Assessment最新文献

This study examined associations of compliance rate with the reliability and convergent validity of intoxication and negative affect assessments in experience sampling method (ESM) data in three samples (Veterans, Sexual Minority Men, and College Students). Convergent validity was operationalized as within-person associations between daily aggregates of random in situ assessments and retrospective daily assessments or transdermal alcohol assessments. Measures with lower ICC require more assessments for a reliable aggregate (e.g., daily mean). In this regard, the number of completed assessments and intraclass correlation (ICC), rather than compliance with the protocol per se, determines reliability. Although convergent validity was correlated with compliance rate, the relatively weak associations reflect that there are individuals with excellent compliance yet poor convergent validity as well as individuals with poor compliance and excellent convergent validity. The pattern of results does not show a clear threshold for compliance (e.g., 80%) that differentiates good versus poor validity.

Decades of research show a clear link between family factors and psychopathology. Family functioning varies across cultures, suggesting potential cultural differences in the association between family factors and psychopathology. In addition, assessing family functioning generally involves tools not systematically validated for diverse cultural backgrounds. Using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development^SM data (N = 11,864), this study found: (a) full scalar invariance was tenable for the Children's Reports of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) and Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief Child Version (PQ-BC) across race/ethnicity, but not for the Family Environment Scale (FES) and Parental Monitoring Survey (PMQ); (b) the CRPBI and PMQ were significantly associated with the PQ-BC, and (c) all three family scales had equivalent relations with the PQ-BC across groups. This highlights the importance of evaluating scales for measurement invariance across race/ethnicity. Results also help to connect specific family factors to the etiology of psychosis risk among U.S. children and adolescents.

Psychological test scores are commonly used in high-stakes settings to classify individuals. While measurement invariance across groups is necessary for valid and meaningful inferences of group differences, full measurement invariance rarely holds in practice. The classification accuracy analysis framework aims to quantify the degree and practical impact of noninvariance. However, how to best navigate the next steps remains unclear, and methods devised to account for noninvariance at the group level may be insufficient when the goal is classification. Furthermore, deleting a biased item may improve fairness but negatively affect performance, and replacing the test can be costly. We propose item-level effect size indices that allow test users to make more informed decisions by quantifying the impact of deleting (or retaining) an item on test performance and fairness, provide an illustrative example, and introduce unbiasr, an R package implementing the proposed methods.

Some recent studies have revived the approach of investigating extreme levels of self-reported depressive symptoms as indicative of gross exaggeration. While scores above 40 on the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) were discussed as indicating exaggerated symptom claims, different cut scores for identifying noncredible responding are now being discussed. A consecutive sample of 242 patients referred for forensic psychological assessment (mean age: 46.0 years, 47.7% women) with full data sets on the BDI-II and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) were assessed. Of all patients, 13.2% scored above 40 and BDI-II scores correlated with SIMS total scores at .62. For different SIMS cutoffs (>14, >16, >19, >23) used as criterion standard, optimal cut scores for the BDI-II were computed. When specificity was set at a minimum of 90%, sensitivity estimates were below 50% for all four SIMS levels. Extreme scores on the BDI-II should raise concern about the credibility of self-reported depressive symptom load. Diagnosis as well as severity estimates should not be based primarily on self-report instruments. To avoid significant risks of bias, the development of reliable cut scores for BDI-II elevations should be based on more studies with samples from diverse contexts.

The use of parent-report screeners for early detection of autism is time- and cost-efficient in clinical settings but their utility may vary by respondent characteristics. This study aimed to examine the degree to which infants' age and sex impacted parental reports of early behavioral signs of autism captured by the First Years Inventory Version 3.1 (FYIv3.1). The current sample included 6,454 caregivers of infants aged 6 to 16 months recruited through the North Carolina vital records. Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis for each of the seven FYIv3.1, we identified differential item functioning in small to medium effect sizes across 18 out of 69 items, with the majority of biases associated with infants' age (e.g., object mouthing, walking, pretend, and imitation), while sex-related biases were minimal. This indicates that differential scoring algorithms by infants' age and more closely spaced monitoring may be needed for these constructs for more accurate identification of autism in infancy.

