Race, social class and ability patterns on the WISC-R

The national standardization sample of whites and blacks on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R) was the basis for a detailed analysis of the psychometric nature of racial and social class differences on the original 13 subscales of the WISC-R. The profiles of subtest scores of whites and blacks were compared directly and also after the racial groups were statistically equated on Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). Under the latter condition, the races differ only very slightly, although significantly, on some of the subtests, in ways generally contrary to popular expectations. The profile of white-black differences on the WISC-R subtests is markedly different, and negatively correlated with, the profiles of social class differences within each racial group, indicating that the pattern of racial differences is not explainable in terms of the difference in the average socio-economic status (SES) of blacks and whites. A Schmid-Leiman orthogonalized hierarchical factor analysis yields virtually identical factor structures and highly congruent factor loadings on the subtests for whites and blacks. Analysis of factor scores shows that by far the largest proportion of the variance between races is attributable to the general factor (g) common to all the subtests, whereas the group factors (verbal, performance and memory) contribute only minutely to the interracial variance. Hence the white-black differences on the diverse subtests of the WISC-R, and in the Full Scale IQ, are interpreted primarily as a difference in Spearman's g, rather than as differences in the more specific factors peculiar to particular content, knowledge, acquired skills or type of test. However, some slight but significant differences in patterns of ability also occur that are independent of g.     

An Evaluation of Sex Hormone Replacement in Aged Women

Six same-different matching tests, both verbal and nonverbal, in three modalities, along with a set of reading tests, were administered to 120 Israeli children in second, third, and fourth grade. The main effects of all S variables, except sex (grade, socioeconomic level, and ability) were significant, as were the test factors of modality (visual, auditory, cross-modal) and form (verbal-nonverbal), but interactions between S and test factors were small. Multiple regression analysis revealed that overall matching test scores accounted for 35% of the variance in reading scores, although the additional contribution of specific subtests was negligible. Performance on the visual-visual tests was virtually perfect. Auditory-auditory matches were more difficult than auditory-visual matches with nonverbal stimuli, while the reverse was true with verbal stimuli.     

GENDER AND CULTURE INTERACTION EFFECTS ON SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST PERFORMANCE: SOME ISRAELI FINDINGS

The major aim of this study was to assess the degree of interaction between gender and cultural group background in determining scholastic aptitude test attainment among college student candidates. The analyses were based on the college entrance aptitude test scores of 1778 Jewish and 1017 Arab student candidates applying for admission to a major Israeli university. A Manova of the subtest scores revealed significant main effects for both culture and gender and a significant gender × culture interaction effect. Separate Anovas for each of the individual subtests show significant gender × culture interaction effects for both the Mathematical and Figural Reasoning subtests, with a larger gender group differential - in favor of the males - among Jews than among Arabs. The interaction effect was attributed, in part, to two complementary culture-specific factors, namely: (a) the positive self-selection of Arab female college candidates of relatively high scholastic ability, thus serving to narrow the gender gap in the Arab group; (b) the varied opportunities for advanced technical training, enrichment and experience available mainly to Jewish males during their period of compulsorly military service, serving to enhance the gender gap in the Jewish group. In sum, the data suggest that culture may serve as an important moderator variable in determining the size of gender group differences in scholastic aptitude test attainment.     

University Student Depression Inventory: Measurement model and psychometric properties

University Student Depression Inventory (USDI) was developed to assess the symptoms of depression among the university students. Considering the debilitating nature of depression among university students globally, USDI was translated in Persian and validated using university students from Iran. A battery including the Persian version of USDI and scales measuring suicide, depression, and stress was administered to a normative sample of 359 undergraduate students, and an additional clinical sample of 150 students referred to the university's mental health centre. The results supported the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the translated version. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the previously reported three‐factor first‐order and one‐factor second‐order structure. The internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity of the Persian version were supported. Cut‐off points using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were established to identify students at risk. Gender differences on the symptoms of depression were evident only in the normative sample, where male participants, compared with female students, had higher mean scores in lethargy, cognitive/emotion, and academic motivation subscales. The translated scale can be used with Persian‐speaking students in Iran and the neighbouring countries as well as those settled in the West to identify symptoms of depression for further evaluation and management.     

