scholarly journals Item response analysis of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory among the elderly in China: dimensionality and differential item functioning test

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongquan Li ◽  
Xia Zhao ◽  
Ang Sheng ◽  
Li Wang
Keyword(s):  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Bifactor Modeling ◽  
Somatic Diseases

Abstract Background Anxiety symptoms are pervasive among elderly populations around the world. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (the GAI) has been developed and widely used in screening those suffering from severe symptoms. Although debates about its dimensionality have been mostly resolved by Molde et al. (2019) with bifactor modeling, evidence regarding its measurement invariance across sex and somatic diseases is still missing. Methods This study attempted to provide complemental evidence to the dimensionality debates of the GAI with Mokken scale analysis and to examine its measurement invariance across sex and somatic diseases by conducting differential item functioning (DIF) analysis among a sample of older Chinese adults. The data was from responses of a large representative sample (N = 1314) in the Chinese National Survey Data Archive, focusing on the mental health of elderly adults. Results The results of Mokken scale analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the GAI, and DIF analysis indicated measurement invariance of this inventory across individuals with different sex and somatic diseases, with just a few items exhibiting item bias but all of them negligible. Conclusions All these findings supported the use of this inventory among Chinese elders to screen anxiety symptoms and to make comparisons across sex and somatic diseases.

scholarly journals A Mokken scale analysis of the Kessler-6 screening measure among Chinese older population: findings from a national survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisong Zhang ◽  
Zhongquan Li
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Old Chinese ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Screening Measure ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Public Data

Abstract Background The aging population increases rapidly across the world. Timely and effective screening of their mental-health problems is important to individuals, families, and the whole society. The Kessler-6 screening measure (K6) is a very popular instrument for non-specific psychological distress. However, few studies have focused on the psychometric properties of this instrument in the older population. Methods The present study employed Mokken scale analysis to evaluate its dimensionality and structure. This study also used differential item functioning (DIF) to examine whether the same structure existed across sex in a national representative sample of old Chinese people. Data were drawn from a public data set, the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS2010), and responses from a total of 6450 participants aged 60 years old and above (3136 males and 3314 females) were included in the final analysis. Results Mokken scale analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the K6. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis revealed that two of the six items (“Hopeless” and “Everything was an effort”) were marked for DIF based on the Chi-square. However, their impacts were negligible in terms of McFadden’s pseudo R2. Conclusions The K6 demonstrates adequate psychometric properties in the old Chinese population. The sum of all six items can be used as an indicator of non-specific psychological distress. Differences in the indicator across sex should be considered as a real difference in psychological distress between the female and the male.

scholarly journals A Mokken Scale Analysis of the Kessler-6 Screening Measure among Chinese Older Population: Findings from a national survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisong Zhang ◽  
Zhongquan Li
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Old Chinese ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Screening Measure ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Public Data

Abstract BackgroundThe aging population increases rapidly across the world. Timely and effective screening of their mental health problems is important to individuals, families, and the whole society. The Kessler-6 screening measure (K6) is a very popular instrument for non-specific psychological distress. However, few studies have focused on the psychometric properties of this instrument in the older population.MethodsThe present study employed Mokken scale analysis to evaluate its dimensionality and structure, and used differential item functioning (DIF) to examine whether the same structure existed across sex in a national representative sample of old Chinese people. Data were drawn from a public data set, the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS2010), and responses from a total of 6450 participants aged 60 years old and above (3136 males and 3314 females) were included in the final analysis.ResultsMokken scale analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the K6. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis revealed that two of the six items ("Hopeless" and "Everything was an effort") were marked for DIF based on the Chi-square. However, their impacts were negligible in terms of McFadden's pseudo R 2.ConclusionsThe K6 demonstrates adequate psychometric properties in the old Chinese population. The sum of all six items can be used as an indicator of non-specific psychological distress. Differences in the indicator across sex should be considered as a real difference in psychological distress between the female and the male.

