Factorial validity of the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-revised: short form with psychiatric outpatients

To assess the factorial validity of the 27-item Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised: Short Form (CPRS-R:S; Conners, 1997), 100 (50%) male and 100 (50%) female psychiatric outpatients between 5 and 16 years old were rated by a parent. A confirmatory factor analysis of the 18 item ratings from the CPRS-R:S Oppositional, Cognitive Problems, and Hyperactivity scales provided only tentative support for scoring these scales as Conners (1997) recommended. However, an exploratory principal-axis factor analysis with all 27 item ratings found 2 dimensions: 1 dimension was composed of the 6 items in the Oppositional scale, and other dimension contained the remaining 21 items. An attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Total Symptoms scale was constructed by summing the ratings for these 21 symptom ratings, and this scale was found to be as effective as the Hyperactivity scale was in discriminating between youth who were and were not eventually diagnosed with an ADHD. We discuss the results as providing an alternate way of scoring the CPRS-R:S to screen for an ADHD in child and adolescent psychiatric outpatients.     

Revision and Restandardization of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS-R): Factor Structure, Reliability, and Criterion Validity

The Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) is a commonly used research and clinical tool for assessing children's behavior in the classroom. The present study introduces the revised CTRS (CTRS-R) which improves on the original CTRS by (1) establishing normative data from a large, representative North American sample, (2) deriving a factor structure using advanced statistical techniques, and (3) updating the item content to reflect current conceptualizations of childhood disorders. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a six-factor structure was found which includes Hyperactivity-Impulsivity, Perfectionism, Inattention/Cognitive Problems, Social Problems, Oppositionality, and Anxious/Shy factors. The reliability of the scale, as measured by test-retest correlations and internal consistency, is generally satisfactory. Using all of the scale factors to discriminate between attention deficit hyperactivity disordered and normal children, 85 percent of children were correctly classified, supporting the validity of the scale and indicating excellent clinical utility. Similarities and differences between the original CTRS factor structure and the CTRS-R factor structure are discussed.     

The effects of yoga on the attention and behavior of boys with Attention-Deficit/ hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Boys diagnosed with ADHD by specialist pediatricians and stabilized on medication were randomly assigned to a 20-session yoga group (n = 11) or a control group (cooperative activities; n = 8). Boys were assessed pre- and post-intervention on the Conners' Parent and Teacher Rating Scales-Revised: Long (CPRS-R:L & CTRS-R:L; Conners, 1997), the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA; Greenberg, Cormna, & Kindschi, 1997), and the Motion Logger Actigraph. Data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significant improvements from pre-test to post-test were found for the yoga, but not for the control group on five subscales of the Conners' Parents Rating Scales (CPRS): Oppositional, Global Index Emotional Lability, Global Index Total, Global Index Restless/Impulsive and ADHD Index. Significant improvements from pre-test to post-test were found for the control group, but not the yoga group on three CPRS subscales: Hyperactivity, Anxious/Shy, and Social Problems. Both groups improved significantly on CPRS Perfectionism, DSM-IV Hyperactive/ Impulsive, and DSM-IV Total. For the yoga group, positive change from pre- to post-test on the Conners' Teacher Rating Scales (CTRS) was associated with the number of sessions attended on the DSM-IV Hyperactive-Impulsive subscale and with a trend on DSM-IV Inattentive subscale. Those in the yoga group who engaged in more home practice showed a significant improvement on TOVA Response Time Variability with a trend on the ADHD score, and greater improvements on the CTRS Global Emotional Lability subscale. Results from the Motion Logger Actigraph were inconclusive. Although these data do not provide strong support for the use of yoga for ADHD, partly because the study was under-powered, they do suggest that yoga may have merit as a complementary treatment for boys with ADHD already stabilized on medication, particularly for its evening effect when medication effects are absent. Yoga remains an investigational treatment, but this study supports further research into its possible uses for this population. These findings need to be replicated on larger groups with a more intensive supervised practice program.     

