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Item Pool (item + pool)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	35%
Psychology	17%

Selected Abstracts

Loving styles: relationships with personality and attachment styles

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2004
Patrick C. L. Heaven
We investigated the ability of the major personality dimensions, some of their underlying facet scales, and attachment styles to predict primary and secondary loving styles, as conceptualized by Lee. Personality was assessed using the International Personality Item Pool, and attachment styles through an inventory devised by Collins and Read. Respondents were 302 undergraduate students (212 females; 90 males) who participated in the study in exchange for course credit. Results of regression path analysis showed that N was the only personality dimension without direct predictive links to loving styles. Instead, the influence of N was through an anxious attachment style. There were no personality predictors of Agape, and similarities were also observed between these results and those obtained in Hong Kong. The results are discussed with reference to previous studies and some suggestions for further research are also noted. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Constructing Rotating Item Pools for Constrained Adaptive Testing

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 4 2004
Adelaide Ariel
Preventing items in adaptive testing from being over- or underexposed is one of the main problems in computerized adaptive testing. Though the problem of overexposed items can be solved using a probabilistic item-exposure control method, such methods are unable to deal with the problem of underexposed items. Using a system of rotating item pools, on the other hand, is a method that potentially solves both problems. In this method, a master pool is divided into (possibly overlapping) smaller item pools, which are required to have similar distributions of content and statistical attributes. These pools are rotated among the testing sites to realize desirable exposure rates for the items. A test assembly model, motivated by Gulliksen's matched random subtests method, was explored to help solve the problem of dividing a master pool into a set of smaller pools. Different methods to solve the model are proposed. An item pool from the Law School Admission Test was used to evaluate the performances of computerized adaptive tests from systems of rotating item pools constructed using these methods. [source]

The Forensic Inpatient Observation Scale (FIOS): development, reliability and validity

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2001
Irma G.H. Timmerman
Introduction Re-offending, as a measure of success in forensic psychiatry, gives no information about other behaviours that may have changed. The development of the Forensic Inpatient Observation Scale (FIOS), an observation instrument to assess the non-offending functioning of forensic patients, is described. Study 1 In the first study the development of the initial item pool of the FIOS is described. This resulted in an instrument consisting of 78 items and seven scales. The internal reliability of the scales ranged from 0.78 to 0.91. The inter-rater reliability of the scales varied from 0.50 to 0.85 and the test,retest reliability over a period of three weeks was high for most scales, ranging from 0.74 to 0.89. Study 2 In the second study the FIOS was developed further in another sample of forensic patients. This time exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation and post hoc reliability analysis were applied to determine the factor structure among the items. This resulted in an item pool of 35 items, among which six factors could be distinguished that closely resemble the factor structure of the FIOS in study one: (1) self-care, (2) social behaviour, (3) oppositional behaviour, (4) insight offence/ problems, (5) verbal skills and (6) distress. Most items have high loadings on the factor they are assigned; 29 items have a loading of 0.60 or higher. The internal consistency of the scales ranges from 0.73 to 0.91 and the scales appear to be measuring independent constructs. Twenty-five out of the 35 items have an inter-rater correspondence of 90% or higher and 30 out of 35 items have an inter-rater correspondence of 87.5% or higher. The inter-rater reliability on the scale level, however, was somewhat less satisfying with correlations ranging from 0.50 to 0.69. Discussion It is argued that training the observers on a more regular basis will improve the inter-rater reliability. There is some evidence for the convergent validity of the FIOS. The FIOS has some advantages over existing inpatient scales in that it is developed specifically for forensic patients, it does not particularly focus on axis 1 symptoms but includes oppositional behaviour and attitudes to offending. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Instrument to assess depersonalization-derealization in panic disorder

