Analytic Approach (analytic + approach)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The Effects of Strategic and Economic Interdependence on International Conflict Across Levels of Analysis

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009
Zeev Maoz
This study develops a Social Network Analytic approach to conceptualize and measure interdependence across levels of analysis. This framework contains several innovations. First, it integrates "sensitivity interdependence",the effects of changes in one state on other states,with "vulnerability interdependence",the opportunity costs of breaking a relationship. Second, it measures interdependence at different levels of analysis and across multiple relationships. Third, it integrates multiple dimensions of interdependence into a single measure. I derive hypotheses from the realist and liberal paradigms regarding the effects of strategic and economic interdependence on monadic, dyadic, and systemic conflict. These hypotheses are tested via data on alliances, military capability, and trade. The findings provide robust support to the expectations of the liberal paradigm regarding the effects of strategic and economic interdependence on conflict. On the other hand, the expectations of the realist paradigm are not supported. I discuss the theoretical and empirical implications of this approach. [source]


Use of mutually inductive coupling in probe design,

CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 4 2002
D.I. Hoult
Abstract An analysis is presented of mutually inductive coupling in probe design. It is assumed that near field couplings predominate and that lumped constants may therefore be employed. Using three published designs as examples, analytic techniques are presented for assessing B1 field strength, losses, and signal-to-noise ratio in increasingly complex situations. The perturbing effect of the B1 field from a matching coil is examined and it is shown that if the coil is too close to the sample there can be an asymmetry introduced in the rotating frame B1 field. It is then shown that such asymmetries are potentially a general feature of inductively coupled, loaded coils. The importance of suppressing unwanted resonances is highlighted if tuning and matching are to be orthogonal, a potential advantage of mutually inductive matching. Finally, a lumped-constant simulation is briefly described for those situations where an analytic approach becomes too cumbersome. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts in Magnetic Resonance (Magn Reson Engineering) 15: 262,285, 2002 [source]


Communication practices of coaches during mediator training: Addressing issues of knowledge and enactment

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009
Cindy H. White
The purpose of this study was to describe how coaches of mediators-in-training manage interaction in role-play sessions and help trainees learn about mediation practices. Using a qualitative, discourse analytic approach, we examined role-played mediation sessions where thirteen professional mediators each provided coaching to two pairs of student trainees who had completed training in interest-based mediation (for a total of twenty-six sessions). We argue that the techniques we observed at crucial moments in mediation training seemed designed to improve trainees' understanding of the mediation process but offered limited help in teaching trainees how to enact the communication practices that are essential to mediation. We consider how the demands of giving advice and assessing communication behavior affect what coaches say to trainees in these circumstances. [source]


Simple Analytical Model of the Anodic Streamer

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PLASMA PHYSICS, Issue 10 2007
D. Amir-Aid
Abstract In this work, an analytical model is used to study the formation of the anodic streamer in high pressure electrical discharge. This model enabled us to see the space variations of the characteristics of the streamer such as the electric field and the propagation velocity of streamer. The validity of the analytic approach is demonstrated by comparing the model results to the data from the literature. A qualitative concord was found. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


An analytic model for the behavior of arbitrary peer-to-peer networks

EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Issue 6 2004
Rüdiger Schollmeier
We present an analytic approach to better understand and design peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, which are becoming increasingly important, as they contribute an amount of traffic often dominating the total traffic in the internet even today. We start from a graph theoretical approach for infinite random networks and enhance that to include the effects of a finite network. Our approach is valid for an arbitrary degree distribution in the network and thus avoids the need for extensive simulation, which would otherwise be required to evaluate the performance of a specific P2P protocol. Our analytic approach can thus be used for improved tailoring of P2P communication as well as to minimize the often excessive signaling traffic. Copyright © 2004 AEI [source]


Stability and accuracy of power-series method for one-dimensional heat conduction with non-uniform grid systems