A Multivariate Analysis of the Revised Conners' Teacher Rating Scale with Low-Income, Urban Preschool Children

The present investigation addressed the utility of the revised Conners' Teachers Rating Scale (CTRS-28) with low-income urban preschool children. CTRS-28 ratings for a large sample of preschool children from an urban Head Start program were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Analyses yielded a 3-factor structure: Conduct problems, Hyperactivity, and Passivity. Further analyses cross-validated this structure for males and females and supported its integrity. Multimethod, multisource validity analyses substantiated the CTRS-28 dimensions. The Play Disruption factor of the parent and teacher Penn Interactive Peer Play Scales (PIPPS) provided convergent validity for the Conduct and Hyperactivity factors of the CTRS-28, whereas the Play Interaction factor revealed divergent validity. The Play Disconnection factor of the PIPPS validated the CTRS-28 Passivity factor. The Q-Sort Emotional Regulation scale provided divergent validity for the Conduct and Hyperactivity factors and likewise the Q-Sort Autonomy scale provided divergent validity for the Passivity factor. Age and sex differences were assessed across the 3 factors of the derived preschool structure. A main effect was found for sex and age indicating that boys displayed higher levels of Hyperactivity and Passivity problems than girls did. Similarly, 4-year-old children demonstrated higher levels of Passivity problems than did 5-year-old children.     

Conners' Teacher Rating Scale for use in drug studies with children — An empirical study

Their classroom teachers rated 291 schoolchildren, grades kindergarten through 6, on Conners' Teacher Rating Scale, developed for and used widely in drug studies in children. Scores were found to be significantly lower than those reported for a similar group of 92 New York children and considerably less than those of a group of 64 children receiving medication for deviant behavior. Boys generally had higher scores for acting-out-type behavior while girls scored higher on neuroticism. The factor structure in this sample showed some differences from that in Conners' original analysis but they are insufficient for any change in the widely accepted scoring system, except perhaps to add a fifth factor of sociability.     

Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: a revised child anxiety and depression scale

The practical significance of assessing disorders of emotion in children is well documented, yet few scales exist that possess conceptual if not empirical relevance to dimensions of DSM anxiety or depressive disorders. The current study evaluated an adaptation of a recently developed anxiety measure (Spence Children's Anxiety Scale; [Spence, S. H. (1997). Structure of anxiety symptoms among children: a confirmatory factor-analytic study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 280-297; Spence, S. H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 545-566]), revised to correspond to dimensions of several DSM-IV anxiety disorders as well as major depression. This investigation involved initial evaluation of the factorial validity of the revised measure in a school sample of 1641 children and adolescents and reliability and validity in an independent sample of 246 children and adolescents. Results yielded an item set and factor definitions that demonstrated structure consistent with DSM-IV anxiety disorders and depression. The revised factor structure and definitions were further supported by the reliability and validity analyses. Some implications for assessment of childhood anxiety and depressive disorders are discussed.     

领导力技能问卷的修订

以湖北省396名中学生为被试,在探索性因素分析的基础上对Carter等人1980年编制的领导力技能问卷进行了初步的修订。结果表明：修订后的领导力技能问卷具有良好的内部一致性和稳定性,且验证性因素分析也表明各分量表的结构拟合良好,达到了心理测量学标准。可作为评估中国青少年领导力技能的有效且可靠的工具进行使用。     

The Conners Parent Rating Scale: Psychometric properties in typically developing 4- to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children

IntroductionThe Conners Parent Rating Scale – 48 items (CPRS) is one of the most widely used behavioral scales in clinical and research settings with children.ObjectiveThe principal aim of this study was to validate the five-factor structure of the French version of the CPRS in 4- to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children. Secondly, a sample of children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was assessed and their ADHD CPRS profile was examined.MethodsA total of 382 typically developing children from 4 to 12 years old were included in this study. Furthermore, 15 children (aged 6 to 12 years old) diagnosed with ADHD participated in this study.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis shows that the CPRS presents good psychometric properties and has a factor structure similar to the original version. Furthermore, the CPRS shows high rates of sensitivity and specificity when the ADHD and control group scores are compared.ConclusionsThis study confirms the original five-factor structure of the CPRS when used with French-speaking children. Our results highlight the fact that the CPRS is a reliable measure of parental perception of their children's disruptive behaviors, and encourage the use of culturally adapted normative data for 4- to 12-year-old children.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the antisocial process screening device with a clinical inpatient population

Research linking psychopathic tendencies to childhood behavior problems is predicated on the assumption that the findings are based on using psychometrically sound measures of psychopathic tendencies. Although evaluated with community samples, the psychometric properties of such measures have not been evaluated with inpatient clinical populations thereby limiting conclusions. Hence, the goal of the present study was to evaluate the factor structure of a widely used measure-the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD)-with an inpatient population. Parents of 328 children (M age = 8.90 years) completed the APSD at the time of their child's admission for treatment. Although confirmatory factor analyses supported the three- and two-factor solutions proposed by the authors of the measure, the two-factor structure was more parsimonious. Factors of the two-factor model were also related to symptoms of childhood behavior disorders. The findings extend current research on the APSD's factor structure to an inpatient population.     

