Measuring drug dependence in police custody: An item response theory and differential item function analysis of UNCOPE in Australia

The mate retention inventory (MRI) has been a valuable tool in the field of evolutionary psychology for the past 30 years. The goal of the current research is to subject the MRI to rigorous psychometric analysis using item response theory to answer three broad questions. Do the individual items of the MRI fit the scale well? Does the overall function of the MRI match what is predicted? Finally, do men and women respond similarly to the MRI? Using a graded response model, it was found that all but two of the items fit acceptable model patterns. Test information function analysis found that the scale acceptably captures individual differences for participants with a high degree of mate retention but the scale is lacking in capturing information from participants with a low degree of mate retention. Finally, discriminate item function analysis reveals that the MRI is better at assessing male than female participants, indicating that the scale may not be the best indicator of female behavior in a relationship. Overall, we conclude that the MRI is a good scale, especially for assessing male behavior, but it could be improved for assessing female behavior and individuals lower on overall mate retention behavior. It is suggested that this paper be used as a framework for how the newest psychometrics techniques can be applied in order to create more robust and valid measures in the field of evolutionary psychology.

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Validation of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale Instrument for Preoperative Evaluation of End-Stage Ankle Arthritis Patients Using Item Response Theory

Foot & Ankle International ◽

10.1177/1071100718818573 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 422-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guiping Liu ◽

Alexander C. Peterson ◽

Kevin Wing ◽

Trafford Crump ◽

Alastair Younger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Ankle Arthrodesis ◽

Ankle Arthritis ◽

Response Theory ◽

Ankle Osteoarthritis ◽

Differential Item Function ◽

Ankle Replacement ◽

End Stage ◽

Pain Domain

Background: Significant ankle arthritis results in functional limitations and patient morbidity. There is a need to measure symptoms and the impact of interventions on patient’s quality of life using valid and reliable patient-reported measurement instruments. The objective of this research was to validate the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale instrument in the preoperative setting using factor analysis, item response theory, and differential item function methods. Methods: This research is based on secondary analysis of patients scheduled for ankle arthrodesis or total ankle replacement in Vancouver, Canada. Participants completed the instrument between September 2014 and August 2017. Item response theory was used to estimate item difficulty and discrimination parameters, controlling for study participants’ underlying level of ankle function. Differential item function was examined for sex, age group, and surgery. There were 88 participants. Results: Modification indices suggested that item 10, “walking around the house,” would better fit the pain domain rather than the disability domain. Items in the pain domain displayed a range of discrimination and difficulty. Items in the disability domain exhibited a range of discrimination, though the disability domain had low difficulty. Differential item functioning for sex, age group, and ankle arthrodesis or total ankle replacement appeared to be ignorable. Conclusion: This evaluation of the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale found the instrument to be a strong measure of the effect of pain and dysfunction among patients with end-stage ankle arthritis, even when removing items 7 and 8, supporting its prior use in numerous clinical studies. Level of Evidence: Level II, prospective comparative study.

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An item response theory analysis of an item pool for the recovering quality of life (ReQoL) measure

Quality of Life Research ◽

10.1007/s11136-020-02622-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anju Devianee Keetharuth ◽

Jakob Bue Bjorner ◽

Michael Barkham ◽

John Browne ◽

Tim Croudace ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Measurement Precision ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Item Pool ◽