HEAT TRANSFER - ASIAN RESEARCH (FORMERLY HEAT TRANSFER-JAPANESE RESEARCH), Issue 7 2005
Kazuhiro Fukuyo
Abstract The power-series method, a finite analytic approach to heat transfer and fluid flow problems that is based on power-series expansion, was applied to a one-dimensional heat-conduction problem to evaluate its stability and accuracy. Application to a specific heat-conduction problem with non-uniform grid systems showed that it had stability within the ranges 10,5<,t,,xE, and ,xW,a<105, and 10,5<,<105. Comparison of its solutions with those by the fully implicit and Stefanovic,Stephan methods showed that this method yielded more accurate and robust solutions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 34(7): 470,480, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/htj.20085 [source]


Human resources planning on terrorism and crises in the Asia Pacific region: Cross-national challenge, reconsideration, and proposition from western experiences

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008
Dian-Yan Liou
Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States (2001) and the two bombing events in Bali (2002, 2005), there has been renewed interest in emergency prevention policies in many organizations around the world. Functional terrorism preparedness requires changes in organizational thinking about external environmental threats. This shift in organizational thinking could be led by human resource departments. In order to achieve this goal, HR departments must redefine their role in terms of crisis management, and then four key planning measures for insuring postemergency operations should be observed. Using system dynamics (SD) methodology, this article examines the causes of states in which organizations operate after terrorist attacks. Based on the qualitative analytic approach of causal loops, this article explores the major challenges for HR development prompted by terrorism. Specifically, we focus on changes both to organizational communication and to workforce planning and succession. These activities are a tremendous challenge immediately following a disaster. A functional HR plan must include elements for proactive alertness, the ability to dispatch inventory, evacuation plans, and record preservation coupled with dissemination to employees and explicit employee training and cross-cultural management. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


A discourse-analytic approach to the use of English in Cypriot Greek conversations

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2001
Dionysis Goutsos
The use of English in Cypriot Greek has been a highly contested issue, involving much speculation and prescription but, as yet, little analysis of actual data. This study is a preliminary exploration of the issue, focusing on extensive data from informal conversations between members of a Limassol family. The analysis suggests that instances of language alternation can be accounted for in terms of discourse analytic categories such as the distinction between local and global phenomena and the tri-partite scheme of ideational, interpersonal and sequential functions. The presence of English in Cypriot Greek conversations covers a wide range, from local borrowing to stereotypical sequential or more complex interpersonal and sequential phenomena, and cannot be effectively separated from the role that language alternation plays in speci ?c textual and contextual settings. The discussion suggests that a discourse analytic approach is an indispensable means of studying language alternation phenomena. [source]


A validation study of the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2010
Nhung T. Nguyen
Despite the claims made about the effectiveness of cross-cultural training programs, few studies have examined the reliability and validity of the instruments used in these training programs. In this study, the authors examined the factor structure of the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) via a confirmatory factor analytic approach. A series of confirmatory factor analytic models was tested and applied at the item level to both the CCAI and Goldberg's Big Five Inventory. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model in which a method factor was estimated fits the data significantly better than a model without such a method effect. Further, the method factor suppressed substantive relationships such that the two CCAI factors of Emotional Resilience and Personal Autonomy became significant correlates with self-reported number of international job assignments after accounting for method variance. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [source]


Heterogeneity in patterns of sexual risk behaviors among african-american youth: Associations with general and race-specific factors

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
Anthony L. Burrow
This descriptive study employed a within-groups analytic approach to examine patterns of sexual risk behavior and co-occurring general and race/ethnicity-specific risk and protective factors in a community sample of African-American youth (n = 436). Cluster analysis was used to classify young adults by levels of self-reported past year sexual risk behaviors. MANOVA, ANOVA, and chi-square analyses indicated significant associations between cluster membership and (a) lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, (b) peer substance use behaviors, and (c) self-reported past year alcohol and marijuana use. Cluster membership was not associated with several race/ethnicity-specific variables: racial/ethnic orientation, cultural mistrust, and perceived discrimination. The results of the current study can inform the development of HIV/STI prevention strategies for vulnerable African-American youth. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 35: 447,462, 2007. [source]


Influences of occlusal and skeletal discrepancies on biomechanical environment in the TMJ during maximum clenching: an analytic approach with the finite element method