The differential validity of hyperactivity/attention deficits and conduct problems among mentally retarded children

The independence of hyperactivity, attention deficits, and conduct problems among mentally retarded children was addressed using factors of the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale-39 (CTRS-39) and the more recently developed IOWA Conners' inattention/overactivity (IO) and aggression (A) subscales. CTRS-39 ratings were obtained for children of normal intelligence and for mentally retarded children. Differences between the groups were examined as were intercorrelations of the Conners' factors and IOWA subscales. Conduct problems proved to be less strongly associated with hyperactivity and attention deficits among mentally retarded children compared to children of normal intelligence. However, attention problems and conduct problems may be associated with mental retardation in general. Implications of these data and CTRS scoring system recommendations for mentally retarded children are discussed.     

Examining the multidimensionality of approaches to learning through the development of a revised version of the Learning Process Questionnaire

Aim: This study aimed to produce a revised two‐factor version of the Learning Process Questionnaire (R‐LPQ‐2F) with deep and surface approach scales, measured by a reasonably small number of items, suitable for use by teachers in secondary schools to evaluate the learning approaches of their students. Method: A set of 41 items was derived, with modification, from the original version of the LPQ and from items used to develop the revised version of the SPQ. These items were tested using reliability procedures and confirmatory factor analysis and items were deleted until scales were of a suitable length and confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit to the intended two‐factor structure. Sample: The sample consisted of 841 students from 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Results: The final two‐factor version of the questionnaire had good Cronbach alpha values and reasonable goodness‐of‐fit values for the confirmatory analysis. There was a much better fit, though, to a hierarchical structure with motive and strategy subscales for each approach, each of which, in turn, had two subcomponents. Conclusion: Approaches to learning have a hierarchical dimensionality with motive and strategy elements. Each motive and strategy element is itself multidimensional. The results are used to question the conventional approach to the testing and acceptance of instruments, which place sole reliance upon reliability tests. The use of confirmatory factor analysis is recommended as a routine procedure in the development and testing of instruments.     

Examining the structural validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a U.S. sample of custodial grandmothers

The authors examined the structural validity of the parent informant version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) with a sample of 733 custodial grandparents. Three models of the SDQ's factor structure were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis based on the item covariance matrix. Although indices of fit were good across all 3 models, a model that included a newly hypothesized positive construal method factor in addition to the 4 symptom factors (Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity-Inattention, Peer Problems) and the single Prosocial Behavior factor originally intended for the SDQ provided the best representation of this instrument's latent structure. Structural validity was further evidenced by measurement invariance across grandparent race and grandchild gender and age, a conceptually meaningful pattern of cross-scale correlations, and the acceptable internal reliability estimates found for each subscale. Measurement and clinical implications of the results are discussed.     

Evaluation of a Parental Behavior Scale in a Peruvian Context

The purpose of this study was to investigate psychometric properties (factorial structure, reliability, and criterion validity) of a Spanish version of the Parental Behavior Scale (PBS), an instrument developed to assess observable parental behavior. The sample consisted of 591 Peruvian families in Metropolitan Lima. Parents, mostly mothers, completed the scale regarding one target child attending 6th grade of primary education. Two models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis: a nine-factor model based on the original PBS and a five-factor model (PBS short version). Both models fitted the data well. A multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor structure, factor loadings and correlations were invariant for groups of parents with children in public or in private schools. Four factors showed adequate reliability: Positive Parenting, Rules, Discipline and Harsh Punishment. Correlational analyses showed significant associations between harsh punishment and child behavioral problems, measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and with the family environment, measured with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment.     

The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist--Nursing Home: instrument development and measurement of burden among certified nursing assistants

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist--Nursing Home (RMBPC) replicated the factor structure of the community-based RMBPC (L. Teri et al., 1992). The reliability of the total score was high as indexed by estimates of internal consistency (alpha = .95), test-retest reliability (r = .86), and interrater reliability between 2 interviewers (r = .88). Notably, the interrater reliability between 2 independent certified nursing assistants (CNAs) regarding residents' behavior problem frequency was more modest (r = .46), possibly reflecting the degree to which resident behaviors capture individual CNA's attention. This may have implications for the interpretation of data from the Minimum Data Set. CNAs reported moderately severe burden associated with behavior problems in 47% of residents under their care.     

