Bifactor and item response theory analyses of interviewer report scales of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia

A psychometric analysis of 2 interview-based measures of cognitive deficits was conducted: the 21-item Clinical Global Impression of Cognition in Schizophrenia (CGI-CogS; Ventura et al., 2008), and the 20-item Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS; Keefe et al., 2006), which were administered on 2 occasions to a sample of people with schizophrenia. Traditional psychometrics, bifactor analysis, and item response theory methods were used to explore item functioning and dimensionality and to compare instruments. Despite containing similar item content, responses to the CGI-CogS demonstrated superior psychometric properties (e.g., higher item intercorrelations, better spread of ratings across response categories) relative to the SCoRS. The authors argue that these differences arise mainly from the differential use of prompts and how the items are phrased and scored. Bifactor analysis demonstrated that although both measures capture a broad range of cognitive functioning (e.g., working memory, social cognition), the common variance on each is overwhelmingly explained by a single general factor. Item response theory analyses of the combined pool of 41 items showed that measurement precision is peaked in the mild to moderate range of cognitive impairment. Finally, simulated adaptive testing revealed that only about 10 to 12 items are necessary to achieve latent trait level estimates with reasonably small standard errors for most individuals. This suggests that these interview-based measures of cognitive deficits could be shortened without loss of measurement precision.     

Figural vividness and persuasion: capturing the "elusive" vividness effect

Despite the widespread belief that the use of vividness in persuasive communications is effective, many laboratory studies have failed to find vividness effects. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that many laboratory tests have not vivified solely the central thesis of the message but have vivified irrelevant portions of the message as well or instead. Two experiments examined the effect of vivifying the central ("figure") or noncentral ("ground") features of a message on persuasion. In both experiments, the formerly "elusive vividness effect" of superior persuasion was found, but only in vivid-figure communications. A mediation analysis revealed the salutary role of supportive cognitive elaborations, rather than memory for the communication, in mediating the vividness effect. The findings caution against attempts to persuade by increasing overall message vividness because off-thesis vividness has the unintended and undercutting consequence of distracting recipients from the point of the communication.     

The interest gap: how gender stereotype endorsement about abilities predicts differences in academic interests

This study used a novel approach to examine the link between gender ability stereotype endorsement and academic interests by examining not only stereotypes people hold within the domains of mathematics and language arts, but also between them. Grade 6 and 8 students (285 males, 363 females) reported their degree of stereotype endorsement and interest in these two academic domains. Results of path analyses revealed that stereotype endorsement within and between domains accounted for gender differences in interest. In language arts, endorsing a stereotype that females are more competent than males predicted subsequent interest in the domain and accounted for the greater language arts interest among females. In mathematics, however, the perception that males are more competent in mathematics relative to language arts was linked to students’ interest in this domain and accounted for the interest gap between genders. These results suggest that students’ interests relate to endorsed stereotypes that are either driven by a perceived gender superiority within one domain—when females are viewed as more competent than males in language arts—or a gender superiority between two domains—when males are viewed as more competent in mathematics relative to language arts. Considering not only stereotypes favoring a gender within one domain, but also between domains, provides a more accurate portrait of students’ actual stereotypes and can be useful to better understanding how the interest gap emerges.

     

Predictors and Trajectories of Response to the Homework,Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) Intervention for Adolescents With ADHD

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the relative importance of adolescent and parent skills acquired during participation in the Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) intervention in predicting intervention response. A sample of 111 middle school students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (66% male; M_age = 11.99, SD = 1.05) received the HOPS intervention, which includes 16 brief sessions with the adolescent and two parent meetings. Each session, school mental health providers completed checklists measuring students’ acquisition of homework recording, materials organization, and time management skills. Parents provided information on whether they monitored and used contingencies to reinforce skills use at home. Outcome measures included parent and teacher ratings of homework problems and organizational/time management skills postintervention. Grade point average and assignment completion were also evaluated as objective outcomes. Regressions found accurate homework recording and time management to be unique predictors of parent-reported homework and organizational skills outcomes. Growth mixture models examining organizational skills trajectories throughout the intervention significantly predicted parent- and teacher-reported outcomes, GPA, and assignment completion; homework recording trajectories predicted parent-reported outcomes and GPA. Sixty-eight percent of participants displayed high acquisition of organization and homework recording skills. Parent-reported use of monitoring and contingencies to support adolescent skills implementation was not associated with outcomes. Results highlight the importance of examining individual differences in school-based intervention studies targeting organization, time management, and planning. Importantly, for a school-based adolescent-focused intervention, improvement in outcomes does not appear to be dependent upon parent skills implementation.     

Predicting intergroup bias: the interactive effects of implicit theory and social identity

This research sought to integrate the implicit theory approach and the social identity approach to understanding biases in intergroup judgment. The authors hypothesized that a belief in fixed human character would be associated with negative bias and prejudice against a maligned group regardless of the perceiver's social identity. By contrast, a belief in malleable human character would allow the perceiver's social identity to guide intergroup perception, such that a common ingroup identity that includes the maligned group would be associated with less negative bias and prejudice against the maligned group than would an exclusive identity. To test these hypotheses, a correlational study was conducted in the context of the Hong Kong 1997 political transition to examine Hong Kong Chinese's perceptions of Chinese Mainlanders, and an experimental study was conducted in the United States to examine Asian Americans' perception of African Americans. Results from both studies supported the authors' predictions.     

Listening to Transgender and Gender Diverse Students on Christian College Campuses

Journal of Religion and Health - This study was an initial investigation of important areas of interest within the literature on transgender and gender diverse students, namely psychological...     

Ethnic Differences in the Relation Between Parental Emotion Socialization and Mental Health in Emerging Adults

The present study examined the relation between retrospectively reported parental emotion socialization practices and emerging adults’ mental health across four ethnic groups. Participants were 112 European American, 89 Latino/a American, 82 African American/Black, and 83 Asian American emerging adults. Participants completed questionnaires assessing current mental health symptoms and retrospective reports of parents’ responses to their expression of negative affect as adolescents. Fathers’ socialization practices were associated with emerging adults’ functioning across ethnic groups, but the relation between mothers’ socialization and emerging adults’ functioning varied across ethnic groups. Supportive practices were significantly associated with fewer symptoms in emerging adults only for Latino/a American families, and unsupportive practices were associated with more symptoms in emerging adults only for European American and African American/Black families. Results point to the importance of parental emotion socialization practices during adolescence for emerging adults’ well-being, but suggest that some practices may be more important than others depending on cultural background.     

Health psychology: what will the future bring?

This commentary highlights several important themes and trends in this series of articles focusing on the future of health psychology. First, the challenges posed by changes in populations will only be met if health psychologists can develop a contextual competency. Second, with increasing evidence for the efficacy of health psychology interventions comes heightened interest in testing the effectiveness of these interventions. Third, issues of cost-effectiveness of health psychology will become increasingly important. Fourth, the growing integration of technological advances (e.g., telehealth, the Internet) into health psychology has major implications. Finally, the numerous changes outlined in this series of articles will demand that health psychologists extend and refine their theoretical models including the biopsychosocial model.