Preliminary investigation of two functional assessment methods for people with dementia: Effectiveness and acceptability

Many functional assessment procedures have been developed and validated for use with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the utility and social acceptability of functional assessment methods for people with dementia. We conducted direct observations in the natural environment to produce data for conditional probability analyses and an experimental functional analysis of the behavior of two women with dementia. We found that the conditional probability analysis yielded similar conclusions about function as the data from the experimental functional analysis for both participants. Importantly, staff rated the direct observations as more socially acceptable. We also report barriers to conducting both methods in older adult settings that warrant further exploration, including the use of the assessments with people with dementia and intact vocal verbal repertoires.     

人如其食：食物性别刻板印象及对人物评价的影响

食物在社会生活中发挥着重要作用, 具有性别文化意义。两个研究分别探索了外显与内隐食物性别刻板印象的存在及其对人物评价的影响。研究1采用提名法、自我报告法和语义启动范式检验外显和内隐食物性别刻板印象的存在, 结果表明被试均持“男性偏好男性化食物, 女性偏好女性化食物”的外显食物性别刻板印象, 女性被试持有内隐食物性别刻板印象。研究2采用情境实验法和内隐关系评估程序进一步测量被试对食物性别刻板不一致目标人物在热情和能力维度上的评价, 结果发现人们对食物性别刻板不一致男性在热情维度的内隐评价更加积极。     

Evaluating three stuttering assessments through network analysis,random forests and cluster analysis

PurposeIn stuttering, cognitive and behavioural variables interact in nonlinear fashion. These variables can be assessed by instruments which evaluate perceived impact of stuttering and stuttering severity. We applied three statistical methods in combination to the analysis of three assessment protocols to discover relationships within and between the tests to better understand variations in behavioural and social aspects of stuttering.MethodsScores from Stuttering Severity Index (SSI-IV), Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering scale (OASES), and Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs About Stuttering scale (UTBAS), collected from 26 participants were compared using three statistical methods: network analysis, random forests, and cluster analysis.ResultsNetwork analysis demonstrated that SSI-IV only weakly interacts with a quality of life index (OASES) and a self-perception and belief systems index (UTBAS). Random forest analyses revealed the last two measures relate strongly to each other. The results from cluster analysis suggest a) a possible regrouping of OASES items and b) a possible use of one UTBAS scale instead of the three.ConclusionA combination of three statistical methods allowed us to evaluate the three assessments in more depth. The lack of interaction between the SSI-IV on the one hand, and OASES and UTBAS on the other, suggests that the network of the three commonly used stuttering assessments may be fractured in a non-productive way. A potential gap may exist for an assessment tool that would link behavioural and social aspects of stuttering.     

审美的测量:美术能力倾向测验的回顾与展望

美术能力倾向测验对美术人才的识别和选拔具有重要意义。现有测验可分为审美能力测量和艺术创作能力测量两种,其中审美能力测量的测验又可以分为审美判断测验和判断后选择判断理由的两种形式。但以往研究缺乏对审美知觉能力维度的实证研究、没有区分“主观美”和“客观美”,以及缺乏对各类型美术能力倾向测验效度的比较研究。未来可加深对审美知觉能力维度的实证研究,开发多类型美术能力判断测验并比较其效度,开发适用于小学生的美术能力倾向测验,以及开发适合我国国情的美术能力倾向测验。     

Client attendance measures in counselling psychology trainees

Counselling supervisors and educators have yet to reach a consensus about standard measures for evaluating the performance of graduate student therapists. Compared to self‐reports and rater judgements, client attendance records provide low‐inference behavioural data partially reflective of clients’ engagement with therapists. This naturalistic study evaluates client attendance data using archival records of 92 doctoral students in beginning and advanced counselling practica who produced data for 771 clients, 3,949 scheduled sessions and 3,186 attended sessions. Providing evidence of the sample representativeness for clinicians, results indicated that the mean number of sessions attended per client for student therapists (5.65) was very similar to that reported in the literature for outpatient therapists (<6). As expected because of structural differences in client assignment, beginning and advanced students evidenced statistically significant differences on attendance variables such as number of clients and scheduled sessions. In contrast, attendance ratios were equivalent across counsellor experience, suggesting that these individual difference variables could be useful for evaluation of therapist competencies related to client engagement.     