A Confirmatory Comparison of the Factor Structure of the Children's Depression Inventory between European American and African American Youth

We examined the factor structure of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) among a sample of 523 African American children (m age = 12.76) and a sample of 564 European American youth (m age = 12.43). Previous investigations have produced discrepant factor structures among samples of predominantly majority-culture children, but fewer investigations of the factor structure of the CDI have been conducted among non-European American samples. Confirmatory factor analyses of the original 5 factors identified by Kovacs (1983, 1991) revealed that the items had invariant measurement properties across the samples. The latent factor structure, however, revealed telling differences between the two samples. For European American youth, only one of the original five factors was meaningfully differentiated from the others, whereas for the African American youth, two of the factors clearly emerged as unique facets of depression. Consistent with other reports, between-group mean differences on the CDI and its factors were noted. We argue that further validation of the CDI among traditionally underserved populations is warranted. Predictive validation investigations, in particular, are needed to examine the relationship between CDI factor scores and clinical outcomes.     

Effect of socioeconomic status of biological and adoptive parents on WISC-R subtest scores of their French adopted children

Analyses from an a priori full cross-fostering study (Capron & Duyme, 1989, 1991), investigating the IQs of 38 children whose average age was 168 (SE = 3.28) months, indicated a link between the socioeconomic status (SES) of both biological and adoptive parents and Full, Verbal, and Performance IQs of the WISC-R scale. Here detailed analyses of the WISC-R scale are presented. These show that these two factors affect Block Design and Information subtests, and other subtests are affected either by one or the other factor. Two subtests—Picture Arrangement and Picture Completion—are not affected by either factor. There is no evidence for an interaction between these factors on adopted children's subtest scores. As the sample size is small for a test of nonadditivity, the analysis is extended to the power of interaction test.     

Factor structure and sex differences on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence in China, Japan and United States

This study presents data on the factor structure of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and sex and cultural differences in WPPSI test scores among 5- and 6-year-olds from China, Japan, and the United States. Results show the presence of a verbal and nonverbal factor structure across all three countries. Sex differences on the 10 subtests were generally consistent, with a male advantage on a subtest of spatial abilities (Mazes). Males in the Chinese sample obtained significantly higher Full Scale IQ scores than females and had lower variability in their test scores. These observations were not present in the Japan and United States samples. Mean Full Scale IQ score in the Chinese sample was 104.1, representing a 4-point increase from 1988 to 2004.     

Comparison of K-ABC performance between at-risk and normal preschool children

This study examined differences in K-ABC performance between at-risk (n = 44) and normal (n = 49) preschool children. For the group at-risk, all of the mean global scores on the K-ABC clustered around a standard score of approximately 90. The normal group's mean scores were 15 to 21 standard-score points higher and clustered near 110. The results of t tests for independent samples indicated that the normal group's scores on both the global scales and K-ABC subtests were significantly higher than the at-risk group's scores in nearly every instance. Correlations among scores were consistent with previous findings for preschoolers on the K-ABC. For the normal group, correlations obtained among the global scales were nearly identical to those reported for the standardization sample. For the at-risk group, however, the correlation of .75 between Sequential processing and Achievement was higher than that (.58) between Simultaneous processing and Achievement.     

Measurement invariance of WISC-IV across normative and clinical samples

Measurement invariance of the WISC-IV second-order factorial structure between normative and clinical samples was investigated using WISC-IV core subtests and a total of 1100 children aged 6-16. Multi-group higher order analysis of mean and covariance structure (MG-MACS) models were used to analyze these data. Results supported measurement invariance. Only Coding and Comprehension subtest intercepts varied slightly between groups. The hypothesized WISC-IV factor model described the data well. Factor patterns, first- and second-order factor loadings, intercepts, residual variances of measured subtests, and disturbances of first-order factors of the WISC-IV were generally invariant. Results suggested that WISC-IV index scores and subtests have the same meaning for children in both normative and clinical groups.     

