Sources of acute sport stress scale for sports officials: Rasch calibration

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to develop and calibrate the Sources of Acute Stress Scale for Sports Officials (SASS-SO) using the Rasch model.Design and methodThis was a cross-sectional, self-reported study. Of the 3300 participants with valid (no missing) data, 90.1% were males, ranging in age from 19.6 to 57.8 yrs., and serving as sports officials from 3 to 24 yrs. The officials represented high school, collegiate, and professional athletic associations representing 13 sports throughout the United States.ResultsUsing the Rasch model, the level of sources of stress item difficulty and individual's level of acute stress were estimated. Model-data fit was determined by Infit and Outfit statistics (≥0.5 and ≤1.5). A rating scale was also evaluated for proper functioning. With the exception of two items, the model fit the data well. Infit and Outfit measures were within the appropriate range supported the unidimensional structure of the SASS-SO. The two most severe sources of acute stress were “I made an incorrect call” and “I was out of position.” The two least severe sources of acute stress items were “I received verbal abuse from players” and “My supervisor/evaluator was present.”ConclusionsThe probability thresholds and item response ordering showed that the rating scale functioned well. Although item parameters had slightly inappropriate coverage, the ability parameters were reasonably varied. The results of this study support the use of the SASS-SO in assessing sources of acute stress among sports officials.     

Development and preliminary validation of the mindfulness inventory for sport

ObjectivesDespite the increasing prevalence of mindfulness-based interventions in sport, no context-specific instrument currently exists to measure mindfulness in sport. The Mindfulness Inventory for Sport (MIS) was devised using a three-stage approach, to measure one's ability to: (1) be aware of disruptive stimuli and their associated internal reactions; (2) adopt a non-judgmental attitude towards these stimuli and reactions; and (3) quickly refocus attention on goal-related cues.MethodIn stage 1, a pool of items was developed and assessed by six experts in the areas of mindfulness and instrument validation. In stage 2, exploratory factor analyses with data collected from undergraduate student-athletes (N = 370) resulted in a three-factor, 19-item version of the instrument. In stage 3, confirmatory analyses using structural equation modelling were conducted with a sample of elite athletes (N = 343).Results and conclusionA final 15-item three-factor version displayed an acceptable model fit, with little evidence of invariance demonstrated across sport type and partial invariance across gender. In addition, the subscales of the MIS displayed significant correlations with conceptually-related variables such as flow, worry, concentration disruption, and perfectionism.     

Use of a sport socialization inventory with cerebral palsied youth.

The validity and reliability of the 1978 Sport Interest Inventory of Greendorfer and Lewko were examined to evaluate its appropriateness for youth with cerebral palsy, ages 13 to 21 years. Test-retest data from 35 subjects indicated a reliability coefficient of .92. Data from 112 subjects were subjected to factor analysis to examine construct validity. This analysis indicated that the factor structure was similar to that reported for able-bodied youth, except for the items pertaining to friends and opportunity set.     

Validation of a measure of perfectionism

This article describes perfectionism, or the holding of and striving for unrealistically high standards, and presents two studies undertaken to investigate the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the Perfectionism Scale (PS; Burns, 1980). College students in the first study completed the PS, several other measures of high standards, and measures of constructs that, conceptually, are differentially related to perfectionism. Correlational analyses indicated that the Perfectionism Scale has convergent and discriminant validity and seems to measure self-oriented perfectionism. The second study attempted to determine the predictive validity of the PS by testing a vulnerability model of subclinical depression outlined in Hewitt and Dyck (1986). PS scores were used to predict depressed mood changes in female college students following failure on important and unimportant tasks. As expected, the results indicated that perfectionism interacted with failure on important versus unimportant tasks to produce dysphoric mood. Evidence for the predictive validity of the PS was thus shown. Several directions for future research are discussed.     

Estimation ofJ scales for unidimensional unfolding

In Coombs' unidimensional unfolding theory each individual ranks all stimuli, often in terms of preference judgments. These ranks, calledI scales, are used to infer the latent continuum called aJ scale which is presumed to have generated theI scale rankings. A major problem concerns the inference of theJ scale given a set ofI scales because anI scale is not unique to any oneJ scale. This paper presents a procedure for estimatingJ scale probabilities given a set ofI scales. Models for three and four or more stimuli are presented. Results of computer tests are reported.     

