Norms for Parental Ratings on Conners' Abbreviated Parent-Teacher Questionnaire: Implications for the Design of Behavioral Rating Inventories and Analyses of Data Derived from Them

Despite the wide usage of Conners' 10-item Abbreviated Parent-Teacher Questionnaire (APTQ), normative data for parental ratings on the APTQ are rare. Moreover, its psychometric properties as a stand alone behavioral rating instrument have yet to be examined in detail. Using data from parental ratings for 6,841 children aged 5 to 14 years, this paper reports the psychometric properties of the APTQ and provides normative and prevalence estimates for four age cohorts (5 to 6, 7 to 8, 9 to 11, and 12 to 14 years) by gender. In presenting the findings, the paper highlights key methodological issues endemic to the design of behavioral rating inventories like the APTQ and the analysis of data derived from them. These issues are illustrated and discussed in terms of their implications for the measurement and determination of prevalence estimates of problem behaviors in child psychology and child psychiatry. The need to revise the design, content, and response formats of child behavior rating inventories is stressed.     

The Effect of a Neutralizing Routine on Problem Behavior Performance

A functional analysis of noncompliance, aggression, and disruptive behavior during instruction was conducted with a 10-year-old boy with severe disabilities. We studied the relation between participant responsiveness and the rate and function of problem behavior. Results showed that unresponsiveness before difficult instruction was associated with higher rates of problem behavior negatively reinforced by termination of that instruction. A neutralizing routine, called precorrection, was then applied before difficult instruction when the participant was rated as not responsive. Results showed that the neutralizing event increased responsiveness and reduced problem behavior during difficult instruction. The study demonstrates a promising assessment and treatment method for problematic behavior that begins prior to instruction.     

Conjoint schedules of timeout deletion in pigeons.

This experiment attempted to bring behavior under joint control of two distinct contingencies, one that provided food and a second that extended the periods during which that food was available. Pigeons' responses on each of two keys were reinforced according to a single random-interval schedule of food presentation except during signaled timeout periods during which the schedule was temporarily disabled. By means of a conjoint schedule, responses on the initially less preferred key not only produced food but also canceled impending timeouts. When behavior came to predominate on this conjoint alternative, the consequences of responding on the two keys were reversed. Responding in 3 of 4 pigeons proved sensitive to the conjoint scheduled consequences, as evidenced by systematic shifts in response rates favoring the conjoint key. In 2 of these 3 pigeons, sensitivity to the conjoint contingency was evident under time-in:timeout ratios of 2:1 (time-in = 120 s, timeout = 60 s) and 1:5 (time-in = 30 s, timeout = 150 s), whereas for the other pigeon preference for the conjoint key was observed only under the latter sequence of conditions. There was only weak evidence of control by the conjoint scheduled consequences in the 4th subject, despite extended training and forced exposure to the conjoint alternative. The overall pattern of results is consistent with studies of timeout avoidance but also shares features in common with positively reinforced behavior.     

Effect analysis and causation in linear structural equation models

This paper considers total and direct effects in linear structural equation models. Adopting a causal perspective that is implicit in much of the literature on the subject, the paper concludes that in many instances the effects do not admit the interpretations imparted in the literature. Drawing a distinction between concomitants and factors, the paper concludes that a concomitant has neither total nor direct effects on other variables. When a variable is a factor and one or more intervening variables are concomitants, the notion of a direct effect is not causally meaningful. Even when the notion of a direct effect is meaningful, the usual estimate of this quantity may be inappropriate. The total effect is usually interpreted as an equilibrium multiplier. In the case where there are simultaneity relations among the dependent variables in tghe model, the results in the literature for the total effects of dependent variables on other dependent variables are not equilibrium multipliers, and thus, the usual interpretation is incorrect. To remedy some of these deficiencies, a new effect, the total effect of a factorX on an outcomeY, holding a set of variablesF constant, is defined. When defined, the total and direct effects are a special case of this new effect, and the total effect of a dependent variable on a dependent variable is an equilibrium multiplier.For helpful comments, I am grateful to G. Arminger, K. Bollen, W. Faris, R. m. Hauser, T. Petersen, three anonymous Psychometrikas reviewers, and the Editor. For computational assistance, I am grateful to B. D. Kim.     

A latent-trait based reliability estimate and upper bound

An estimate and an upper-bound estimate for the reliability of a test composed of binary items is derived from the multidimensional latent trait theory proposed by Bock and Aitkin (1981). The estimate derived here is similar to internal consistency estimates (such as coefficient alpha) in that it is a function of the correlations among test items; however, it is not a lowerbound estimate as are all other similar methods.An upper bound to reliability that is less than unity does not exist in the context of classical test theory. The richer theoretical background provided by Bock and Aitkin's latent trait model has allowed the development of an index (called here) that is always greater-than or equal-to the reliability coefficient for a test (and is less-than or equal-to one). The upper bound estimate of reliability has practical uses—one of which makes use of the greatest lower bound.     

The Problem of local optimality with OSMOD

The possibility of obtaining locally optimal solutions with categorical data is pointed out for the original version of OSMOD development by Saito and Otsu. A revision of the initialization strategy in OSMOD is suggested, and its effectiveness in diminishing this possibility is demonstrated.     

Noniterative estimation and the choice of the number of factors in exploratory factor analysis

Based on the usual factor analysis model, this paper investigates the relationship between improper solutions and the number of factors, and discusses the properties of the noniterative estimation method of Ihara and Kano in exploratory factor analysis. The consistency of the Ihara and Kano estimator is shown to hold even for an overestimated number of factors, which provides a theoretical basis for the rare occurrence of improper solutions and for a new method of choosing the number of factors. The comparative study of their estimator and that based on maximum likelihood is carried out by a Monte Carlo experiment.The author would like to express his thanks to Masashi Okamoto and Masamori Ihara for helpful comments and to the editor and referees for critically reading the earlier versions and making many valuable suggestions. He also thanks Shigeo Aki for his comments on physical random numbers.     

On the distinction between perception and cognition

To uphold the distinction between perception and cognition for certain classes of tasks or phenomena, it is proposed that three criteria must be met: (1) when perceptual and cognitive functions serve different biological purposes, (2) when stimulus information in dynamic events is necessary, but not sufficient for veridical perception, and (3) when the task emphasizes explicit retrieval, as opposed to implicit use of information. Conversely, when the three criteria have not been met, conditions for theoretical unification exist.     

Multiple factors of cognitive failure and their relationships with stress vulnerability

Use of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) in clinical research assumes that the questionnaire measures a single factor. A factor analysis of the CFQ was performed, on a sample of 475 students, using accurate procedures for determining the number of factors. These procedures gave mutually inconsistent results: at least two alternative factor structures can be extracted from the CFQ. An interpretable seven factor solution was found, but the CFQ probably has insufficient items to measure more than two strongly defined factors. The capacity of CFQ multiple factors to predict measures related to stress vulnerability was tested in a further study (N=57). Correlations between CFQ total score and neuroticism and use of coping strategies appeared to depend mainly on a single CFQ multiple factor, related to failures of concentration. Some of the other CFQ factors predicted other criteria. Further research on multiple factors of cognitive failure might improve the validity of the CFQ as a predictor of stress vulnerability and of cognitive performance.