scholarly journals A Mokken Scale Analysis of the Kessler-6 Screening Measure among Chinese Elderly Population: Findings from a national survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisong Zhang ◽  
Zhongquan Li
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Old Chinese ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Screening Measure ◽  
Item Functioning

Abstract Background The ageing population increases rapidly across the world. Timely and effective screening of their mental health problems is important to individuals, families and the whole society. The Kessler-6 screening measure (K6) is a very popular instrument for non-specific psychological distress. However, few studies have focused on the psychometric properties of this instrument in the elderly population. Methods The present study employed Mokken scale analysis to evaluate its dimensionality and structure, and employed differential item functioning (DIF) to examine whether the same structure existed across sex in a national representative sample of old Chinese people. Data were drawn from a public data set, the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS2010), and responses from a total of 6450 participants aged 60 years old and above (3136 males and 3314 females) were included in the final analysis. Results Mokken scale analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the K6. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis revealed that two of the six items ("Hopeless" and "Everything was an effort") were marked for DIF based on the Chi-square. However, their impacts were negligible in term of McFadden's pseudo R2. Conclusions The K6 demonstrates adequate psychometric properties in the old Chinese population. The sum of all six items can be used as an indicator of non-specific psychological distress. Differences in the indicator across gender should be considered as a real difference in psychological distress between the female and the male.

scholarly journals A Mokken Scale Analysis of the Kessler-6 Screening Measure among Chinese Older Population: Findings from a national survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisong Zhang ◽  
Zhongquan Li
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Old Chinese ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Screening Measure ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Public Data

Abstract Background The aging population increases rapidly across the world. Timely and effective screening of their mental-health problems is important to individuals, families, and the whole society. The Kessler-6 screening measure (K6) is a very popular instrument for non-specific psychological distress. However, few studies have focused on the psychometric properties of this instrument in the older population. Methods The present study employed Mokken scale analysis to evaluate its dimensionality and structure. This study also used differential item functioning (DIF) to examine whether the same structure existed across sex in a national representative sample of old Chinese people. Data were drawn from a public data set, the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS2010), and responses from a total of 6450 participants aged 60 years old and above (3136 males and 3314 females) were included in the final analysis.Results Mokken scale analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the K6. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis revealed that two of the six items ("Hopeless" and "Everything was an effort") were marked for DIF based on the Chi-square. However, their impacts were negligible in terms of McFadden's pseudo R2.Conclusions The K6 demonstrates adequate psychometric properties in the old Chinese population. The sum of all six items can be used as an indicator of non-specific psychological distress. Differences in the indicator across sex should be considered as a real difference in psychological distress between the female and the male.

Evaluating Social Participation of Pupils with Special Needs in Regular Primary Schools

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 213-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes Koster ◽  
Marieke E. Timmerman ◽  
Han Nakken ◽  
Sip Jan Pijl ◽  
Els J. van Houten
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Ordinal Scale ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Mokken Scale Analysis ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
The Social

The study addresses the psychometric qualities of a new teacher questionnaire, the Social Participation Questionnaire (SPQ), to assess the social participation of pupils with special needs in regular primary education. The SPQ initially consisted of 34 statements related to four key themes of social participation: “friendships/relationships,” “contacts/interactions,” “pupil’s social self-perception,” and “acceptance by classmates,” yielding four respective subscales. A nonparametric item response analysis (Mokken scale analysis) was used to examine the quality of the SPQ. Based on the Mokken scale analysis results, ten statements were removed. The resulting four subscales appeared intermediate to strong. Because the double monotonicity model, based on the Mokken scale analysis, turned out to be well-fitted for each subscale, the subscale scores are on an ordinal scale, and the separate statements are invariantly ordered. The subscale scores are comparable across pupils with and without special needs, differential item functioning appearing to be absent. Subsequent analyses supported the division of statements into the four subscales. The SPQ as a whole and its subscales were found to be reliable. Finally, as regards social participation, differences between pupils with and without special needs were clearly found.

scholarly journals Differential Item Functioning Related to Age in the Reading Subtest of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond L. Ownby ◽  
Drenna Waldrop-Valverde
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Response Format ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Item Functioning

