Illustrating a mixed-method approach for validating culturally specific constructs

The purpose of this article is to illustrate a mixed-method approach (i.e., combining qualitative and quantitative methods) for advancing the study of construct validation in cross-cultural research. The article offers a detailed illustration of the approach using the responses 612 Sri Lankan adolescents provided to an ethnographic survey. Such surveys offer a connection between the primary methodologies used (i.e., ethnographic and factor analytic approaches) as they are predicated on qualitative inquiry and allow for the application of factor analysis. If the qualitatively derived constructs are comparable to factor analytic results, then triangulation across methods is achieved and a survey can be developed that is sensitive to culturally specific phenomena. The illustration of this approach uses data from an ethnographic survey of self-concept, as defined by Harter (1999) [Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: The Guilford Press]. The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: The Guilford Press]. The overall finding is that three constructs emerged from the factor analysis and were reconciled with the ethnographic data.     

Workplace factors associated with family dinner behaviors

This study investigated relationships between workplace factors and family dinners. We examined two aspects of the family dinner, the frequency that the entire family typically has dinner together each week and the frequency that children eat fast food for dinner. Participants were 220 parents who worked at least 20 h a week and had at least one child living at home. Results indicated that work interference with family (WIF) mediated the relationship between family-supportive supervision and family dinner frequency. Greater flexplace (i.e., telecommuting) availability was associated with less frequent use of fast food for children’s dinner.     

Fluent Reading as the Improvement of Stimulus Control: Additive Effects of Performance-Based Interventions to Repeated Reading on Students' Reading and Error Rates

The impact of adding performance-based interventions to a skill-based intervention on oral reading fluency was examined with 3 elementary students identified as having difficulty with reading. Two performance-based interventions were combined with the skill-based intervention Repeated Reading (RR) to create the three instructional packages investigated. The packages included Repeated Readings (RR), Repeated Readings with Performance Feedback (RR/FB), and Repeated Readings with Performance Feedback and Contingent Reward (RR/FB/REW). Results suggested that Repeated Reading (RR) alone led to the greatest increase in reading fluency for participants with the highest reading rates and lowest error rates at baseline. In contrast, the participant who exhibited the lowest reading rate and highest error rate benefited the most when Repeated Readings was offered in conjunction with Performance Feedback (RR/FB) or Performance Feedback plus Contingent Reward (RR/FB/RW). Implications for blending skill- and performance-based interventions to develop stimulus control over fluent reading and future research directions are discussed.     

The Influence of Gender and Social Role on the Interpretation of Facial Expressions

The current studies were designed to examine the influence of apparent gender on the interpretation of ambiguous emotional expressions. Participants rated the intensity of emotions that were expressed in two versions of the same emotional expression, in which hair style and clothing were altered to manipulate gender. The emotional expression in each of the photos was a combination of anger and sadness. Of interest was the effect of the apparent gender of the poser on the interpretation of the blended emotional expression. In Study 2 we also examined whether the social role (i.e., occupation) of the poser influenced the interpretation. Although the occupation of the poser did not influence emotion ratings, the apparent gender of the poser influenced the interpretation of ambiguous emotional expressions in a stereotype-consistent manner in both Studies 1 and 2.     

Measurement Equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist among Parents of African American Adolescents

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) is a widely used parent-report measure of youth internalizing and externalizing problems. Accumulating evidence, however, suggests that the CBCL may not adequately assess clinical problems in diverse populations. We investigated the measurement equivalence (ME) of the CBCL in an African American adolescent sample (N = 145). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated poor factor model fit; however, modification indices and an alternative two-factor model produced improved fit statistics. Internal consistency coefficients of CBCL scales ranged from α = .65 to .88 and were generally lower than those reported for the normative sample. The CBCL exhibited convergent validity with conceptually similar scales on the Parent Report Scale of the Behavior Assessment System for Children; however, the correlations were weaker than those reported for the normative sample. The CBCL Internalizing composite failed to predict clinician-rated Emotional problems, however, the Externalizing composite predicted clinician-rated behavior problems. In summary, the CBCL did not exhibit unequivocal evidence of ME, as it both possesses and lacks a number of statistical attributes that would demonstrate its equivalence with African Americans. Future empirical and theoretical work is discussed.     