Existing scales mainly focus on danger-based threats of death and bodily harm to assess exposure to traumatic events in war zone. However, major provocations and transgression of deeply held values and moral beliefs, as well as witnessing the suffering of others can be as traumatic as fear-inducing danger-based events. This raises the need for scales that assess both danger- and nondanger-based events among soldiers operating in modern war zones. Norwegian military personnel deployed to Afghanistan between late 2001 and end of 2020 were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey with a final sample size of 6,205 (males: n = 5,693; 91.7%; mean age = 41.93 years). We applied data reduction techniques (e.g., exploratory factor analysis, EFA, and exploratory graph analysis, EGA, through a community detection algorithm) to develop a 12-item, three-factor model (personal threat, traumatic witnessing, and moral injury) of the Warzone Stressor Exposure Index (WarZEI). Confirmatory factor analysis showed support for the factor model, with evidence of concurrent, discriminant, and incremental validity. These results indicate the WarZEI is a reliable and valid measure for assessing exposure to warzone stressors that allows for heterogeneity and the multidimensional nature of exposure to warzone stressors.

The Maladaptive Schema Scale (MSS) was developed to assess dysfunctional cognitive frameworks linked to psychopathology, including personality disorders, trauma, and relational issues, using contemporary theoretical frameworks, addressing limitations in existing schema measures. This study aimed to validate the MSS, evaluate newly proposed schemas, and establish its psychometric properties using Rasch methodology. The scale was assessed in clinical and nonclinical respondents (n = 2,182) for overall and item fit, dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance. All 27 MSS schemas had an acceptable overall fit to the Rasch model, no item misfit, no local dependence, evidence of strict unidimensionality, measurement invariance by sex, age, time taken and clinical group, and convergent validity with the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ). The MSS is a valid, reliable, and comprehensive tool for assessing maladaptive schemas in clinical and research settings, offering advantages in both brevity and breadth over traditional schema measures.

This study addresses the need for screening tests that can discriminate between dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal age-related memory functioning in understudied populations. One hundred sixty-four Romanian patients with dementia, MCI, and community members were assessed with the Memory of Objects and Digits and Examination of Memory Malingering (MODEMM), the MMSE-2 standard version (MMSE-2-SV), and quick mild cognitive impairment (QMCI) screen to determine each instrument's ability to distinguish between diagnostic groups and controls. The integral version of the MODEMM (MODEMM-I) classified diagnostic groups with outstanding accuracies (area under the curve [AUC] = .91-.99, p < .001), similar to QMCI (AUCs = .92-.98, p < .001) and the MMSE-2-SV (AUCs = .89-.99, p < .001). Cutoffs were adjusted for each diagnostic condition according to levels of education. Despite high-accuracy values, the MODEMM subscales were less sensitive to MCI than the integral version. Results support the MODEMM-I as an accurate screening tool for cognitive impairment in the understudied Romanian population.

This study examined whether the 20-item Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5), eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) exhibited factorial invariance across sexual orientation identity (heterosexual vs. sexual minority) and gender identity (cisgender men vs. cisgender women vs. transgender/gender diverse) in veterans. Data from a cohort study of veterans (N = 1,062; 20.9% transgender and gender diverse; 66.3%-66.7% sexual minority) were used to conduct multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Findings indicated that levels of factorial invariance were met for all measures, but partial residual invariance was required for the PHQ-8 and GAD-7. Thus, these instruments are appropriate for routine clinical assessment among veterans and in research with questions that can be answered with scale-level information, but item-level research questions involving the PHQ-8 and GAD-7 (e.g., daily diary studies) require caution when the studies involve sexually and gender diverse veterans.

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) has gained significant traction in clinical psychological science. However, HiTOP has not been extensively validated across diverse populations. This study tested measurement invariance-the degree to which latent constructs are measured with equivalence across groups-in HiTOP across racial and ethnic groups using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. These models were followed with rigorous tests of construct validation (i.e., convergent, discriminant, and concurrent) on the latent factors using a Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) framework. Comparing across non-Hispanic White (n = 7,166), Hispanic (n = 2,411), and non-Hispanic Black (n = 1,862) youths, the five-factor model comprising Externalizing, Neurodevelopmental, Internalizing, Somatoform, and Detachment factors demonstrated configural, metric, scalar, and strict measurement invariance. While each of the five factors demonstrated good evidence of concurrent and convergent validity, evidence for their discriminant validity was not as robust. Establishing measurement invariance and construct validity of the HiTOP model has critical scientific and clinical implications, particularly if dimensions are to be used in addressing mental health disparities in minoritized populations.