Response Theory ◽

Differential Item Function ◽

Wide Range ◽

Internal Construct Validity

Abstract Purpose ReQoL-10 and ReQoL-20 have been developed for use as outcome measures with individuals aged 16 and over, experiencing mental health difficulties. This paper reports modelling results from the item response theory (IRT) analyses that were used for item reduction. Methods From several stages of preparatory work including focus groups and a previous psychometric survey, a pool of items was developed. After confirming that the ReQoL item pool was sufficiently unidimensional for scoring, IRT model parameters were estimated using Samejima’s Graded Response Model (GRM). All 39 mental health items were evaluated with respect to item fit and differential item function regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and diagnosis. Scales were evaluated regarding overall measurement precision and known-groups validity (by care setting type and self-rating of overall mental health). Results The study recruited 4266 participants with a wide range of mental health diagnoses from multiple settings. The IRT parameters demonstrated excellent coverage of the latent construct with the centres of item information functions ranging from − 0.98 to 0.21 and with discrimination slope parameters from 1.4 to 3.6. We identified only two poorly fitting items and no evidence of differential item functioning of concern. Scales showed excellent measurement precision and known-groups validity. Conclusion The results from the IRT analyses confirm the robust structure properties and internal construct validity of the ReQoL instruments. The strong psychometric evidence generated guided item selection for the final versions of the ReQoL measures.

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The Applicability of Item Response Theory Based Statistics to Detect Differential Item Functioning in Polytomous Tests

Randwick International of Education and Linguistics Science Journal ◽

10.47175/rielsj.v1i1.23 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Abdul Wahab Ibrahim

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Differential Item Functioning ◽

Item Response ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Response Theory ◽

Test Items ◽

Item Functioning ◽

Logistic Discriminant Function ◽

High Degree

The study used statistical procedures based on Item Response Theory to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in polytomous tests. These were with a view to improving the quality of test items construction. The sample consisted of an intact class of 513 Part 3 undergraduate students who registered for the course EDU 304: Tests and Measurement at Sule Lamido University during 2017/2018 Second Semester. A self-developed polytomous research instrument was used to collect data. Data collected were analysed using Generalized Mantel Haenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test, and Logistic Discriminant Function Analysis. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between the proportions of test items that function differentially in the polytomous test when the different statistical methods are used. Further, the three parametric and non-parametric methods complement each other in their ability to detect DIF in the polytomous test format as all of them have capacity to detect DIF but perform differently. The study concluded that there was a high degree of correspondence between the three procedures in their ability to detect DIF in polytomous tests. It was recommended that test experts and developers should consider using procedure based on Item Response Theory in DIF detection.

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Item Response Data Analysis Using Stata Item Response Theory Package

Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics ◽

10.3102/1076998617749186 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 116-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ji Seung Yang ◽

Xiaying Zheng

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

International Student ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Student Assessment ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Response Theory ◽

Data Set ◽

International Student Assessment ◽

Response Data

The purpose of this article is to introduce and review the capability and performance of the Stata item response theory ( irt) package that is available from Stata V.14, 2015. Using a simulated data set and a publicly available item response data set extracted from Programme of International Student Assessment, we review the irt package from applied and methodological researchers’ perspectives. After discussing the supported item response models and estimation methods implemented in the package, we demonstrate the accuracy of estimation compared to results from other typically used software packages. Other application features for differential item function analysis, scoring, and the package generating graphs are also reviewed.

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A psychometric evaluation of the 12-item EPQ-R neuroticism scale in 502,591 UK Biobank participants using item response theory (IRT)

10.21203/rs.2.23234/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Bauermeister ◽