The Multidimensional Media Influence Scale: Confirmatory factor structure and relationship with body dissatisfaction among African American and Anglo American children

The Multidimensional Media Influence Scale (MMIS; Cusumano & Thompson, 2001). Media influence and body image in 8–11-year-old boys and girls: A preliminary report on the multidimensional media influence scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 37–44) is a child-appropriate, 3-factor scale designed to assess perceived media influence on body image. It has been used in studies exploring the relationship between the entire scale as well as its subscales (awareness, internalization, and pressure) and variables related to body image. However, the 3-factor structure of the scale has never been confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), nor has the scale been evaluated with a racially diverse sample of children. This paper reports the results of CFAs establishing the multidimensionality of the scale and the unidimensionality of its subscales among a sample of 661 girls and boys aged 7–12 years, primarily African American and Anglo American. The pressure factor of the MMIS predicted the idealization of a thinner current (child) and future (adult) body both cross-sectionally and one year later for girls and for Anglo American children.     

Use of a token economy to eliminate excessive inappropriate social behavior in an adult with developmental disabilities

Adults with developmental disabilities frequently have both deficits in appropriate social skills and excesses in inappropriate social behavior (Matson, LeBlanc, & Weinheimer, 1999). Typically, published treatment studies have focused on social skills training procedures that teach and promote the use of new social behaviors. However, only a few studies have focused on management of existing social behaviors that are problematic because they occur excessively or in an inappropriate context (Wright, Herzog, & Seymour, 1992). The current study focuses on management of three types of inappropriate social behavior in a 26‐year‐old male with moderate mental retardation: inappropriate social interactions, inappropriate sexual behavior, and verbal aggression. A token economy with response cost procedure was implemented using a DRO interval as the basis for earning tokens. Using a multiple‐baseline design across behaviors, each of the three types of inappropriate social behavior was successfully treated. After demonstrating the success of the procedure, the DRO interval was increased while maintaining the reductions in inappropriate social behaviors. Appropriate behaviors such as initiating conversation, shaking hands, etc maintained throughout the intervention. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Larger brain and white matter volumes in children with developmental language disorder

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is predominantly a language disorder, but children with DLD also manifest non-language impairments, and neuroanatomical abnormalities have been found in multiple areas of the brain, not all language-associated. We therefore performed a whole brain general segmentation analysis of all major brain regions on MRI scans of 24 DLD subjects (16M, 8F) and 30 controls (15M, 15F), ages 5.7 to 11.3 years. Children with DLD showed increased total brain volume, driven predominantly by a substantial increase in the volume of cerebral white matter. Cerebral cortex and caudate were relatively but not absolutely smaller in DLD. These findings are discussed in relation to issues of specificity vs. generality as they arise in debates about (1) modular vs. general processing deficits and connectionist modeling in DLD, (2) language-specific vs. pervasive, non-specific deficits in DLD and (3) specificity of the disorder vs. overlap with other disorders, notably autism.     

EVALUATION OF CLIENT PREFERENCE FOR FUNCTION-BASED TREATMENT PACKAGES

Functional communication training (FCT) and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) are commonly prescribed treatments that are based on the results of a functional analysis. Both treatments involve delivery of the reinforcer that is responsible for the maintenance of destructive behavior. One major difference between the two treatment procedures is that client responding determines reinforcement delivery with FCT (e.g., reinforcement of communication is delivered on a fixed-ratio 1 schedule) but not with NCR (e.g., reinforcement is delivered on a fixed-time 30-s schedule). In the current investigation, FCT and NCR were equally effective in reducing 2 participants' destructive behavior that was sensitive to attention as reinforcement. After the treatment analysis, the participants' relative preference for each treatment was evaluated using a modified concurrent-chains procedure. Both participants demonstrated a preference for the FCT procedure. The results are discussed in terms of treatment efficacy and preference for control over when reinforcement is delivered. In addition, a method is demonstrated in which clients with developmental disabilities can participate in selecting treatments that are designed to reduce their destructive behavior.