Domain-specific perfectionism in intercollegiate athletes: Relationships with perceived competence and perceived importance in sport and school

ObjectivesTo examine the domain-specific nature of perfectionism in sport and school, and to examine potential links between domain-specific perceived competence, perceived importance (task value), and perfectionism in sport and school.Design and MethodA total of 255 male and female varsity student-athletes from a successful intercollegiate sport program completed domain-specific (i.e., sport and school) versions of Hewitt and Flett's (1991) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HF-MPS). Participants also completed an inventory designed to assess perceived competence (PC) in sport versus school and perceived importance (PI) of success in sport versus school.ResultsExploratory factor analyses conducted on perfectionism data indicated that perfectionist orientations were organized around domain-specific as opposed to global perfectionist tendencies. Regression analyses indicated that PC was a significant predictor of domain-specific levels of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism (ps < .05), and PI was a significant predictor of domain-specific levels of self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented perfectionism (ps < .001). A repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that student-athletes had significantly higher levels of perfectionism in sport than school (ps < .0001) across all three HF-MPS subscales.ConclusionResults reinforce the value of measuring perfectionism as a domain-specific (rather than global) personality disposition, and identify the potential role that perceived competence and perceived importance may play in the development of domain-specific perfectionism.     

Clinical perfectionism: a cognitive-behavioural analysis

This paper reviews the characteristics of clinical perfectionism and proposes a new definition of the phenomenon. It is suggested that the defining feature of clinically significant perfectionism is the overdependence of self-evaluation on the determined pursuit (and achievement) of self-imposed personally demanding standards of performance in at least one salient domain, despite the occurrence of adverse consequences. It is suggested that such clinical perfectionism is maintained by the biased evaluation of the pursuit and achievement of personally demanding standards. Specifically, it is suggested that people with perfectionism react to failure to meet their standards with self-criticism. If they do meet their standards, the standards are re-evaluated as being insufficiently demanding. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are considered to have a particular relationship to perfectionism, with both disorders often being direct expressions of perfectionism. Under these circumstances self-evaluation is dependent on the pursuit and attainment of personally demanding standards in the domain of control over eating, shape and weight. The implications of this analysis for research and practice are considered.     

Learning in a unidimensional absolute identification task

We tested whether there is long-term learning in the absolute identification of line lengths. Line lengths are unidimensional stimuli, and there is a common belief that learning of these stimuli quickly reaches a low-level asymptote of about seven items and progresses no more. We show that this is not the case. Our participants served in a 1.5-h session each day for over a week. Although they did not achieve perfect performance, they continued to improve day by day throughout the week and eventually learned to distinguish between 12 and 20 line lengths. These results are in contrast to common characterizations of learning in absolute identification tasks with unidimensional stimuli. We suggest that this learning reflects improvement in short-term processing.     

A theory-based intervention to prevent calibration effects in serial sport performance evaluations

ObjectivesSerial performance evaluations show calibration effects: Judges avoid extreme categories in the beginning (e.g. best or worst) because they need to calibrate an internal judgment scale (Unkelbach et al., 2012). Successful calibration is therefore important for fair and unbiased evaluations. A central prerequisite for successful calibration is knowledge about the performance range. The present study tests whether advance knowledge about the range (best and worst) of performances in a series reduces calibration effects.DesignA 2 × 2 × 2 design was developed with two between subject factors: the knowledge about the performance range (with vs. without) and two different talent tests (specific vs. unspecific). As within subject factor the position of the performances in the series (position 1–10 vs. 11–20) was integrated. The combination of the between subject factors resulted in four experimental conditions.MethodHandball coaches were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. Afterwards twenty performances were evaluated in a randomized order by the coaches.ResultsWithout knowledge about the range, they showed the expected avoidance of extreme categories in the beginning independent of the presented talent test. However, observing the best and worst performance in advance prevented the biases. Range-presentation is therefore a viable theory-based intervention to improve fairness in serial judgments.     

Rasch models for item bundles

This paper discusses the application of a class of Rasch models to situations where test items are grouped into subsets and the common attributes of items within these subsets brings into question the usual assumption of conditional independence. The models are all expressed as particular cases of the random coefficients multinomial logit model developed by Adams and Wilson. This formulation allows a very flexible approach to the specification of alternative models, and makes model testing particularly straightforward. The use of the models is illustrated using item bundles constructed in the framework of the SOLO taxonomy of Biggs and Collis.The work of both authors was supported by fellowships from the National Academy of Education Spencer Fellowship.     