The effects of skewness on the interpretation of ITPA scaled scores

Studied the degree to which skewed score distributions can affect the interpretation of Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) (Kirk, McCarthy, & Kirk, 1968) subtest scores. Indices of skewness were determined for the 10 main ITPA subtests for each of the eight age groups which comprised the normative sample (Paraskevopoulos & Kirk, 1969). The ITPA normative sample was drawn from children, both male and female, having abbreviated Stanford-Binet IQs between 84 and 116 and ranging in age from 2 years 7 months to 10 years 1 month. The results indicate that the following subtests were most seriously affected by scale limitations: auditory reception, auditory association, visual reception, manual expression, and grammatic closure. The results suggest that indices of score variability such as average deviation and standard scores must be interpreted with extreme caution when skewness is a significant factor.     

Examining the reliability of ADAS-Cog change scores

The purpose of this study was to estimate and examine ways to improve the reliability of change scores on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, Cognitive Subtest (ADAS-Cog). The sample, provided by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, included individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (n = 153) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 352). All participants were administered the ADAS-Cog at baseline and 1 year, and change scores were calculated as the difference in scores over the 1-year period. Three types of change score reliabilities were estimated using multivariate generalizability. Two methods to increase change score reliability were evaluated: reweighting the subtests of the scale and adding more subtests. Reliability of ADAS-Cog change scores over 1 year was low for both the AD sample (ranging from .53 to .64) and the MCI sample (.39 to .61). Reweighting the change scores from the AD sample improved reliability (.68 to .76), but lengthening provided no useful improvement for either sample. The MCI change scores had low reliability, even with reweighting and adding additional subtests. The ADAS-Cog scores had low reliability for measuring change. Researchers using the ADAS-Cog should estimate and report reliability for their use of the change scores. The ADAS-Cog change scores are not recommended for assessment of meaningful clinical change.     

Interrelationship of career choice competencies and Career Choice Attitudes of ninth-grade pupils: Testing hypotheses derived from Crites' model of career maturity

This paper presents the results of a study designed to determine whether or not the two dimensions of Career Choice Attitudes and Career Choice Competencies are interrelated as hypothesized in the Crites (1965, 1973a) model of career maturity. To test six associational hypotheses derived from the Crites model, three different career maturity instruments which provide a total of 10 separate scores were administered to a sample of ninth-grade pupils (N = 90). The 10 scores were intercorrelated and factor analyzed. Fairly strong support was found for four of the six hypotheses. The correlation between the Career Maturity Inventory Attitude Scale and the variables classified as career choice competencies were found to be higher than predicted by the model. The factor analysis yielded two factors, one defined by the Career Maturity Inventory Attitude Scale, the Information and Decision-Making Scale of the Career Development Inventory, and the six subtests of the Cognitive Vocational Maturity Test; the other factor was defined by the Planning Orientation and Resources for Exploration Scales of the Career Development Inventory.     

Psychometric Analyses of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) Scores among Singapore Primary School Students

The psychometric properties of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) scores were examined among Singapore primary school students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to determine the factor structure of the TAS-E in a sample of 540 Singapore students. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the TAS-E scores in another sample of 540 Singapore students to determine whether the findings would support the factor structure reported in Study 1. The results of the EFA and Schmid-Leiman transformation in Study 1 and the CFA in Study 2 suggest that the TAS-E has four factors (Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behavior, and Worry) and a higher-order factor, the Total Test Anxiety factor. These findings are similar to the results reported in validation studies of the TAS-E scores with U.S. elementary students. In addition, the test score stability and convergent and discriminant validity of the TAS-E scores were examined in Study 3 among 1,080 Singapore primary school students. The results indicated that the TAS-E scores appear to have adequate test score stability over a 2-week test-retest period. Evidence supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of the TAS-E scores was also found. Implications of the findings of the three studies are discussed.     

Psychometric properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Chinese version

The aim of the present study was to develop a Chinese version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-C) and to examine its psychometric properties in a sample of Chinese university students. The English version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was translated and back-translated prior to its administration to 791 participants recruited from two universities in Changsha, Hunan (China). Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, inter-scale reliability, and factorial validity were analysed. The CERQ-C exhibited: (1) moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's α=.83); (2) a mean inter-class correlation coefficient of .79; (3) a mean inter-item correlation coefficient of .09; and (4) moderate test–retest reliability (.64). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original CERQ nine-factor model. Finally, with respect to criterion validity, several CERQ-C subscales were uniquely associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety.     