English validation of the short form of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-S)

The study examined the psychometric properties of scores on the English version of the short Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-S) among 1368 English-Speaking and 224 French-Speaking adolescents. Participants completed the original PSI-S and a revised version including positively-worded reformulations of the original negatively-worded items. The results supported the a priori factor structure, composite reliability, and test-retest reliability (7–8 months) of scores on the revised PSI-S, and its equivalence with the French version. Compared to confirmatory factor analyses, exploratory structural equation modeling resulted in a superior solution, and more cleanly differentiated factors. PSI-S responses were longitudinally invariant across 7–8 months, and presented no evidence of differential item functioning as a function of age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity. The results showed latent mean differences as a function of gender, BMI (linear and curvilinear effects), and physical activity, supporting the criterion-related validity of the PSI-S factors.     

Associations among family adaptability and cohesion,interparental conflict,and tactics used during young adults' conflict with parents

The Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale has 51 items, each scored on a 5-point rating scale to measure statistics anxiety with six subscales, Worth of Statistics, Interpretation Anxiety, Test and Class Anxiety, Computational Self-concept, Fear of Asking for Help, and Fear of Statistics Teachers. Psychometric properties included analyses of construct and concurrent validities an internal consistency and test-retest reliability. 221 college students (74% women; M age=28 yr.) in elementary statistics courses at several southwestern state universities participated. The findings are consistent with previous reports and indicate adequate concurrent validity, internal consistency, and split-half reliability, but for construct validity confirmatory factor analysis yielded marginal support.     

学前儿童自我控制行为家长评定问卷的编制及其结构验证

目的:编制学前儿童自我控制行为家长评定问卷并对其结构进行验证。方法:在理论分析和开放式问卷调查的基础上,编制了学前儿童自我控制行为家长评定问卷,并采用探索性因素分析与验证性因素分析相结合的方法,分别对263名和387名学前儿童的自我控制行为进行结构的探索与验证。结果:学前儿童自我控制行为由独立性、自觉性、坚持性、自制力和自我延迟满足五个维度构成;学前儿童自我控制行为问卷具有较好的信效度,其结构在不同性别、城乡样本中具有稳定性。结论:学前儿童自我控制行为是一个五因素的结构,所编制的问卷可作为学前儿童自我控制行为家长评定的工具。     

教师创造性教学行为评价量表的结构

用Cropley编制的"创造性教学行为自评量表"(CFT指标)对321名小学教师进行初测,选取难度在0.20~0.80之间、区分度在0.40以上的28个题项组成"教师创造性教学行为评价量表"。经探索性因素分析,发现该量表由学习方式指导、动机激发、观点评价和鼓励变通4个维度构成。对592份"教师创造性教学行为评价量表"有效数据的验证性因素分析结果表明,该量表有较好的信度和效度,可以用来评价教师的创造性教学行为。     

Psychometric properties of the revised Norwegian dispositional resilience (hardiness) scale

Hystad, S. W., Eid, J., Johnsen, B. H., Laberg, J. C. & Bartone, P. T. (2010) Psychometric properties of the revised Norwegian dispositional resilience (hardiness) scale. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 237–245. In the 30 years that have elapsed since it was first introduced, the concept of hardiness has continued to attract the attention and interest of researchers from all over the world. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and factor structure of a revised Norwegian hardiness scale (Dispositional Resilience Scale 15; DRS‐15). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic strategies with a large sample of working adults (N = 7,280), support was found for a hierarchical structure comprising a general hardiness dimension and three sub‐dimensions (commitment, control, and challenge). Overall, the results support the reliability and validity of the revised DRS‐15 and underscore the importance of examining the psychometric properties and cultural appropriateness of translated scales.     

企业员工职业承诺的结构模型研究

在文献研究基础上,通过访谈等方法,编制职业承诺问卷(OCQ)。通过对240名被试进行预测,修订得到正式问卷。重新选取11家企业的员工进行测试,获得330份有效问卷,数据的验证性因素分析结果表明:企业员工的职业承诺是四因素结构,包括情感承诺、规范承诺、代价承诺和选择限制承诺。