept the null hypothesis of no interaction from a conventional analysis of variance (ANOVA). This method is inappropriate as failure to reject the null hypothesis does not provide statistical evidence to support a lack of interaction.

The mental health status of ethnocultural minorities in Ontario and their mental health care.

Background: Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability and early mortality. The objective of this study was to describe and compare psychosocial indicators and mental health service use among ethnoculturally-diverse Ontarians.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Ontario Health Study pilot investigation.

The relationships between therapeutic alliance and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Therapeutic alliance has been considered an important factor in child psychotherapy and is consistently associated with positive outcomes. Nevertheless, research on alliance in the context of child trauma therapy is very scarce. This study examined the relationships between child therapeutic alliance and psychopathology in an empirically supported child trauma therapy model designed to address issues related to trauma with children and their caregivers.

Equivalence tests for comparing correlation and regression coefficients.

Equivalence tests are an alternative to traditional difference-based tests for demonstrating a lack of association between two variables. While there are several recent studies investigating equivalence tests for comparing means, little research has been conducted on equivalence methods for evaluating the equivalence or similarity of two correlation coefficients or two regression coefficients. The current project proposes novel tests for evaluating the equivalence of two regression or correlation coefficients derived from the two one-sided tests (TOST) method (Schuirmann, 1987, J.

Assessing clinical significance using robust normative comparisons.

Objective: Clinical significance determines whether an intervention makes a real difference in the everyday life of a client. One of the most recommended approaches for conducting group-level analyses of clinical significance is to evaluate whether the treated clinical group is equivalent to a normal comparison group (normative comparisons). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the analytical and practical power of assessing clinical significance using normative comparisons that are robust to violations of normality and homogeneity of variance assumptions.

Evaluating clinical significance: incorporating robust statistics with normative comparison tests.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a modified test of equivalence for conducting normative comparisons when distribution shapes are non-normal and variances are unequal. A Monte Carlo study was used to compare the empirical Type I error rates and power of the proposed Schuirmann-Yuen test of equivalence, which utilizes trimmed means, with that of the previously recommended Schuirmann and Schuirmann-Welch tests of equivalence when the assumptions of normality and variance homogeneity are satisfied, as well as when they are not satisfied. The empirical Type I error rates of the Schuirmann-Yuen were much closer to the nominal α level than those of the Schuirmann or Schuirmann-Welch tests, and the power of the Schuirmann-Yuen was substantially greater than that of the Schuirmann or Schuirmann-Welch tests when distributions were skewed or outliers were present.

Effect of non-normality on test statistics for one-way independent groups designs.

The data obtained from one-way independent groups designs is typically non-normal in form and rarely equally variable across treatment populations (i.e., population variances are heterogeneous).

Equivalence-based measures of clinical significance: assessing treatments for depression.

Treatment efficacy is largely determined by statistical significance testing, and clinical significance testing is often used to quantify or qualify the efficacy of a treatment at the individual or group level. This study applies the equivalence-based clinical significance model proposed by Kendall, Marrs-Garcia, Nath, and Sheldrick (1999) and a revised model proposed by Cribbie and Arpin-Cribbie (2009) to the assessment of treatments for depression. Using several studies that investigated treatments for depression, the authors tested whether the posttreatment means were equivalent to those for a similar normal comparison group.

Psychological well-being in obese inpatients with ischemic heart disease at entry and at discharge from a four-week cardiac rehabilitation program.

The purposes of this observational pre-post study were twofold: 1- to evaluate psychological health in obese patients with ischemic heart disease at admission to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and 2 - to examine the effectiveness of a 4-week CR residential program in improving obese patients' psychological well-being at discharge from CR. A sample of 177 obese patients completed the Psychological General Well-Being Inventory (PGWBI) at admission to the CR program and at discharge. The equivalence testing method with normative comparisons was used to determine the clinical significance of improvements after having established that baseline mean scores on the PGWBI scales were significantly lower than normal means.

Detecting a lack of association: an equivalence testing approach.

Researchers often test for a lack of association between variables. A lack of association is usually established by demonstrating a non-significant relationship with a traditional test (e.g.

Evaluating clinical significance through equivalence testing: extending the normative comparisons approach.

The field of psychology, as with many other disciplines, has been increasingly interested in being able to measure the effectiveness of behavioral interventions. This trend has led to a number of different approaches for measuring clinical significance, each addressing a slightly different aspect of the clinical outcome. Recently, clinical psychologists (and clients) have supported the contention that one of the most important therapeutic questions is whether clients are functioning equivalently to normal controls following an intervention.

Factor structure of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in individuals with advanced cancer.

Objective: Although the Beck Hopelessness Scale is often used with the seriously ill, its factor structure has been given relatively little consideration in this context.

Methods: The factor structure of this scale was examined in a sample of 406 ambulatory patients with advanced lung or gastrointestinal cancer, using a sequential exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis procedure.

Results: A two-factor model was consistent with the data: The first factor reflected a negative outlook and was labeled 'negative expectations'; the second factor identified a sense of resignation and was labeled 'loss of motivation.

Pairwise multiple comparison test procedures: an update for clinical child and adolescent psychologists.

Locating pairwise differences among treatment groups is a common practice of applied researchers. Articles published in this journal have addressed the issue of statistical inference within the context of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) framework, describing procedures for comparing means, among other issues. In particular, 1 article (Jaccard & Guilamo-Ramos, 2002b) presented some new methods of performing contrasts of means whereas another presented a framework for obtaining robust tests within this same context (Jaccard & Guilamo-Ramos, 2002a).

Improving accuracy of veracity judgment through cue training.

The ability to make judgments of veracity was investigated to see if training individuals on visual, vocal, or verbal content cues of deception would increase their ability to judge whether a message was truthful. The overall rate of accuracy of judging veracity was significantly greater for subjects trained on verbal content cues. More specifically, for detecting truthful messages, subjects trained on verbal content cues had significantly greater accuracy than subjects who received no cue training, whereas for detecting deceptive messages, there were no significant differences in accuracy among conditions.

Recommendations for applying tests of equivalence.

Researchers in psychology reliably select traditional null hypothesis significance tests (e.g., Student's t test), regardless of whether the research hypothesis relates to whether the group means are equivalent or whether the group means are different.