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 9 2001
E. Tanaka
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of occlusal and skeletal discrepancies on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) stresses during maximum clenching. A three-dimensional (3-D) finite element model of the mandible including the TMJ was developed as a standard model. Furthermore, nine modified models were established; one dentoalveolar open bite model and eight skeletal open bite models with varying gonial angles or mandibular plane angles (FMAs). For the dentoalveolar open bite model, the TMJ stresses were larger than those for the standard model, although the distribution pattern was not essentially varied. In the skeletal open bite model with greater gonial angle or FMA, the TMJ stresses were significantly larger than those in the dentoalveolar open bite model. In conclusion, the TMJ stress was affected by occlusal and/or skeletal discrepancies, if coexisted in particular, indicating the association with degenerative changes of the TMJ components. [source]


Stress distribution in the temporomandibular joint affected by anterior disc displacement: a three-dimensional analytic approach with the finite-element method

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 9 2000
Tanaka E.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of anterior disc displacement on TMJ loading during maximum clenching by use of finite-element analysis. Based on a young human dry skull, an analytic model of the mandible including the TMJ was developed. In addition to the standard model with normal disc,condyle relation, two models were designed to simulate various degrees of anterior disc displacement. In the standard model, compressive stresses were induced in the anterior, middle and lateral areas on the condyle and glenoid fossa, whereas tensile stresses were observed in the posterior and medial regions. In the models with anterior disc displacement, compressive stresses were recognized in all the areas of TMJ components excluding the bilaminar zone. Shear stresses in the articular disc and bilaminar zone significantly increased in most areas. In conclusion, stress distributions in the TMJ with a normal disc position was substantially different from those with anterior disc displacement, suggesting that the progress in disc displacement may have some association with the nature of stress distributions in the TMJ, in the articular disc in particular. [source]


Gossip as strategy: The management of talk about others on reality TV show ,Big Brother'

JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2004
Joanna Thornborrow
In this paper we examine the nature of gossip talk as an activity type in the context of the TV game show ,Big Brother'. Using a detailed analytic approach to the situated nature of gossip sequences, we show how participants in the show manage gossip talk strategically to establish social relationships within the house, as well as to present themselves in a positive way to the viewing (and voting) audience. We argue that there is a contextual double framing for talk in the Big Brother (BB) house which participants are orienting to, both as members of a social group, and as players in a TV game show. The paper thus contributes to existing work on the social function of gossip, as well as exploring its strategic function in this particular interactional context, calling into question the nature of ,natural' discourse. [source]


Mexican-origin parents' involvement in adolescent peer relationships: A pattern analytic approach

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 116 2007
Kimberly A. Updegraff
The cultural backgrounds and experiences of Mexican-origin mothers and fathers (including their Anglo and Mexican cultural orientations and their familism values) and their socioeconomic background (parental education, family income, neighborhood poverty rate) are linked to the nature of their involvement in adolescent peer relationships. [source]


The (dis)appearance of the dying patient in generalist hospital and care home nurses' talk about the patient

NURSING PHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2008
Kirsten Schou PhD
Abstract, This article explores interview data from a study of 50 Norwegian generalist nurses' focus group accounts of caring for dying patients in the hospital and care home. An eclectic discourse analytic approach was applied to nurses' accounts of the patient and three discursive contexts of reference to the patient were identified: the ,taken as read' patient, the patient paired with particular characteristics and the patient as psychologically present. Talk about the patient falls mainly into the first two contexts, which position the patient in relation to three closely related discursive processes: individualization, anonymization and objectification. The third context presents the patient as a person with a particular identity. The analysis is discussed in a broader philosophical and sociological context in which we return to some of the theoretical work on death and dying of the 1990s and the topic of sequestration. We suggest that nurses' talk about the patient can be heard to participate in a continuing sequestration of the dying patient in healthcare institutions focused on ,result-oriented' care. [source]


Antecedents for aggression and the function analytic approach to the assessment of aggression and violence in personality disordered patients within secure settings

PERSONALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2007
Michael Daffern
The aim of this paper is to explore the validity and clinical utility of a function analytic approach to the assessment of aggression and violence in patients with personality disorder. This paper begins with a review of the factors that are associated with aggression in personality disordered patients, and focuses in particular upon those patients whose aggressive and violent behaviour has been the reason for their admission to a secure facility, and who may continue to engage in aggression. Two approaches that may explain such aggression are discussed and evaluated: (1) the identification of personality traits that may influence aggression and (2) the differentiation of hostile and instrumental aggression. Some limitations with these two approaches are identified, and an argument is made for function analytic assessment methods. An overview of one form of functional assessment, the Assessment and Classification of Function method, which assists in the classification of differential forms of aggression, is provided. Finally, the clinical and treatment implications of the function analytic approach are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Quantum and thermal effects in the double exchange ferromagnet

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 2 2003
N. Shannon
Abstract The physics of the ferromagnetic phase of the "double exchange" model has been widely discussed in the context of the CMR manganites. Usually, the double exchange ferromagnet is treated is classically, by mapping it onto an effective Heisenberg model. However this mapping does not permit a correct treatment of quantum or thermal fluctuation effects, and the results obtained lack many of the interesting features seen in experiments on the manganites. Here we outline a new analytic approach to systematically evaluating quantum and thermal corrections to the magnetic and electronic properties of the double exchange ferromagnet. [source]


The Logic of Transnational Action: The Good Corporation and the Global Compact

POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2007
Lynn Bennie
This article examines corporate participation in the UN Global Compact programme. Using data on the world's 2,000 largest companies, we address the question of why companies voluntarily assume the programme's responsibilities and promote the rights of ,global citizenship'. Our analytic approach is to view transnational corporate political behaviour as a result of firm-level decisions shaped by country-level variation in political audience effects. Drawing on earlier research on more conventional forms of corporate political activity, we expect factors influential in the standard model of firm political activity to determine participation in the Global Compact. In addition, we argue that this highly visible, less instrumental dimension of a firm's political behaviour is driven by efforts to build a good environmental and human rights reputation with its audience of external actors. The importance of environmental and human rights concerns depends on the substance of the firm's business activities, the availability of investment and ,exit' options, and the home audience's bias towards the UN and human and environmental rights. We find support for political factors as well as firm and industry-level characteristics influencing the decision to participate in the Global Compact. [source]


Behavioral and learning problems in schoolchildren related to cognitive test data

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2004
FR Volkmar
The interface between disorders of learning and development and disorders of behavior presents challenges for researchers and clinicians alike. In the Elk et al. paper, a large group of children were screened for learning and/or behavioral problems. A relatively large number of children screened positive and their IQ scores were analyzed using a cluster analytic approach. Various patterns were identified including lower and higher functioning children. In our commentary, we point out the challenges for diagnosis of mental health problems in both lower and higher functioning children; the potential overlap of problems in learning and social interaction remains an area in need of additional work. Conclusion: There is a complex interaction between developmental status and behavioral difficulty; further research is needed to clarify diagnostic validity and areas where existing diagnostic systems need further refinement. [source]


Bridging Psychiatric and Anthropological Approaches: The Case of "Nerves" in the United States

ETHOS, Issue 3 2009
Britt Dahlberg
Psychiatrists and anthropologists have taken distinct analytic approaches when confronted with differences between emic and etic models for distress: psychiatrists have translated folk models into diagnostic categories whereas anthropologists have emphasized culture-specific meanings of illness. The rift between psychiatric and anthropological research keeps "individual disease" and "culture" disconnected and thus hinders the study of interrelationships between mental health and culture. In this article we bridge psychiatric and anthropological approaches by using cultural models to explore the experience of nerves among 27 older primary care patients from Baltimore, Maryland. We suggest that cultural models of distress arise in response to personal experiences, and in turn, shape those experiences. Shifting research from a focus on comparing content of emic and etic concepts, to examining how these social realities and concepts are coconstructed, may resolve epistemological and ontological debates surrounding differences between emic and etic concepts, and improve understanding of the interrelationships between culture and health. ["nerves," cultural models, metaphor, psychiatry, embodiment] [source]


