Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Arnold et al.’s Parenting Scale Across Race, Age, and Sex

We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to investigate the factor structure of several models of Arnold et al.’s Parenting Scale [Arnold et al. (1993). Psychological Assessment, 5, 137–144] across children from various age groups and races. Participants were parents of children (ages 2–16 years) presenting to four community-based pediatric practices for routine care. Parents completed questionnaires pertaining to various aspects of parenting and child behavior problems. Results indicated that a two-factor revision proposed by Reitman et al. [(2001). Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 514–524] represented the data well and better than the original three-factor structure and other two-factor models. Results from multigroup CFA analyses indicated that this factor structure did not vary across child sex, child age, and parental race. Results of validity analyses indicated that scores on both factors were related to reports of children’s behavior and parental affect and cognitions. This study was the first to use multigroup CFA procedures to demonstrate that relationships between individual items and factors of the Parenting Scale are similar for parents of children across various age groups.     

Integration of audio‐visual information for spatial decisions in children and adults

In adults, decisions based on multisensory information can be faster and/or more accurate than those relying on a single sense. However, this finding varies significantly across development. Here we studied speeded responding to audio‐visual targets, a key multisensory function whose development remains unclear. We found that when judging the locations of targets, children aged 4 to 12 years and adults had faster and less variable response times given auditory and visual information together compared with either alone. Comparison of response time distributions with model predictions indicated that children at all ages were integrating (pooling) sensory information to make decisions but that both the overall speed and the efficiency of sensory integration improved with age. The evidence for pooling comes from comparison with the predictions of Miller's seminal ‘race model’, as well as with a major recent extension of this model and a comparable ‘pooling’ (coactivation) model. The findings and analyses can reconcile results from previous audio‐visual studies, in which infants showed speed gains exceeding race model predictions in a spatial orienting task (Neil et al., 2006) but children below 7 years did not in speeded reaction time tasks (e.g. Barutchu et al., 2009). Our results provide new evidence for early and sustained abilities to integrate visual and auditory signals for spatial localization from a young age.     

What I Think and Feel: A Revised Measure of Children's Manifest Anxiety

The 1956 adaptation for children of Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, was revised to meet current psychometric standards. A 73-item revision draft was administered to 329 school children from grades 1 to 12. Based on item-analysis criteria for r _bis .4 and .30 p .70, 28 anxiety items were retained along with 9 of the original 11 Lie scale items. A cross-validation sample of 167 children from grades 2, 5, 9, 10, and 11 produced a KR₂₀ reliability estimate of .85. Anxiety scores did not differ across grade or race. Females scored significantly higher than males. For the Lie scale, significant differences appeared by grade and race. No sex differences were obtained on the Lie scale. The resulting scale appears useful for children in grades 1 to 12 and may aid in future studies of anxiety as well as assisting the clinician in the understanding of individual children.     

Response Style: A Basis for Rorschach Construct Validity

The Rorschach test situation was defined as an ambiguous power relationship in which the S could respond either by moving away from (Recognition), moving toward (Reaction) or moving against (Proaction) the E. Construct validity was approached by predicting both to a trait (trait validity) and to a different theoretical system (nomological validity). To evaluate trait validity it was predicted that yielders would have more Reactive responses than non-yielders and that non-yielders would have more Proactive responses than yielders. Nomological validity was investigated by predicting into Schachter's (1959) theory of affiliation. First born and only children should produce more Reactive scores than late born children and late born children should produce more Proactive responses than first and only children. The prediction that the non-yielders would produce more Proactive scores than yielders was not sustained. However, the hypotheses about yielding and Reaction, first and only children and Reaction, and late children and Proaction were sustained.     