On a metric,unidimensional unfolding model for attitudinal and developmental data

If stimulus responses are linearly related to squared distances between stimulus scale values and person scores along a latent continuum, (a) the stimulus × stimulus correlation matrix will display a simplex-like pattern, (b) the signs of first-order partial correlations can be specified in an empirically testable manner, and (c) the variables will have a semicircular, two-factor structure. Along the semicircle, variables will be ordered by their positions on the latent dimension. The above results suggest procedures for examining the appropriateness of the model and procedures for ordering the stimuli. Applications to developmental and attitudinal data are discussed. This research was supported by a grant from the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota to the author and by a grant from the U. S. Public Health Service (Grant No. 1-R01-MH27861-01) to Dr. James Rest, Principal Investigator.     

Testing a unidimensional,qualitative unfolding model for attitudinal or developmental data

Assuming that subject responses rank order stimuli by preference, statistical methods are presented for testing the hypothesis that responses conform to a unidimensional, qualitative unfolding model and to an a priori stimulus ordering. The model postulates that persons and stimulus variables are ordered along a single continuum and that subjects most prefer stimuli nearest their own position. The underlying continuum need not form an interval scale of the stimulus attribute. The general assumptions of the test for the unfolding model make it suitable for the analysis of structure in attitude responses, preference data, and developmental stage data.This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Public Health Service (Grant No. 1-R01-MH27861-01) to the University of Minnesota. I wish to thank Sanford Weisberg for his helpful suggestions. I also wish to thank Karen Kitchener and Patricia King for letting me use their data.     

Conditions for rasch-dichotomizability of the unidimensional polytomous rasch model

Jansen and Roskam (1986) discussed the compatibility of the unidimensional polytomous Rasch model with dichotomization of the response continuum. They derived a rather strict condition in which dichotomization of multicategory data that fit the unidimensional polytomous Rasch model, results in dichotomous data which fit the dichotomous Research model with effectively the same subject parameter. In this paper a more general dichotomization condition is derived for the polytomous Rasch model, which appears less restrictive, but upholds that the intrinsic logic of the unidimensional polytomous Rasch model defies dichotomization in general. The robustness of dichotomous analysis investigated in a simulation study. It shows a close relation with the two-parameters (Birnbaum) model. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.The authors are indebted to H. Müller (personal communication, August 1986), for giving an example which pointed toward the core equation in this paper. The authors also acknowledge the critical comments of Th. Bezambinder and P. Wakker, and of Psychometrika's reviewers to an earlier version of this paper.     

A model of unidimensional perceptual matching

Faster same than different judgments typically are obtained when two letters are compared. When two tones that might differ only on frequency are compared, however, same judgments typically are slower than different judgments. A uniprocessor, unidimensional model, based on Krueger's noisy-operator theory, was fitted satisfactorily to data from four published studies of tone comparison. The model predicts faster response time on different judgments because of heterogeneity of difference. Because the second tone in a pair typically may be either higher or lower in frequency than the first, there will be a greater variety of perceived difference counts on different pairs than on same pairs. As a result, a large difference count will be decisive and will lead to an immediate "different" response, because it can be produced only by a different pair, whereas a small difference count will not be so decisive because it can be produced by either a same or a different pair. Consequently, there generally will be more rechecking on same than different pairs, and thus longer RT on same pairs.     

Guided self-help versus pure self-help for perfectionism: a randomised controlled trial

Perfectionism is known to be a risk factor for the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive (OC) and depressive symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to test the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural self-help therapy for perfectionism, and to examine the effect of such treatment on OC and depressive symptomatology. The study compares the effectiveness of guided self-help (GSH, n=24) with pure self-help (PSH, n=25) therapy. Both GSH and PSH were found to be effective in reducing perfectionism, and also in reducing OC and depressive symptomatology. Overall, participants in the GSH condition experienced greater symptom improvement than participants in the PSH condition, and treatment gains for both groups were largely maintained at 3-month follow-up. Twenty percent of PSH participants experienced clinically significant increases in depressive symptoms over the treatment and follow-up period (compared to 0% in the GSH condition), suggesting that PSH may be a less suitable strategy than GSH in treating this population. Overall, the findings suggest that self-help for perfectionism is effective in reducing OC and depressive symptomatology in non-clinical individuals, with GSH being superior to PSH.     