Analytic Determination of Hydrocarbon Transmissivity from Baildown Tests

GROUND WATER, Issue 1 2000
David Huntley
Hydrocarbon baildown tests involve the rapid removal of floating hydrocarbon from an observation or production well, followed by monitoring the rate of recovery of both the oil/air and oil/water interfaces. This test has been used erroneously for several years to calculate the "true thickness" of hydrocarbon in the adjacent formation. More recent analysis of hydrocarbon distribution by Farr et al. (1990), Lenhard and Parker (1990), Huntley et al. (1994), and others have shown that, under vertical equilibrium conditions, there is no thickness exaggeration of hydrocarbon in a monitoring well, though there is a significant volume exaggeration. This body of work can be used to demonstrate that the calculation of a "true hydrocarbon thickness" using a baildown test has no basis in theory. The same body of work, however, also demonstrates that hydrocarbon saturations are typically much less than one, and are often below 0.5. Because the relative permeability decreases as hydrocarbon saturation decreases, the effective conductivity and mobility of the hydrocarbon is much less than that of water, even ignoring the effects of increased viscosity and decreased density. It is important to evaluate this decreased mobility of hydrocarbon due to partial pore saturation, as it has substantial impacts on both risk and remediation. This paper presents two analytic approaches to the analysis of hydrocarbon baildown test results to determine hydrocarbon transmissivity. The first approach is based on a modification of the Bouwer and Rice (1976) analysis of slug withdrawal test data. The second approach is based on a modification of Jacob and Lohman's (1952) constant drawdown,variable discharge aquifer test approach. The first approach can be applied only when the effective water transmissivity across the screened interval to water is much greater than the effective hydrocarbon transmissivity. When this condition is met, the two approaches give effectively identical results. [source]


Towards Finding the Person in the Data of Personality

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2003
Stephen G. West
This article is based on an address given on the occasion of receiving the 2000 Henry A. Murray award. The article presents a glimpse of my life story in personality and contributions to the field. These are placed in the context of observations about the recent history and sociology of the field. I outline some perspectives on the data that are collected and missing in personality research as well as the analyses that are conducted and those that are not conducted. These considerations identify both some persisting limitations in personality research and alternative analytic approaches that may prove useful in framing and answering new questions. Of particular promise are intensive studies that allow researchers to maintain a clear focus on the individual person. [source]


Error analysis in cross-correlation of sky maps: application to the Integrated Sachs,Wolfe detection

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007
Anna Cabré
ABSTRACT Constraining cosmological parameters from measurements of the Integrated Sachs,Wolfe effect requires developing robust and accurate methods for computing statistical errors in the cross-correlation between maps. This paper presents a detailed comparison of such error estimation applied to the case of cross-correlation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large-scale structure data. We compare theoretical models for error estimation with Monte Carlo simulations where both the galaxy and the CMB maps vary around a fiducial autocorrelation and cross-correlation model which agrees well with the current concordance , cold dark matter cosmology. Our analysis compares estimators both in harmonic and configuration (or real) space, quantifies the accuracy of the error analysis and discusses the impact of partial sky survey area and the choice of input fiducial model on dark energy constraints. We show that purely analytic approaches yield accurate errors even in surveys that cover only 10 per cent of the sky and that parameter constraints strongly depend on the fiducial model employed. Alternatively, we discuss the advantages and limitations of error estimators that can be directly applied to data. In particular, we show that errors and covariances from the jackknife method agree well with the theoretical approaches and simulations. We also introduce a novel method in real space that is computationally efficient and can be applied to real data and realistic survey geometries. Finally, we present a number of new findings and prescriptions that can be useful for analysis of real data and forecasts, and present a critical summary of the analyses done to date. [source]


Insights into different results from different causal contrasts in the presence of effect-measure modification,

PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 10 2006
Til Stürmer
Abstract Purpose Both propensity score (PS) matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) allow causal contrasts, albeit different ones. In the presence of effect-measure modification, different analytic approaches produce different summary estimates. Methods We present a spreadsheet example that assumes a dichotomous exposure, covariate, and outcome. The covariate can be a confounder or not and a modifier of the relative risk (RR) or not. Based on expected cell counts, we calculate RR estimates using five summary estimators: Mantel-Haenszel (MH), maximum likelihood (ML), the standardized mortality ratio (SMR), PS matching, and a common implementation of IPTW. Results Without effect-measure modification, all approaches produce identical results. In the presence of effect-measure modification and regardless of the presence of confounding, results from the SMR and PS are identical, but IPTW can produce strikingly different results (e.g., RR,=,0.83 vs. RR,=,1.50). In such settings, MH and ML do not estimate a population parameter and results for those measures fall between PS and IPTW. Conclusions Discrepancies between PS and IPTW reflect different weighting of stratum-specific effect estimates. SMR and PS matching assign weights according to the distribution of the effect-measure modifier in the exposed subpopulation, whereas IPTW assigns weights according to the distribution of the entire study population. In pharmacoepidemiology, contraindications to treatment that also modify the effect might be prevalent in the population, but would be rare among the exposed. In such settings, estimating the effect of exposure in the exposed rather than the whole population is preferable. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Exploring consumer knowledge structures using associative network analysis

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 4 2010
Thorsten A. Teichert
This paper offers a new perspective on consumer knowledge analysis that combines Human Associative Memory (HAM) models from cognitive psychology with network analytic approaches in order to gain deeper insights into consumers" mental representations, such as brand images. An illustrative case study compares the associative networks of a manufacturer brand with a retail brand and is used to demonstrate the application and interpretation of various network measures. Network analysis is conducted on three levels: Node-level analysis yields insights about salient brand image components that can be affected through short-term marketing activities. Group-level analysis is concerned with brand image dimensions that characterize a brand and can be strategically influenced in the medium term. Finally, network-level analysis examines the network structure as a whole, drawing parallels to brand imagery, which needs to be managed over the long term. Management implications are derived and suggestions for further research are provided. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


The prediction of disruptive behaviour disorders in an urban community sample: the contribution of person-centred analyses

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 6 2004
Keith B. Burt
Background:, Variable- and person-centred analyses were used to examine prediction of middle childhood behaviour problems from earlier child and family measures. Method:, A community sample of 164 families, initially recruited at antenatal clinics at two South London practices, was assessed for children's behaviour problems and cognitive ability, maternal mental health, and the family environment when the children were 4 years old. At age 11, children, mothers, and teachers reported the child's disruptive behaviour, and mothers and children were interviewed to identify cases of disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD). Results:, Neither social class nor ethnicity predicted the child's disruptive behaviour at age 11. Rather, path analyses and logistic regression analyses drew attention to early behavioural problems, maternal mental health and the child's cognitive ability at 4 as predictors of disruptive behaviour at age 11. Cluster analysis extended these findings by identifying two distinct pathways to disruptive symptoms and disorder. In one subgroup children who showed intellectual difficulties at 4 had become disruptive by 11. In a second subgroup mothers and children both showed psychological problems when the child was 4, and the children were disruptive at age 11. The person-centred approach also revealed a high-functioning group of cognitively able 4-year-olds in supportive environments, at especially low risk for DBD. Conclusions:, Combining variable- and person-centred analytic approaches can aid prediction of children's problems, draw attention to pertinent developmental pathways, and help integrate data from multiple informants. [source]


Factorial Invariance Within Longitudinal Structural Equation Models: Measuring the Same Construct Across Time

CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2010
Keith F. Widaman
Abstract, Charting change in behavior as a function of age and investigating longitudinal relations among constructs are primary goals of developmental research. Traditionally, researchers rely on a single measure (e.g., scale score) for a given construct for each person at each occasion of measurement, assuming that measure reflects the same construct at each occasion. With multiple indicators of a latent construct at each time of measurement, the researcher can evaluate whether factorial invariance holds. If factorial invariance constraints are satisfied, latent variable scores at each time of measurement are on the same metric and stronger conclusions are warranted. This article discusses factorial invariance in longitudinal studies, contrasting analytic approaches and highlighting strengths of the multiple-indicator approach to modeling developmental processes. [source]