Assessing the social validity of telehealth-based applied behavior analysis services for autism spectrum disorder

During the COVID-19 pandemic, applied behavior analysis services for many autistic individuals were transitioned to telehealth. The current study assessed caregiver-reported quality of life (QoL) and social validity for families of autistic children receiving only telehealth services (n = 96) or a combination of telehealth and in-person services (n = 173). Barriers to the telehealth experience were analyzed via an ANOVA, and the impact of funding source was analyzed using an independent samples t-test. Caregivers reported benefit across QoL and social validity items, with scores ranging from 3.31 to 4.44 (1 = least benefit, 5 = most benefit). While many caregivers reported no barriers regarding technology (44.61%), childcare (69.52%), and employment (64.68%), the presence of those barriers significantly impacted QoL and social validity scores. Funding source was not found to have a significant impact. Overall, caregivers found value in their child's telehealth services. Clinicians have an obligation to mitigate barriers to ensure the success of the intervention.     

Developmental normative data for the Baron-Hopkins Board test of spatial location memory

Developmentally appropriate domain-specific tests with strong psychometric properties for preschoolers are lacking and infrequently developed. Baron’s modification of the Hopkins Board test (B-HB) to assess spatial location learning and recall in 3- and 6-year-old children has shown promise in the study of young children born prematurely. Current study data were analyzed on 172 typically developing children at age 3 years and 193 at age 6 years, born at term (≥ 37 weeks; ≥ 2500 grams). Statistically significant gender differences were found and data stratification of T-scores and percentile ranks are provided for each of the eight B-HB measures. The B-HB’s strong interrater reliability (99.5%), low-to-moderate test-retest reliability across the 3-year age span, Pearson correlations showing criterion validity, and differential functioning from other selective attention and visuospatial/visuoperceptual tests provide initial normative data for this novel measure of spatial location memory in young children.     

Psychometric assessment of the processes of change scale for sun protection

The fourteen-factor Processes of Change Scale for Sun Protection assesses behavioral and experiential strategies that underlie the process of sun protection acquisition and maintenance. Variations of this measure have been used effectively in several randomized sun protection trials, both for evaluation and as a basis for intervention. However, there are no published studies, to date, that evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale. The present study evaluated factorial invariance and scale reliability in a national sample (N = 1360) of adults involved in a Transtheoretical model tailored intervention for exercise and sun protection, at baseline. Invariance testing ranged from least to most restrictive: Configural Invariance (constraints only factor structure and zero loadings); Pattern Identity Invariance (equal factor loadings across target groups); and Strong Factorial Invariance (equal factor loadings and measurement errors). Multi-sample structural equation modeling tested the invariance of the measurement model across seven subgroups: age, education, ethnicity, gender, race, skin tone, and Stage of Change for Sun Protection. Strong factorial invariance was found across all subgroups. Internal consistency coefficient Alpha and factor rho reliability, respectively, were .83 and .80 for behavioral processes, .91 and .89 for experiential processes, and .93 and .91 for the global scale. These results provide strong empirical evidence that the scale is consistent, has internal validity and can be used in research interventions with population-based adult samples.     

Development and preliminary validation of the Paediatric Awareness Questionnaire for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury

There is a lack of validated measures for assessing self-awareness of deficits after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). The current study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Paediatric Awareness Questionnaire (PAQ), and investigate factors related to self-awareness. The PAQ was administered to 32 children aged 8–16 years with mild to severe TBI (72% male, M age = 11.75, SD = 2.9), their parents, and treating clinicians, and to 32 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls and their parents. Children with TBI and their parents also completed the Knowledge of Injury Checklist (KIC), and parents completed the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21. The PAQ was found to have fair to excellent (α = .79–.97) internal consistency for all versions across both groups and good concordance between parent and clinician total scores (ICC = .78). There was also evidence of convergent validity between the PAQ and KIC for both child (r = ?.45, p < .05) and parent ratings (r = ?.66, p < .001). Poorer self-awareness was significantly related to younger age at injury for the TBI group and lower parental education for the total sample. ANCOVA identified that children with TBI demonstrated significantly poorer awareness than controls after controlling for parental education. Children with TBI typically overestimated their functioning compared to their parents, whereas typically developing children tended to rate their functioning lower than their parents. These findings provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the PAQ for assessing self-awareness after pediatric TBI.     