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when items in a measure perform in ways that are different for members of a target group when the different performance is not related to the individual’s overall ability to be assessed. DIF may arise for a number of reasons but is often evaluated in order to ensure that tests and measures are fair evaluations of a group’s abilities. Based on observations when administering the test, we developed the hypothesis that some items on the reading comprehension subtest of the Test of Functional Health Literacy (TOFHLA) might be differentially more difficult for older adults and the elderly due to its use of the cloze response format, in which the participant is required to determine what word, when placed in a blank space in a sentence, will ensure that the sentence is intelligible. Others have suggested that the cloze response format may make demands on verbal fluency, an ability that is reduced with the increasing age. Our analyses show that age-related DIF may present in a nearly one-half of reading comprehension items of the TOFHLA. Results of this measure in older persons should be interpreted cautiously.

scholarly journals Precision medicine implementation and research-practice partnerships: implications of measurement scale differential item functioning

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 782
Author(s):  
John J. O. Mogaka ◽  
Moses J. Chimbari
Keyword(s):  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Precision Medicine ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Item Functioning

Background: Omics-based biomarkers (OBMs) inform precision medicine (PM). As omics-based technologies gradually move into clinical settings, however, a co-occurrence of biomedical research and clinical practice is likely an important variable in the implementation of PM. Currently, little is known about the implications of such research-practice co-occurrence. Methods: This study used data collected from a pilot study designed to inform a full-scale PM implementation study through the validation of the measurement tool. It applied item response theory (IRT) methods to assess the tool’s reliability and measurement invariance across two study subgroups associated with research and practice settings. Results: The study sample consisted of 31 participants. Measurement invariance assessment was through differential item functioning (DIF) analysis with bootstrapping through Monte Carlo simulation. Overall, 13 out of 22 items that formed the PMI scale had DIF at significance level α=0.25. Item response functions (IRFs) revealed how each subgroup members responded to scale items and their attitudes towards factors that influence PM implementation. Conclusions: Attitudinal similarities and differences towards factors influencing PM implementation amongst those in biomedical research as compared with those in practice were established. Results indicated PM implementation knowledge that is unique and common to both groups. The study established the validity and reliability of the new PM implementation measurement tool for the two subgroups.

scholarly journals Studying Individual Differences in Spatial Cognition Through Differential Item Functioning Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 774
Author(s):  
Antonella Lopez ◽  
Alessandro O. Caffò ◽  
Luigi Tinella ◽  
Albert Postma ◽  
Andrea Bosco
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Differential Item Functioning Analysis ◽  
Group Memberships

Background: In the field of spatial cognition, the study of individual differences represents a typical research topic. Gender and age have been prominently investigated. A promising statistical technique used to identify the different responses to items in relation to different group memberships is the Differential Item Functioning Analysis (DIF). The aim of the present study was to investigate the DIF of the Landmark positioning on a Map (LPM) task, across age groups (young and elderly) and gender, in a sample of 400 healthy human participants. Methods: LPM is a hometown map completion test based on well-known and familiar landmarks used to assess allocentric mental representations. DIF was assessed on LPM items two times: on categorical (i.e., positions) and coordinate (i.e., distances) scores, separately. Results: When positions and distances were difficult to assess with respect to the intended reference point, the probability to endorse the items seemed to get worse for the elderly compared to the younger participants. Instead other features of landmarks (high pleasantness, restorativeness) seemed to improve the elderly performance. A gender-related improvement of probability to endorse distance estimation of some landmarks, favoring women, emerged, probably associated with their repeated experiences with those landmarks. Overall, the complexity of the task seemed to have a differential impact on young and elderly people while gender-oriented activities and places seemed to have a differential impact on men and women. Conclusions: For the first time DIF was applied to a spatial mental representation task, based on the schematic sketch maps of the participants. The application of DIF to the study of individual differences in spatial cognition should become a systematic routine to early detect differential items, improving knowledge, as well as experimental control, on individual differences.

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