纳入式分类分析法在潜在剖面模型的后续多元回归中的应用

纳入式分类分析法能克服传统的分类分析法对后续一元回归模型参数的低估,发挥潜在类别模型的后续分析简化变量间交互作用的功能。本文进一步将纳入式分类分析法拓展至潜在剖面模型后续的多元统计分析中。通过蒙特卡洛模拟实验,比较各种纳入变量的方法思路与后续分析模型在四种常见的多元回归模型中参数估计的表现。结果发现,纳入式分类分析法所需纳入的变量取决于后续分析中与因变量、潜类别变量的关系,且后续分析使用含交互作用的模型更为稳健。     

Adaptation of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning for use among infants aged 5‐ to 24‐months in rural Gambia

Infants in low‐resource settings are at heightened risk for compromised cognitive development due to a multitude of environmental insults in their surroundings. However, the onset of adverse outcomes and trajectory of cognitive development in these settings is not well understood. The aims of the present study were to adapt the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) for use with infants in a rural area of The Gambia, to examine cognitive development in the first 24‐months of life and to assess the association between cognitive performance and physical growth. In Phase 1 of this study, the adapted MSEL was tested on 52 infants aged 9‐ to 24‐months (some of whom were tested longitudinally at two time points). Further optimization and training were undertaken and Phase 2 of the study was conducted, where the original measures were administered to 119 newly recruited infants aged 5‐ to 24‐months. Infant length, weight and head circumference were measured concurrently in both phases. Participants from both phases were split into age categories of 5–9 m (N = 32), 10–14 m (N = 92), 15–19 m (N = 53) and 20–24 m (N = 43) and performance was compared across age groups. From the ages of 10–14 m, Gambian infants obtained lower MSEL scores than US norms. Performance decreased with age and was lowest in the 20–24 m old group. Differential onsets of reduced performance were observed in the individual MSEL domains, with declines in visual perception and motor performance detected as early as at 10–14 months, while reduced language scores became evident after 15–19 months of age. Performance on the MSEL was significantly associated with measures of growth.     

Are there virtuous types? Finite mixture modeling of the VIA Inventory of Strengths

ABSTRACT

Philosophical and religious traditions often refer to ‘the virtuous person.’ This terminology usually carries with it the assumption that a class of individuals exists who have achieved a virtuous state. This study attempted to test that implication. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is intended as a comprehensive assessment of character strengths, which are conceptualized as markers of virtuous character. One prior study using taxometric methods found no evidence for the existence of such a category of individuals using VIA-IS scores. Subsequent literature has suggested the superiority of finite mixture modeling for identifying categorical structure. Latent profile analyses of 1–10 classes were conducted in a stratified sample of 10,000 adults. The results provided little evidence for class structure, and support thinking of virtue as something we must continuously pursue rather than a state that we achieve.     

Comparison of the construct validity of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire and the BIS/BAS scales

345 subjects completed a translated, shortened version of the Gray–Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ), along with Russian versions of Carver and White’s BIS/BAS scales, the Eysenck Personality Profiler, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis of GWPQ items pointed to a three-factor solution and three new scales were created which demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics. Confirmatory factor analysis of the BIS/BAS scales showed that a four-factor model best fitted the data but the three BAS subscales should be treated as sub-factors of a second-order factor. Structural equation modelling showed that GWPQ scales generally explained Eysenck’s dimensions better than BIS/BAS scales. The distinction between GWPQ and Carver and White’s scales mainly concerned BAS measures. GWPQ BAS captured more of Psychoticism, whereas Carver and White’s BAS captured more of Extraversion.     

Intergenerational predictors of diurnal cortisol secretion in early childhood

The present study examined potential intergenerational links that may contribute to atypical patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion in early childhood. Salivary cortisol samples were collected across 1 waking day in 36 pre‐school children whose mothers are participants in an ongoing longitudinal project. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) identified statistically significant predictors of individual differences in daily cortisol trajectories. Children displayed relatively low post‐awakening values and flatter cortisol trajectories across the day as a function of unsupportive maternal behaviour, second‐hand smoke and maternal histories of social withdrawal in childhood. These results suggest that individual differences in young children's pattern of diurnal cortisol are associated with a variety of current and historical maternal characteristics and behaviours. The identification of intergenerational predictors of children's diurnal neuroendocrine functioning may provide new insights into the transfer of health and developmental risk from parent to child. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the relationship of working memory tasks and fluid intelligence tests by means of the fixed-links model in considering the impurity problem

The impurity of measures is considered as cause of erroneous interpretations of observed relationships. This paper concentrates on impurity with respect to the relationship between working memory and fluid intelligence. The means for the identification of impurity was the fixed-links model, which enabled the decomposition of variance into experimental and non-experimental parts. A substantial non-experimental part could be expected to signify impurity. In a sample of 345 participants error scores and reaction times, which were obtained by the Exchange Test, represented working memory, and Advanced Progressive Matrices served as measure of fluid intelligence. The four independent latent variables of the model associated with error scores and reaction times led to a multiple correlation .67 with the latent variable of fluid intelligence. However, there was impurity since the decomposition by means of the fixed-links model showed that only 45% of the common variance was due to working memory.     

A latent variable model for discrete multivariate psychometric waiting times

A version of the discrete proportional hazards model is developed for psychometrical applications. In such applications, a primary covariate that influences failure times is a latent variable representing a psychological construct. The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is studied as a method for performing marginal likelihood inference on the item parameters. The model is illustrated with a real data example that relates the age at which teenagers first experience various substances to the latent ability to avoid the onset of such behaviors.We thank Michael Newton and Daode Huang for their helpful comments and suggestions.     

Modelling decisions to undergo genetic testing for susceptibility to common health conditions: An ancillary study of the Multiplex Initiative

New genetic tests reveal risks for multiple conditions simultaneously, although little is understood about the psychological factors that affect testing uptake. We assessed a conceptual model called the multiplex genetic testing model (MGTM) using structural equation modelling. The MGTM delineates worry, perceived severity, perceived risk, response efficacy and attitudes towards testing as predictors of intentions and behaviour. Participants were 270 healthy insured adults aged 25–40 from the Multiplex Initiative conducted within a health care system in Detroit, MI, USA. Participants were offered a genetic test that assessed risk for eight common health conditions. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that worry, perceived risk and severity clustered into two disease domains: cancer or metabolic conditions. Only perceived severity of metabolic conditions was correlated with general response efficacy (β?=?0.13, p<0.05), which predicted general attitudes towards testing (β?=?0.24, p<0.01). Consistent with our hypothesised model, attitudes towards testing were the strongest predictors of intentions to undergo testing (β?=?0.49, p<0.01), which in turn predicted testing uptake (OR 17.7, β?=?0.97, p<0.01). The MGTM explained a striking 48% of the variance in intentions and 94% of the variation in uptake. These findings support use of the MGTM to explain psychological predictors of testing for multiple health conditions.     

Missions without missionaries: the social dimension of church growth in Muslim Java,Indonesia

We live in a world where religion is not confined to the private sphere and where faith-based acts, from Qur'an burning to terrorist activities, affront not only believers but also non-believers. Indonesia, where moderate Islam has long enjoyed its compatibility with other religions, has recently emerged as a hot spot of Muslim–Christian violence. In order to examine the social face of faith in ‘unfavourable’ circumstances, this article analyses church growth in Muslim Java by addressing the sociological issues related to what makes a church strong. Through an empirical investigation into the Java Christian Church, the article demonstrates that a church manages to establish a firm foothold in a Muslim society by developing the porosity of the religious frontier at the organizational level.