More than g: Evidence for the Incremental Validity of Performance-Based Assessments for Predicting Training Performance

Past research has consistently shown that tests measuring specific cognitive abilities provide little if any incremental validity over tests of general mental ability when predicting performance on the job. In this study, we suggest that the seeming lack of incremental validity may have been due to the type of content that has traditionally been assessed. Therefore, we hypothesised that incremental validity can be obtained using specific cognitive abilities that are less highly correlated with g and are matched to the tasks performed on the job. To test this, we examined a recently developed performance-based measure that assesses a number of cognitive abilities related to training performance. In a sample of 310 US Navy student pilots, results indicated that performance-based scores added sizeable incremental validity to a measure of g. The significant increases in R² ranged from .08 to .10 across criteria. Similar results were obtained after correcting correlations for range restriction, though the magnitude of incremental validity was slightly smaller (ΔR² ranged from .05 to .07).     

Factorial similarity of the WISC-R for Anglos and Chicanos referred for psychological services

Two- and three-factor principal factor solutions to the WISC-R (Wechsler, 1974) were compared across race for referred Anglo and Chicano children. Additional comparisons of these factor solutions were made with those for normal Anglo, Chicano, Black, and Papago students (Reschly, 1978, Note 1) and the WISC-R standardization sample (Wechsler, 1974). Substantial congruence occurred across race for both the two- and three-factor solutions, though the two-factor solution was clearly most appropriate for the present sample.     

Does culture shape face perception in autism? Cross‐cultural evidence of the own‐race advantage from the UK and Japan

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with face perception atypicalities, and atypical experience with faces has been proposed as an underlying explanation. Studying the own‐race advantage (ORA) for face recognition can reveal the effect of experience on face perception in ASD, although the small number of studies in the area present mixed findings. This study probed the ORA in ASD by comparing two cultural groups simultaneously for the first time. Children with ASD in the UK (N = 16) and Japan (N = 26) were compared with age‐ and ability‐matched typically developing (TD) children in the UK (N = 16) and Japan (N = 26). Participants completed a two‐alternative forced‐choice task, whereby they had to recognize a just seen face from a foil which was manipulated in one of four ways (IC: identity change; EE: easy eyes; HE: hard eyes; HM: hard mouth). Face stimuli were Asian and Caucasian, and thus the same stimuli were own and other race depending on the cultural group. The ASD groups in the UK and Japan did not show impaired face recognition abilities, or impairments with recognizing faces depending on manipulations to the eye region, and importantly they showed an ORA. There was considerable heterogeneity in the presence of the ORA in ASD and TD and also across cultures. Children in Japan had higher accuracy than children in the UK, and TD children in Japan did not show an ORA. This cross‐cultural study challenges the view that atypical experiences with faces lead to a reduced/absent ORA in ASD.     

An Apparatus for the Study of Motor Learning Under Threat of Electric Shock

The utility of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RPM) as a measure of intelligence (IQ) was studied. RPM was administered to 380 Vocational Rehabilitation applicants and correlated with selected variables and IQ measures. The results indicate that use of RPM 1948 British norms on U. S. Vocational Rehabilitation and general populations is a viable procedure where there is no need for IQ accuracy over 120. RPM did show a ceiling of about IQ 120. Construct validity was reinforced by correlations of RPM with other standard IQ measures. RPM shows the same race effect as is found regularly—the white mean is higher than the black mean—and is related to number of years education.     