Optimal Designs for the Rasch Model

In this paper, optimal designs will be derived for estimating the ability parameters of the Rasch model when difficulty parameters are known. It is well established that a design is locally D-optimal if the ability and difficulty coincide. But locally optimal designs require that the ability parameters to be estimated are known. To attenuate this very restrictive assumption, prior knowledge on the ability parameter may be incorporated within a Bayesian approach. Several symmetric weight distributions, e.g., uniform, normal and logistic distributions, will be considered. Furthermore, maximin efficient designs are developed where the minimal efficiency is maximized over a specified range of ability parameters.     

Rasch analysis of a simplified Beck Depression Inventory

Depression is one of the most clinically relevant mood disorders, and many assessment instruments have been developed to measure it. Probably the most frequently used instrument is Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI). The simplified BDI (BDI-S) is a more efficient version of the BDI that has been shown to be no less reliable or valid. As the BDI-S has not yet been subjected to rigorous tests of Item Response Theory, it is the aim of the present paper to conduct such an analysis using the Rasch model. This study subjected a simplified version of the BDI consisting of 20 items (BDI-S20) to a Rasch analysis in a sample of N = 5,035 participants. The scale, minus one misfitting item (BDI-S19), yielded a good approximation to Rasch assumptions. Moderate differential item functioning (DIF) was present. It is concluded that the BDI-S19 is an internally valid instrument for assessing depression, although some room for improvement exists.     

Understanding Asian parenting from a Rasch perspective

This study examines the factor structure of Asian child‐reported parenting from a Rasch perspective. Participants comprised 291 sixth graders (11 to 13 years) in Singapore. Six different aspects of parenting were measured, namely warmth, rejection, structure, chaos, autonomy support, and coercion. Rasch Analysis was used to transform ordinal data into linear measures; category functioning was examined; residual‐based principal components were analysed; differential item functioning was assessed; and items and subjects that were misfitting were removed. Results showed that parenting comprised six dimensions, namely warmth, autonomy support, structure‐control, structure‐warmth, chaos, and negative parenting. The findings suggest that it is important for Asian parents to provide guidance to their children (in structure‐control and structure‐warmth) and reaffirms the relevance of warmth in Asian parenting.     

Bayesian item fit analysis for unidimensional item response theory models

Assessing item fit for unidimensional item response theory models for dichotomous items has always been an issue of enormous interest, but there exists no unanimously agreed item fit diagnostic for these models, and hence there is room for further investigation of the area. This paper employs the posterior predictive model‐checking method, a popular Bayesian model‐checking tool, to examine item fit for the above‐mentioned models. An item fit plot, comparing the observed and predicted proportion‐correct scores of examinees with different raw scores, is suggested. This paper also suggests how to obtain posterior predictive p‐values (which are natural Bayesian p‐values) for the item fit statistics of Orlando and Thissen that summarize numerically the information in the above‐mentioned item fit plots. A number of simulation studies and a real data application demonstrate the effectiveness of the suggested item fit diagnostics. The suggested techniques seem to have adequate power and reasonable Type I error rate, and psychometricians will find them promising.     

Dimensions of perfectionism and goal commitment: A further comparison of two perfectionism measures

Research on perfectionism has suggested that a strong association exists between the setting and striving for excessively high standards. However, the motivational aspects of perfectionism have yet to be empirically identified. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness and psychometric properties of a new goal commitment scale by assessing commitment to perfection in seven content areas. In addition to identifying individual differences in perfectionism goal commitment, the current research also investigated the association between commitment to perfectionism and trait indices of perfectionism. A sample of 261 students rated degree of commitment to perfectionistic goals and completed two multidimensional perfectionism scales that assess the personal and social aspects of perfectionism. Analyses confirmed the presence of individual differences in perfectionism goal commitment. Correlational tests revealed that the trait perfectionism dimensions were correlated with the goal commitment measure, but the findings varied as a function of the specific perfectionism goal. Overall, the current data are consistent with the view that the perfectionism construct has a salient motivational component. Our findings suggest that the assessment of goal commitment is a useful means of examining specific facets of the perfectionism construct.