A rasch analysis of three socialization and communication measures in 4-year doctor of pharmacy students.

The impact of communication and anxiety on Doctor of Pharmacy students across three measures was examined. Data were collected (N = 120) from 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy students at a historically black college/university using the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, and the Social Phobia Inventory. Results of Rasch Differential Item Functioning Analysis indicated statistically significant differences between each ethnic group on subcomponents of anxiety in each measure (20% Caucasian, 43% African American, 31.7% Asian, and 4.2% others). Evidence from this study shows that racial demographics affect different subscales of anxiety across doctoral pharmacy students. While some pedagogical implications exist, issues within the measures and their items must also be addressed.