scholarly journals A mixed methods approach to improve the measurement of Alcohol-Induced Blackout: ABOM-2

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra L. Boness ◽  
Natalie Gatten ◽  
McKenna Treece ◽  
Mary Beth Miller
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Increased Risk

Alcohol-induced blackouts describe memory loss resulting from alcohol consumption. Approximately half of college students report experiencing a blackout in their lifetime. Blackouts are associated with an increased risk for negative consequences, including serious injury. Research has documented two types of blackouts, en bloc (EB) and fragmentary (FB), which are thought to be distinct processes. This distinction has yet to be demonstrated empirically. This study used a mixed methods approach to improve the assessment of FB and EB among young adults. Study 1 used three rounds of cognitive interviewing with college students (N=31) to refine existing assessment items. Nineteen refined blackout items were retained for Study 2. Study 2 utilized face validity, factor analysis, item response theory, and external validation to test the two-factor blackout model among heavy-drinking college students (N=474) and to develop and validate a new blackout measure (ABOM-2). Two items were removed for poor face validity. Iterative factor analyses demonstrated that the remaining items were well-represented by correlated EB and FB factors and informed the removal of items with cross loadings, resulting in 11 items. Item response theory analyses informed the removal of 3 additional (redundant) items, resulting in 4 FB and 4 EB items in the final scale. External validation analyses demonstrated convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity over the original ABOM scale. The resulting Alcohol-Induced Blackout Measure-2 (ABOM-2) improves measurement of the continuum of blackout experiences among college students and will facilitate examination of EB and FB as differential predictors of alcohol-related outcomes in future studies.

scholarly journals The Revised Mood Rhythm Instrument: A Large Multicultural Psychometric Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 388
Author(s):  
Melissa Alves Braga de Oliveira ◽  
Euclides de Mendonça Filho ◽  
Alicia Carissimi ◽  
Luciene Lima dos Santos Garay ◽  
Marina Scop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Item Response Theory Analysis ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Psychometric Analyses ◽  
Self Reporting Questionnaire

Background: Recent studies with the mood rhythm instrument (MRhI) have shown that the presence of recurrent daily peaks in specific mood symptoms are significantly associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorders. Using a large sample collected in Brazil, Spain, and Canada, we aimed to analyze which MRhI items maintained good psychometric properties across cultures. As a secondary aim, we used network analysis to visualize the strength of the association between the MRhI items. Methods: Adults (n = 1275) between 18–60 years old from Spain (n = 458), Brazil (n = 415), and Canada (n = 401) completed the MRhI and the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). Psychometric analyses followed three steps: Factor analysis, item response theory, and network analysis. Results: The factor analysis indicated the retention of three factors that grouped the MRhI items into cognitive, somatic, and affective domains. The item response theory analysis suggested the exclusion of items that displayed a significant divergence in difficulty measures between countries. Finally, the network analysis revealed a structure where sleepiness plays a central role in connecting the three domains. These psychometric analyses enabled a psychometric-based refinement of the MRhI, where the 11 items with good properties across cultures were kept in a shorter, revised MRhI version (MRhI-r). Limitations: Participants were mainly university students and, as we did not conduct a formal clinical assessment, any potential correlations (beyond the validated SRQ) cannot be ascertained. Conclusions: The MRhI-r is a novel tool to investigate self-perceived rhythmicity of mood-related symptoms and behaviors, with good psychometric properties across multiple cultures.

scholarly journals Is the author recognition test a useful metric for native and non-native english speakers? An item response theory analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Patrick McCarron ◽  
Victor Kuperman
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Recognition Test ◽  
Print Exposure ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Floor Effect

AbstractStudies of reading have shown the “Matthew effect” of exposure to print on reading skill: poor readers avoid reading, and ability develops more slowly compared to peers, while good readers improve more quickly through increased exposure. Yet it is difficult to determine just how much an individual reads. The Author Recognition Test (ART, Stanovich & West Reading Research Quarterly, 24(4), 402-433, 1989) and its multilingual adaptations are often used for quantifying exposure to print and have shown high validity and reliability in proficient readers in their dominant language (L1). When studying bilingualism and second language acquisition, it is ideal to have a single test which is equally reliable for all cohorts for comparison, but it is unclear whether ART is effective for speakers of English as foreign language (L2). This study assesses the reliability of ART in an English-medium university and college students with different language backgrounds. Following Moore and Gordon (Behavior Research Methods, 47(4), 1095-1109, 2015), we use item response theory (IRT) to determine how informative the test and its items are. Results showed an expected gradient in ART performance, with L1 speakers showing higher scores than L2 speakers of English, university students showing higher scores than college students, and both cohorts performing better than students in an English as a second language (ESL) university pre-admission program. IRT analyses further revealed that ART is not an informative measure for L2 speakers of English, as most L2 participants show a floor effect. Reasons for this unreliability are discussed, as are alternative measures of print exposure.

scholarly journals Psychotic-like experiences in a community sample of 8000 children aged 9 to 11 years: an item response theory analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1495-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Laurens ◽  
M. J. Hobbs ◽  
M. Sunderland ◽  
M. J. Green ◽  
G. L. Mould
Keyword(s):  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Problems ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

BackgroundPsychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the general population are common, particularly in childhood, and may constitute part of a spectrum of normative development. Nevertheless, these experiences confer increased risk for later psychotic disorder, and are associated with poorer health and quality of life.MethodThis study used factor analytic methods to determine the latent structure underlying PLEs, problem behaviours and personal competencies in the general child population, and used item response theory (IRT) to assess the psychometric properties of nine PLE items to determine which items best represented a latent psychotic-like construct (PSY). A total of 7966 children aged 9–11 years, constituting 95% of eligible children, completed self-report questionnaires.ResultsAlmost two-thirds of the children endorsed at least one PLE item. Structural analyses identified a unidimensional construct representing psychotic-like severity in the population, the full range of which was well sampled by the nine items. This construct was discriminable from (though correlated with) latent dimensions representing internalizing and externalizing problems. Items assessing visual and auditory hallucination-like experiences provided the most information about PSY; delusion-like experiences identified children at more severe levels of the construct.ConclusionsAssessing PLEs during middle childhood is feasible and supplements information concerning internalizing and externalizing problems presented by children. The hallucination-like experiences constitute appropriate items to screen the population to identify children who may require further clinical assessment or monitoring. Longitudinal follow-up of the children is required to determine sensitivity and specificity of the PLE items for later psychotic illness.

How Do Psychologists Learn Item Response Theory?

2001 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-632
Author(s):  
Robert J. Mislevy
Keyword(s):  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Response Theory
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