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2002
Brian J. Cox Ph.D.
Abstract There is a long history of scholarly interest on depersonalization-derealization (DD) and its role in clinical anxiety, but there is a paucity of appropriate assessment instruments available. Our objective was to develop and evaluate a self-report measure of DD for use with clinically anxious patients. Panic disorder patients (n=169) were surveyed about DD experiences and provided data on a new item pool for psychometric development. DD episodes were common and a 28-item Depersonalization-Derealization Inventory was found to possess good reliability and validity. DD appears to be prevalent and clinically relevant in panic disorder. Continued study of DD is warranted and may be facilitated by the availability of a suitable instrument with promising psychometric properties. A 12-item version of the instrument may be appropriate as a brief screen. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test (CUPIT): development, reliability, concurrent and predictive validity among adolescents and adults

ADDICTION, Issue 4 2010
Jan Bashford
ABSTRACT Aims To describe the empirical construction and initial validation of the Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test (CUPIT), a brief self-report screening instrument for detection of currently and potentially problematic cannabis use. Design In a three-phase prospective design an item pool of candidate questions was generated from a literature review and extensive expert consultation. The CUPIT internal structure, cross-sectional and longitudinal psychometric properties were then systematically tested among heterogeneous past-year users. Participants Volunteer participants were 212 high-risk adolescents (n = 138) and adults (n = 74) aged 13,61 years from multiple community settings. Measurements The comprehensive assessment battery included several established measures of cannabis-related pathology for CUPIT validation, with DSM-IV/ICD-10 diagnoses of cannabis use disorders as criterion standard. Findings Sixteen items loading highly on two subscales derived from principal components analysis exhibited good to excellent test,retest (0.89,0.99) and internal consistency reliability (0.92, 0.83), and highly significant ability to discriminate diagnostic subgroups along the severity continuum (non-problematic, risky, problematic use). Twelve months later, baseline CUPIT scores demonstrated highly significant longitudinal predictive utility for respondents' follow-up diagnostic group membership. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified a CUPIT score of 12 to be the optimal cut-point for maximizing sensitivity for both currently diagnosable cannabis use disorder and those at risk of meeting diagnostic criteria in the following 12 months. Conclusions The CUPIT is a brief cannabis screener that is reliable, valid and acceptable for use across diverse community settings and consumers of all ages. The CUPIT has clear potential to assist with achievement of public health goals to reduce cannabis-related harms in the community. [source]

Public thinking about poverty: why it matters and how to measure it

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 1 2007
Floyd H. Bolitho
Meeting the Millennium Development Goals partly depends on not-profit organizations raising more funds, which in turn depends on having reliable and valid assessments of where donor and recipient perceptions are out-of-line. Across samples from a developed economy Australia (n,=,754), and a developing economy Mala,i (n,=,387), we explored the factor structure of the ,Causes of Third-World Poverty Questionnaire' (CTWPQ, D. Harper and colleagues, 1990). In addition to four core factors suggested through an original (N,=,89) sample from the UK (Blame [1] the Poor, [2] Nature, [3] Third World governments, and [4] International Exploitation), combined Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) differentiate a possible fifth factor germane to the social marketing of aid, blame [5] Conflict. Australians and Mala,ians differed significantly on all five factors, with Mala,ians blaming poverty more on situations and less on the poor themselves, compared to Australian counterparts. Our findings are tentative because the CTWPQ item pool requires expanding to represent underlying constructs more fully. Nonetheless, instruments like the CTWPQ can in future be used to identify and monitor in-context psychosocial barriers to donation, enabling not-profit marketing organizations to raise funds more efficiently and effectively. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Pregnant Women with HIV Attitude Scale: development and initial psychometric evaluation