European‐American children's intergroup attitudes about peer relationships

Intergroup attitudes were assessed in European‐American first grade (M=6.8 years) and fourth grade (M=9.9 years) boys and girls (N=94) to test hypotheses about implicit racial biases, perceptions of similarity between peer dyads, and judgments about cross‐race friendships. Two assessments, an ambiguous situations task and a perceptions of similarity task, were administered to all participants. Contrary to prior findings, participants did not display implicit racial biases when interpreting children's intentions to commit a negative moral transgression towards a peer. Implicit biases were revealed, however, when asking children to judge cross‐race friendship potential. The findings on children's similarity perceptions revealed that children focused on shared interests and race when judging similarity. Given that previous meta‐analyses of prejudice have pointed to cross‐race friendships as a significant predictor of a reduction in prejudice, these findings help to understand what may account for the relative infrequency of intergroup friendships in childhood. Further, the findings indicate the ways in which, implicit racial biases influence friendship decisions.     

Differential construct validity of a preschool battery for blacks,whites, males,and females

Seven major preschool tests were administered to a group of 322 kindergarten children. Scaled scores from the instruments were submitted to principal factoring, with iterations for the total sample and separately by race/sex groupings. The average intercorrelation of the pretests was similar across race and sex. A two-factor solution of the battery was derived for the total group and for each of the four subgroups (WF, WM, BF, BM). The two-factor solution was highly similar across race and sex, as indicated by the large coefficients of congruence obtained between factors derived within each group, thus supporting the equivalence of internal psychometric properties of the battery across race and sex. No evidence was determined to support sexual or racial dimorphism in the early structure of cognitive abilities.     

Comparisons of the Psychometric characteristics of the adaptive behavior inventory for children for different subgroups of children

Psychometric characteristics of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) are analyzed through five statistical procedures (internal consistency, item difficulty, correlations of item-total correlations, concurrent validity, and construct validity) using data on 436 elementary age children from three racial-ethnic and two social class groups. Data from these five statistical procedures are reported for nine demographic characteristics: children's race, social class, sex, age, birth order, health, family size, family structure, and urban acculturation. Few systematic differences are apparent on internal consistency, correlation of item-total correlations, and construct validity. Some differences are apparent on item difficulty and concurrent validity. On item difficulty the ABIC scores are higher for middle-SES, older, first- or second-born children, and from families whose structures are more typical. Regarding concurrent validity, lower correlations are noted for Mexican American and Black, for more healthy, and for less acculturated children. ABIC-achievement correlations generally are too low to be of practical value. The results are interpreted in terms of possible test bias on the ABIC.     

The development of a measure of enculturation for Native American youth

Enculturation is the process by which individuals learn about and identify with their ethnic minority culture. It is distinguished from acculturation which refers to the process by which an ethnic minority individual is assimilated into the majority culture. Three studies with Native American youths are reported that describe the development of a measure of enculturation for Native American youths. Development of a measure of enculturation provides a foundation upon which to build a body of literature that focuses on strengths in a youth's life rather than on deficits. Results of the first study (n=120), a confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that cultural affinity, Native American identity, and family involvement in traditional activities adequately represent the construct of enculturation. The study also provides some convergent validity for this interpretation. The second study examines factor invariance for enculturation among youths with data from over 2 years (n=69). The factor structure was similar across time. The third study replicates the factor structure and validity analyses with a new sample (n=42). Usefulness of the measure for assessing protective factors and stressing ethnicity over simple assessment of race categories is discussed. We would like to thank the Tribe that participated in this study and especially the youth and their parents who agreed to participate. We would also like to thank the Tribal staff youth workers who helped us on many aspects of the study. This research was supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Grant No. 1 H86 SPO1835-01A1 to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa/Chippewa Indians. Benjamin Walter and Kathleen Washienko were research assistants on the project during data collection at Time 1. Sandra Dyer was the Director for the project upon which this study is based at the time of data collection.     