Measuring adult attachment: a construct validation of two self-report instruments

This study reports the Swedish construct validation of two translated attachment style scales. The factor structure of the attachment construct was investigated via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of attachment scores from 515 students of a Swedish university. Results supported the expected two-factor solution, but found a three-factor solution to be a viable alternative. In addition, the attachment scales were compared with the Big Five personality inventory (NEO-PI), using a sample of 87 Swedish students, and found to have expected correlation to this scale.     

Components of IQ Scores Across Levels of Measured Ability

Forty-three (43) students from the Talent Identification Program's Summer Residential Program living in North Carolina took the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) during the program. The test was also administered to 50 other North Carolina Students who qualified for the SRP but did not attend, as well as 34 students who had not been identified as gifted. The scores were evaluated for normative and idiographic strengths and weaknesses on the 12 subtests of the WISC-R. The idiographic differences were calculated by comparison against the average score of only the 6 subtests in the same subscale of the test (Verbal or Performance) as well as against all 12 subtests on the test. It was found by means of the former comparisons that the gifted students showed significantly more idiographic strengths on the Verbal scales and weaknesses on the Performance scales than the academically competent sample.     

Validity and Reliability of a Turkish Version of the Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses

This study examined the validity and reliability of a Turkish version of the Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses (MMSQSN). After obtaining permission to adapt the MMSQSN into Turkish, the translation/back-translation method was used with expert opinions to determine content validity. Factor analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity and test–retest was performed on the questionnaire to determine reliability. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess for internal consistency. Participants included 272 baccalaureate degree student nurses who took ethics lessons prior to their clinical internship. The factor analysis revealed that even though the factor structure in the original scale was the same, relevant items were categorized with similar components, and factor loads were sufficient. The correlation coefficient in the analyses of test–retest scores was .66 for the total scale (p < .05) and the Cronbach’s alpha was .73 for the total scale. The translated MMSQSN is a valid and reliable measure of ethical sensitivity in student nurses in Turkey.     

Validity of college admission indices for Jews and Arabs in Israel

This study examines Israeli cultural group differences in scholastic aptitude and achievement indices as well as the differential construct and predictive validity of precollege admission indices for Jewish and Arab students in Israel. The sample was composed of 1778 Jewish and 1017 Arab student candidates applying for admission to a major university. The admission indices include five scholastic aptitude subtests appearing on both the Hebrew and Arabic versions of the college entrance test battery and matriculation certificate grades in three required subjects. The predictor battery shows comparable factor structure across cultural groups. The correlations between aptitude and achievement predictors and first-year college G.P.A. were homogeneous across the groups. A slight degree of intercept bias was evidenced with the predictive indices tending to over predict the scholastic achievement of Arab students and under predict that of their Jewish counterparts. The results are consistent with previous research in America showing negligible differences in the construct and predictive validity of college admission tests for different cultural and racial groups.     

Comparison of Two Subtests of the Bay Area Functional Performance Evaluation

This study compared different versions of two subtests of an existing occupational therapy evaluation, The Bay Area Functional Performance Evaluation. The two subtests examined were the shell sorting task and the house floor plan. Modifications in these subtests were made in order to make the testing medium more relevant to the patients. The subjects were twenty patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and twenty normal controls. The age range of the subjects was between 20 and 39 years. The patients with schizophrenia and th,e normal controls were randomly divided and half of each group were administered the original subtests and half were administered a modified version. For each subject a time and an accuracy score was obtained. It was hypothesized that patients with schizophrenia would score more poorly than normal controls on both versions of the tasks, but that difference between groups would be less on the modified version of the tests. Results indicated that the patients witlh schizophrenia performed significantly more poorly (lower accuracy scores and longer time) than the normal controls on both the original two subtests and the modified versions. There was no group by task interaction. These results contribute to the validity of the ex.isting evaluation.