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 8 2010
Lynda A. Tyer-Viola
tyer-viola l.a. & duffy m.e. (2010) The Pregnant Women with HIV Attitude Scale: development and initial psychometric evaluation. Journal of Advanced Nursing,66(8), 1852,1863. Abstract Title.,The Pregnant Women with HIV Attitude Scale: development and initial psychometric evaluation. Aim., This paper is a report of the development and initial psychometric evaluation of the Pregnant Women with HIV Attitude Scale. Background., Previous research has identified that attitudes toward persons with HIV/AIDS have been judgmental and could affect clinical care and outcomes. Stigma towards persons with HIV has persisted as a barrier to nursing care globally. Women are more vulnerable during pregnancy. An instrument to specifically measure obstetric care provider's attitudes toward this population is needed to target identified gaps in providing respectful care. Methods., Existing literature and instruments were analysed and two existing measures, the Attitudes about People with HIV Scale and the Attitudes toward Women with HIV Scale, were combined to create an initial item pool to address attitudes toward HIV-positive pregnant women. The data were collected in 2003 with obstetric nurses attending a national conference in the United States of America (N = 210). Content validity was used for item pool development and principal component analysis and analysis of variance were used to determine construct validity. Reliability was analysed using Cronbach's Alpha. Results., The new measure demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha estimates = 0·89). Principal component analysis yielded a two-component structure that accounted for 45% of the total variance: Mothering-Choice (alpha estimates = 0·89) and Sympathy-Rights (alpha estimates = 0·72). Conclusion., These data provided initial evidence of the psychometric properties of the Pregnant Women with HIV Attitude Scale. Further analysis is required of the validity of the constructs of this scale and its reliability with various obstetric care providers. [source]

Constructing Rotating Item Pools for Constrained Adaptive Testing

The Relationship Between Item Exposure and Test Overlap in Computerized Adaptive Testing

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 2 2003
Shu-Ying Chen
The purpose of this article is to present an analytical derivation for the mathematical form of an average between-test overlap index as a function of the item exposure index, for fixed-length computerized adaptive tests (CATs). This algebraic relationship is used to investigate the simultaneous control of item exposure at both the item and test levels. The results indicate that, in fixed-length CATs, control of the average between-test overlap is achieved via the mean and variance of the item exposure rates of the items that constitute the CAT item pool. The mean of the item exposure rates is easily manipulated. Control over the variance of the item exposure rates can be achieved via the maximum item exposure rate (rmax). Therefore, item exposure control methods which implement a specification of rmax (e.g., Sympson & Hetter, 1985) provide the most direct control at both the item and test levels. [source]

Operationalizing quality of life for people with profound multiple disabilities: a Delphi study

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007
K. Petry
Abstract Background In a recent study, we constructed an item pool that contains items on the quality of life (QOL) and related aspects of support of people with profound multiple disabilities (PMD). In the present study, a panel of experts assessed the content and the structure of this item pool in order to enhance its validity and usefulness. Method A two-round Delphi study was set up. The panel consisted of 45 experts, of whom 12 were theory-experts, 12 practice-experts and 12 experience-experts from Belgium (n = 12), Germany (n = 12), the Netherlands (n = 11) and the UK/Ireland (n = 10). Both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were applied to the data. Results The majority of the items were considered relevant for the QOL of people with PMD. In the first round, 91% of the items reached the 80% criterion of consensus. In the second round, 78.7% of the items reached the 85% criterion of consensus. There were no significant differences in opinion neither between types of experts nor between countries. Several items were reported as missing in the item pool and were added. Conclusions The results provide some evidence that the item pool is a valid operationalization of QOL of people with PMD and can be used in an instrument to measure the QOL of this target group. [source]

Measuring Parental Perceptions of Child Oral Health-related Quality of Life

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2003
Aleksandra Jokovic MSc
Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the P-CPQ, a measure of parental/caregiver perceptions of the oral health-related quality of life of children. This forms one component of the Child Oral Health Quality of Life Questionnaire (COHQOL). Methods: An item pool was developed through a review of existing child health questionnaires and interviews with parents/caregivers of children with pedodontic, orthodontic, and orofacial conditions. The resulting 47 items were used in a study in which 208 parents/caregivers provided data on their frequency and importance. The 31 items rated the most frequent and important were selected for the final questionnaire (P-CPQ). The P-CPQ validity and reliability were assessed by a new sample of 231 parents, 79 of whom completed two copies for the assessment of test-retest reliability. Results: The P-CPQ discriminated among the three clinical groups included in the expected direction. Within-group analyses using clinical data provided some evidence that scores were associated with the severity of the condition. The P-CPQ also showed good construct validity. It had excellent internal consistency reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 and demonstrated perfect test-retest reliability (ICC=0.85). Conclusion: The study provides data to indicate that the P-CPQ is valid and reliable. [source]