John Gallacher

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Psychometric Evaluation ◽

Item Bias ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Response Theory ◽

Personality Dimension ◽

Differential Item Function ◽

Neuroticism Scale ◽

Item Scale

Abstract Background Neuroticism has been described as a broad and pervasive personality dimension or ‘heterogeneous’ trait measuring components of mood instability such as worry; anxiety; irritability; moodiness; self-consciousness; sadness and irritabililty. Consistent with depression and anxiety-related disorders, increased neuroticism places an individual vulnerable for other unipolar and bipolar mood disorders. However, the measurement of neuroticism remains a challenge. Our aim was to identify psychometrically efficient items and inform the inclusion of redundant items across the 12-item EPQ-R Neuroticism scale using Item Response Theory (IRT). Methods The 12-item binary EPQ-R Neuroticism scale was evaluated by estimating a two-parameter (2-PL) IRT model on data from 502,591 UK Biobank participants aged 37 to 73 years (M = 56.53 years; SD = 8.05), 54% female. Models were run listwise (n= 401,648) and post-estimation mathematical assumptions were computed. All analyses were conducted in STATA 16 SE on the Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) Data Portal. Results A plot of θ values (Item Information functions) showed that most items clustered around the mid-range where discrimination values ranged from 1.34 to 2.28. Difficulty values for individual item θ scores ranged from -0.13 to 1.41. A Mokken analysis suggested a weak to medium level of monotonicity between the items, no items reach strong scalability (H=0.35-0.47). Systematic item deletions and rescaling found that an 7-item scale is more efficient and with information (discrimination) ranging from 1.56 to 2.57 and stronger range of scalability (H=0.47-0.52). A 3-item scale is highly discriminatory but offers a narrow range of person ability (difficulty). A logistic regression differential item function (DIF) analysis exposed significant gender item bias functioning uniformly across all versions of the scale. Conclusions Across 401,648 UK Biobank participants, the 12-item EPQ-R neuroticism scale exhibited psychometric inefficiency with poor discrimination at the extremes of the scale-range. High and low scores are relatively poorly represented and uninformative suggesting that high neuroticism scores derived from the EPQ-R are a function of cumulative mid-range values. The scale also shows evidence of gender item bias and future scale development should consider the former along with item deletions.

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A psychometric evaluation of the 12-item EPQ-R neuroticism scale in 502,591 UK Biobank participants using item response theory (IRT)

10.1101/741249 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarah Bauermeister ◽

John Gallacher

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Psychometric Evaluation ◽

Item Bias ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Response Theory ◽

Personality Dimension ◽

Differential Item Function ◽

Neuroticism Scale ◽

Item Scale

AbstractBackgroundNeuroticism has been described as a broad and pervasive personality dimension or ‘heterogeneous’ trait measuring components of mood instability such as worry; anxiety; irritability; moodiness; self-consciousness; sadness and irritabililty. Consistent with depression and anxiety-related disorders, increased neuroticism places an individual vulnerable for other unipolar and bipolar mood disorders. However, the measurement of neuroticism remains a challenge. Our aim was to identify psychometrically efficient items and inform the inclusion of redundant items across the 12-item EPQ-R Neuroticism scale using Item Response Theory (IRT).MethodsThe 12-item binary EPQ-R Neuroticism scale was evaluated by estimating a two-parameter (2-PL) IRT model on data from 502,591 UK Biobank participants aged 37 to 73 years (M = 56.53 years; SD = 8.05), 54% female. Models were run listwise (n= 401,648) and post-estimation mathematical assumptions were computed. All analyses were conducted in STATA 16 SE on the Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) Data Portal.ResultsA plot of θ values (Item Information functions) showed that most items clustered around the mid-range where discrimination values ranged from 1.34 to 2.28. Difficulty values for individual item θ scores ranged from −0.13 to 1.41. A Mokken analysis suggested a weak to medium level of monotonicity between the items, no items reach strong scalability (H=0.35-0.47). Systematic item deletions and rescaling found that an 7-item scale is more efficient and with information (discrimination) ranging from 1.56 to 2.57 and stronger range of scalability (H=0.47-0.52). A 3-item scale is highly discriminatory but offers a narrow range of person ability (difficulty). A logistic regression differential item function (DIF) analysis exposed significant gender item bias functioning uniformly across all versions of the scale.ConclusionsAcross 401,648 UK Biobank participants, the 12-item EPQ-R neuroticism scale exhibited psychometric inefficiency with poor discrimination at the extremes of the scale-range. High and low scores are relatively poorly represented and uninformative suggesting that high neuroticism scores derived from the EPQ-R are a function of cumulative mid-range values. The scale also shows evidence of gender item bias and future scale development should consider the former along with item deletions.

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