Momentary associations between stress and physical activity among children using ecological momentary assessment

Chronic and acute stress may have a detrimental effect on children's physical activity. Research on stress as a predictor of children's physical activity has mostly focused on stress between children, rather than how children's within-day variation in stress may predict physical activity. The current study assessed the within- and between-effects of stress on subsequent physical activity in three different time windows using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and accelerometry. Children (N = 190; M_{Baseline Age} = 10.1 ± 0.9, 53% female, 56% self-identified Hispanic/Latino) completed six semi-annual assessment bursts across three years. During each burst, participants responded to up to seven (weekend) or three (weekday) randomly prompted EMA surveys on smartphones for seven days and wore a waist-worn accelerometer. Multi-level structural equation modeling examined within- and between-subjects effects of stress as a predictor of children's subsequent moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in the 15, 30, and 60 min following the EMA prompt. Latent variables were created for within- and between-subjects stress were comprised of three EMA stress items. Higher than average levels of stress (within-subjects) significantly predicted lower MVPA in the subsequent 15, 30 and 60 min (ps < .05). Between-subjects stress was not significantly associated with subsequent MVPA (ps > .05). Results indicate that elevated momentary stress predicts less subsequent MVPA. These findings suggest that within-day fluctuations in stress may be a barrier for children engaging in physical activity. Childhood physical activity promotion and interventions should consider the role of children's stress, aim to reduce the stress children experience throughout the day, and incorporate stress coping strategies.     

Do patients suffering from chronic diseases retrospectively overestimate how healthy they were before they fell ill?

Background/Objective: To examine the impact of a disease on a person's subjective health state, patients are often asked to assess their current health state and to retrospectively assess how healthy they were before they fell ill. The objective of this study was to test whether patients generally overestimated the quality of their pre-disease health. Method: Six samples of patients with chronic diseases (cancer patients, cardiovascular patients, and patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis, N between 197 and 1,197) were analyzed. The patients assessed their current health states and their health states at the time before diagnosis. The retrospective scores were compared with matched data from general population studies. Results: In three of the six studies, the retrospective health ratings of the patients were significantly higher than the general population norms (effect sizes between 0.24 and 0.46), two studies yielded nonsignificant effects, and in one study there was an opposite trend. The general overestimation of pre-disease health was more pronounced in older patients as compared with younger ones, and it was more pronounced when global health/quality of life was to be assessed. Conclusions: Retrospective assessments of pre-disease health states are not appropriate for assessing disease-related changes in a person's health state.     

基于可达阵的一种Q矩阵标定方法

Q矩阵标定是实施认知诊断评估的前提,已有Q矩阵修正方法并不太适合测验中已知属性向量的题目数较少的情形。根据拓展Q矩阵理论中可达阵R列与简化Q阵列存在布尔“或”关系,在一定认知假设下,率先提出可达阵R与简化Q阵的潜在反应列存在布尔“与”关系,并由此提出基于可达阵的Q矩阵标定方法。研究显示：在已知一个可达阵下,当可达阵项目的猜测或失误参数在.20以下且待标定项目的项目参数约在.30以下时,新方法所得Q矩阵元素返真率基本在.90以上,并且真实Q矩阵与估计Q矩阵下被试分类准确率差异很小;对于含5个属性的独立结构,新方法要求的随机样本的样本量较小;实证研究也印证了模拟研究的结论。新方法只需专家标定少量题目的Q矩阵,即已经标定的Q矩阵对应属性层级结构的可达阵。     

The utility of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in US military personnel

Sleep disturbances are endemic in military personnel with nonclinical populations averaging 6 hours of sleep. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), however, has not been validated in this population. It is thus unknown if the PSQI can differentiate clinically significant sleep disorders from sleep disturbances resulting from military duties with restricted sleep periods. After a clinical evaluation and polysomnogram, participants (N = 148) were classified as having insomnia only, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) only, comorbid insomnia and OSA (CIO), service-related illnesses only (SRI–; pain, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury), and controls. Military personnel in the insomnia only, and the CIO groups had higher PSQI scores (13.5 ± 2.8 and 14.7 ± 3.5, respectively) compared to the controls (8.9 ± 3.9). A cut-off score of ≥10 was optimal (90% sensitivity and 69% specificity) for determining clinically significant insomnia (≥12 for CIO; 84% sensitivity, 77% specificity). In military personnel, a PSQI score >5 is not necessarily indicative of a clinically significant sleep disorder. The use of elevated cut-off PSQI scores are likely better suited to differentiate military personnel who require further clinical evaluation versus a more conservative sleep improvement protocol.     

Assessment of executive function in ADHD adolescents: contribution of performance tests and rating scales

This study aimed to analyze performance on measures of neuropsychological and behavioral executive functions (EF) in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to evaluate the utility of performance-based tests for predicting scores on behavioral EF ratings. One hundred eighteen adolescents (75 ADHD and 43 controls) aged 12–16 years performed neuropsychological tests and completed a behavior rating scale of EF. The ADHD group presented significantly lower scores than controls on Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and all indexes of the WISC-IV, except the verbal comprehension index (VCI). The ADHD group had significantly lower scores on performance-based tests of working memory, planning and inhibition, and on EF rating scales. Scores on the cognitive EF working memory, planning and flexibility modestly predicted performance on behavioral EF. The results suggest that the combined use of performance-based tests and rating scales provides valuable complementary information that can improve the assessment of executive domains in ADHD.