scholarly journals A Zero-Inflated Box-Cox Normal Unipolar Item Response Model for Measuring Constructs of Psychopathology

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 571-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke E. Magnus ◽  
Yang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Model Comparison ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Variable Density ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Item Response Model

This research introduces a latent class item response theory (IRT) approach for modeling item response data from zero-inflated, positively skewed, and arguably unipolar constructs of psychopathology. As motivating data, the authors use 4,925 responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a nine Likert-type item depression screener that inquires about a variety of depressive symptoms. First, Lucke’s log-logistic unipolar item response model is extended to accommodate polytomous responses. Then, a nontrivial proportion of individuals who do not endorse any of the symptoms are accounted for by including a nonpathological class that represents those who may be absent on or at some floor level of the latent variable that is being measured by the PHQ-9. To enhance flexibility, a Box-Cox normal distribution is used to empirically determine a transformation parameter that can help characterize the degree of skewness in the latent variable density. A model comparison approach is used to test the necessity of the features of the proposed model. Results suggest that (a) the Box-Cox normal transformation provides empirical support for using a log-normal population density, and (b) model fit substantially improves when a nonpathological latent class is included. The parameter estimates from the latent class IRT model are used to interpret the psychometric properties of the PHQ-9, and a method of computing IRT scale scores that reflect unipolar constructs is described, focusing on how these scores may be used in clinical contexts.

scholarly journals The best of both worlds: a joint modeling approach for the assessment of change across repeated measurements

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chueh An Hsieh ◽  
Alexander Von Eye
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Bayesian Methods ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Joint Modeling ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Latent Variable Model ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Item Response Model ◽  
Variable Model

The usefulness of Bayesian methods in estimating complex statistical models is undeniable. From a Bayesian standpoint, this paper aims to demonstrate the capacity of Bayesian methods and propose a comprehensive model combining both a measurement model (e.g., an item response model, IRM) and a structural model (e.g., a latent variable model, LVM). That is, through the incorporation of the probit link and Bayesian estimation, the item response model can be introduced naturally into a latent variable model. The utility of this IRM-LVM comprehensive framework is investigated with a real data example and promising results are obtained, in which the data drawn from part of the British Social Attitudes Panel Survey 1983-1986 reveal the attitude toward abortion of a representative sample of adults aged 18 or older living in Great Britain. The application of IRMs to responses gathered from repeated assessments allows us to take the characteristics of both item responses and measurement error into consideration in the analysis of individual developmental trajectories, and helps resolve some difficult modeling issues commonly encountered in developmental research, such as small sample sizes, multiple discretely scaled items, many repeated assessments, and attrition over time.

scholarly journals A Multilevel Multidimensional Finite Mixture Item Response Model to Cluster Respondents and Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Martin Kanovský ◽  
Júlia Halamová ◽  
David C. Zuroff ◽  
Nicholas A. Troop ◽  
Paul Gilbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Latent Trait ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Finite Mixture ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Item Response Model ◽  
Irt Models ◽  
Dimensional Measure ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract. The aim of this study was to test the multilevel multidimensional finite mixture item response model of the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) to cluster respondents and countries from 13 samples ( N = 7,714) and from 12 countries. The practical goal was to learn how many discrete classes there are on the level of individuals (i.e., how many cut-offs are to be used) and countries (i.e., the magnitude of similarities and dissimilarities among them). We employed the multilevel multidimensional finite mixture approach which is based on an extended class of multidimensional latent class Item Response Theory (IRT) models. Individuals and countries are partitioned into discrete latent classes with different levels of self-criticism and self-reassurance, taking into account at the same time the multidimensional structure of the construct. This approach was applied to the analysis of the relationships between observed characteristics and latent trait at different levels (individuals and countries), and across different dimensions using the three-dimensional measure of the FSCRS. Results showed that respondents’ scores were dependent on unobserved (latent class) individual and country membership, the multidimensional structure of the instrument, and justified the use of a multilevel multidimensional finite mixture item response model in the comparative psychological assessment of individuals and countries. Latent class analysis of the FSCRS showed that individual participants and countries could be divided into discrete classes. Along with the previous findings that the FSCRS is psychometrically robust we can recommend using the FSCRS for measuring self-criticism.

scholarly journals Extensions of the skew-normal ogive item response model

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Luis Bazán ◽  
Márcia D. Branco ◽  
Heleno Bolfarine
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Item Response Model ◽  
Skew Normal

Are Teachers' Unions Really to Blame? Collective Bargaining Agreements and Their Relationships with District Resource Allocation and Student Performance in California

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine O. Strunk
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Response Model ◽  
Item Response Model ◽  
Teachers Unions ◽  
Achievement Growth ◽  
Unique Measure ◽  
Level Student

Increased spending and decreased student performance have been attributed in part to teachers' unions and to the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) they negotiate with school boards. However, only recently have researchers begun to examine impacts of specific aspects of CBAs on student and district outcomes. This article uses a unique measure of contract restrictiveness generated through the use of a partial independence item response model to examine the relationships between CBA strength and district spending on multiple areas and district-level student performance in California. I find that districts with more restrictive contracts have higher spending overall, but that this spending appears not to be driven by greater compensation for teachers but by greater expenditures on administrators' compensation and instruction-related spending. Although districts with stronger CBAs spend more overall and on these categories, they spend less on books and supplies and on school board–related expenditures. In addition, I find that contract restrictiveness is associated with lower average student performance, although not with decreased achievement growth.

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