Chinese adaptation of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ‐CCA): A psychometric evaluation in Chinese children

This study validated a Chinese adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ‐CCA), a self‐report instrument that evaluates two emotion regulation (ER) strategies, based on the process model of ER. The ERQ‐CCA was evaluated using a sample of 1381 Chinese children aged between 7 and 12 years. The internal consistencies of the two factors indicated adequate reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed good support as the structure proved to be identical with that of the original instrument. Multigroup CFA supported an invariant factor solution of the ERQ‐CCA across several demographic variations (gender, age, registered permanent residence and migrant status) in different groups. Test–retest correlations over a 2‐month period were calculated using a subsample of children (N = 70). Convergent validity was evaluated in relation to the model dimensions of the ERQ‐CCA, Chinese version of the Children's Depression Inventory, and Chinese version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. Results indicated that the ERQ‐CCA has generally satisfactory reliability and validity in investigating the use of two ER strategies during the middle childhood developmental period.     

Minority children's intergroup attitudes about peer relationships

Intergroup attitudes were assessed in African‐American (N=70) and non‐African‐American minority (N=80) children, evenly divided by gender, in first (M=6.5 years old) and fourth (M=9.6 years old) grades attending mixed‐ethnicity public schools in a suburban area of a large mid‐Atlantic city in the USA. Children were interviewed to test hypotheses about implicit racial biases, perceptions of similarity between peer dyads, and judgments about cross‐race friendships. Implicit racial biases emerged when children evaluated ambiguous picture cards, with children viewing a White child as more likely to be a transgressor than a Black child in certain situations. There were no racial biases when evaluating potential cross‐race friendship (it was judged to be feasible); nor was there any evidence of an outgroup homogeneity effect. Children who used ethnicity as a reason for judging peers to be similar, however, were less likely to judge that the cross‐race dyads could be friends. The findings indicate the ways in which minority children's judgments about the majority and their perceptions of similarity between peer dyads influence their interpretations of peer interactions.     

Factorial dimensions of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist: Replication and validation within a kindergarten sample

The factor structure of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) was examined in a large sample of suburban kindergarten children. Teacher-rated dimensions of Conduct Disorder, Attention Problems-Immaturity, Anxiety-Withdrawal, and Psychotic Behavior were closely replicated, and a new factor labeled Unmotivated-Isolated was also revealed. These principal components were consistent across gender and across subsamples of children differing as to risk status for learning failure. Evidence was found for the divergent validity of the externalizing dimensions of Conduct Disorder and Attention Problems-Immaturity with respect to criterion measures of alternative behavior ratings, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement. Parent-rated components of Conduct Disorder, Attention Problems-Immaturity, Hyperactive-Impatient, Tense-Withdrawn, Anxiety, and Passive-Conforming were less clearly validated, and parent-teacher agreement was modest. It was concluded that the RBPC shows promise for the assessment of preschool-aged children and that narrow-band externalizing dimensions of inattentive versus conduct-disordered behavior are reasonably distinct at this age.We would like to express our deep appreciation to Winifred Setrakian, Judy Alien, and Elizabeth Stone of The CHILD Center for their invaluable administrative support.     

The Anxiety Depression Distress Inventory–27 (ADDI–27): New Evidence of Factor Structure,Item-Level Measurement Invariance,and Validity

Three studies examining the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Anxiety Depression Distress Inventory–27 (ADDI–27) extended the initial instrument development studies for this recently introduced inventory. The ADDI–27 is an empirically derived short form of the Mood and Anxiety Questionaire–90 (MASQ–90) comprising three scales: Positive Affect, Somatic Anxiety, and General Distress. The main objectives of Study 1 (N = 700) were to examine the factor structure of the ADDI–27 and its measurement invariance across gender at the item level. The objective of Study 2 (N = 538) was to examine evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of scores on the ADDI–27. The objective of Study 3 (N = 240) was to assess further evidence for the nomological network and convergent and discriminant validity of the ADDI–27 scores. Results of exploratory structural equation modeling yielded strong support for a 3-factor model, with approximate fit indexes meeting or exceeding the conventional cutoffs. With p ≤ .001 as the criterion for detecting noninvariance, results of measurement invariance analysis suggested that all of the ADDI–27 items were invariant across gender. Results of multivariate validity analyses across 2 studies provided support for the convergent and discriminant validity of scores on the ADDI–27 scales.