Questionnaire development: face validity and item impact testing of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile

COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 2007
Hillary L. Broder
Abstract Objective:, The Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) was designed to assess oral-facial well-being in school-age children as reported by the child and via proxy report from a caregiver. This article describes the development of the COHIP using a multi-staged impact approach recommended by Guyatt et al. (Quality of life and pharmacoeconomics in clinical trials. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven; 1996. p. 41). Methods:, There were multiple phases to the development of the questionnaire: (i) initial pool of items developed from the literature and expert review; (ii) face validity of items; (iii) impact evaluation of the initial item pool; (iv) development of positive items and face validity of new items; (v) impact evaluation of the revised questionnaire and (vi) factor analysis and final revision of the questionnaire. Factor analysis was completed on the final questionnaire using data from the impact evaluation in order to evaluate whether the COHIP measured independent conceptual domains. Results:, Factor analysis identified five domains: oral health, functional well-being, social/emotional well-being, school environment and self-image. Readability was calculated using the Flesch-Kinkaid readability score that was finalized at a 3.5 grade reading level. Finally, two response sets, and a revised format (e.g., including pictures, increasing font size, and shading every other item) were implemented to decrease respondent fatigue and increase accuracy of participant responses. Conclusions:, The final questionnaire consisted of 34 items and five conceptually distinct subscales: oral health, functional well-being, social/emotional well-being, school environment and self-image. Subsequent papers present the validity and reliability of the COHIP. [source]

Random-Groups Equating with Samples of 50 to 400 Test Takers

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 2 2010
Samuel A. Livingston
Five methods for equating in a random groups design were investigated in a series of resampling studies with samples of 400, 200, 100, and 50 test takers. Six operational test forms, each taken by 9,000 or more test takers, were used as item pools to construct pairs of forms to be equated. The criterion equating was the direct equipercentile equating in the group of all test takers. Equating accuracy was indicated by the root-mean-squared deviation, over 1,000 replications, of the sample equatings from the criterion equating. The methods investigated were equipercentile equating of smoothed distributions, linear equating, mean equating, symmetric circle-arc equating, and simplified circle-arc equating. The circle-arc methods produced the most accurate results for all sample sizes investigated, particularly in the upper half of the score distribution. The difference in equating accuracy between the two circle-arc methods was negligible. [source]

Constructing Rotating Item Pools for Constrained Adaptive Testing

Item Selection in Computerized Adaptive Testing: Should More Discriminating Items be Used First?

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 3 2001
Kit-Tai Hau
During computerized adaptive testing (CAT), items are selected continuously according to the test-taker's estimated ability. The traditional method of attaining the highest efficiency in ability estimation is to select items of maximum Fisher information at the currently estimated ability. Test security has become a problem because high-discrimination items are more likely to be selected and become overexposed. So, there seems to be a tradeoff between high efficiency in ability estimations and balanced usage of items. This series of four studies with simulated data addressed the dilemma by focusing on the notion of whether more or less discriminating items should be used first in CAT. The first study demonstrated that the common maximum information method with Sympson and Hetter (1985) control resulted in the use of more discriminating items first. The remaining studies showed that using items in the reverse order (i.e., less discriminating items first), as described in Chang and Ying's (1999) stratified method had potential advantages: (a) a more balanced item usage and (b) a relatively stable resultant item pool structure with easy and inexpensive management. This stratified method may have ability-estimation efficiency better than or close to that of other methods, particularly for operational item pools when retired items cannot be totally replenished with similar highly discriminating items. It is argued that the judicious selection of items, as in the stratified method, is a more active control of item exposure, which can successfully even out the usage of all items. [source]