Tests over time: Evaluating the currency of normative data in a complex multilingual environment

Cognitive fatigability is an objective performance decrement that occurs over time during a task requiring sustained cognitive effort. Although cognitive fatigability is a common and debilitating symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS), there is currently no standard for its quantification. The objective of this study was to validate the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) discrete and regression-based normative data for quantifying performance and cognitive fatigability in an Ontario-based sample of individuals with MS. Healthy controls and individuals with MS completed the 3″ and 2″ versions of the PASAT. PASAT performance was measured with total correct, dyad, and percent dyad scores. Cognitive fatigability scores were calculated by comparing performance on the first half (or third) of the task to the last half (or third). The results revealed that the 3″ PASAT was sufficient to detect impaired performance and cognitive fatigability in individuals with MS given the increased difficulty of the 2″ version. In addition, using halves or thirds for calculating cognitive fatigability scores were equally effective methods for detecting impairment. Finally, both the discrete and regression-based norms classified a similar proportion of individuals with MS as having impaired performance and cognitive fatigability. These newly validated discrete and regression-based PASAT norms provide a new tool for clinicians to document statistically significant cognitive fatigability in their patients.

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Quantitative Electromyography

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1093/med/9780190259631.003.0025 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 437-464

Author(s):

Benn E. Smith

Keyword(s):

Disease Severity ◽

Normative Data ◽

Neuromuscular Diseases ◽

Accurate Assessment ◽

Quantitative Electromyography ◽

Quantitative Emg ◽

Over Time

Semi-quantitative EMG methods are in common use in clinical electromyography laboratories but have a number of drawbacks and limitations, including examiner bias in MUP analysis and challenges distinguishing between MUP categories of normal and neurogenic and normal and myopathic waveforms. An array of formal MUP quantitation methods has been developed in recent decades, which seek to address many of the shortcomings of semiquantitative EMG. The advantages of quantitative EMG (QEMG) include: (1) making measurements of MUP recordings consisting of numerical values derived from precise measurements, (2) generating normative data and allowing comparisons with data from patients with suspected neuromuscular diseases, (3) allowing for reproducible results that can be compared at different times by different examiners and in different labs, and (4) allowing accurate assessment of improvement or deterioration in disease severity over time.

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Assessing Consciousness: The Consciousness Perception Questionnaire (CPQ)

Imagination Cognition and Personality ◽

10.2190/jhnc-5q92-jmc0-4g6g ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 291-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Enrico DiTommaso ◽

Frank Szeligo

Keyword(s):

Concurrent Validity ◽

Normative Data ◽

Total Sample ◽

External Control ◽

Multidimensional Measure ◽

Lay Perceptions ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Common ◽

Over Time ◽

Conscious Control

The present work is based in a dichotomy that is evident in the literature on consciousness. Research findings, which are often ‘counter-intuitive,’ are presented as being in opposition to the common (lay) perceptions of how consciousness is characterized. Authors often use these perceptions for contrast and as background against which to interpret their research results. However, the source of these perceptions is left uncertain, though presumably they are based in the author's understanding of consciousness rather than in measurement. Two studies were conducted to develop a questionnaire that would more directly assess lay perceptions of consciousness. Questions were based on such perceptions as conscious unity and conscious control of behavior. Results from principal components analyses, based on a total sample of 894 participants, indicate that the Consciousness Perception Questionnaire (CPQ) is a multidimensional measure of individuals' perceptions of consciousness. Consciousness is characterized by five distinct dimensions: internal versus external control attributions, perceived awareness of the sources of experience, dynamism, preference for physical over mental activity, and similarity to other functions. The five subscales have internal consistencies ranging from' .56 to .89. Furthermore, results indicate that the majority of these subscales appear to measure relatively stable perceptions of consciousness over time. Findings also suggest that this measure displays moderate concurrent validity versus the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory [1]. Normative data indicate that there is significant individual variance on the five emergent dimensions.

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Emotional Burden, Quality of Life, and Coping Styles in Care Givers of Patients with Disorders of Consciousness Living in Italy: Preliminary Data

Brain Impairment ◽

10.1017/brimp.2016.26 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 254-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Caterina Romaniello ◽

Chiara Simoni ◽

Marina Farinelli ◽

Erik Bertoletti ◽

Vincenzo Pedone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Normative Data ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Disorders Of Consciousness ◽

Emotional Burden ◽

Care Givers ◽

And Coping ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

The literature about the care givers of patients with Disorders of Consciousness (DOCs) has highlighted the impact on both mental and physical dimensions of quality of life. This study aimed to: (1) describe emotional burden, quality of life, and coping styles in care givers of hospitalized patients with DOCs, compared to Italian normative data; (2) explore the relationships between these variables and their associations with socio-demographic features; and (3) describe their changes over time.Fifteen care givers of patients with DOCs, mostly middle-aged women, were assessed using the Family Strain Questionnaire, the SF-36 Health Survey, and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced – Nuova Versione Italiana. Eleven subjects were also assessed after 6 and 12 months. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, correlations, and nonparametric tests of group differences.Compared to the Italian normative data, our sample showed a worse outcome in mental health, social functioning, global mental component, and emotional role functioning. Furthermore, subjects with high emotional burden had more thoughts of death compared to subjects with low emotional burden. Follow-up analyses revealed no variables changed over time.These results highlight the need for psychological interventions and support, since care givers represent an important part of an all-embracing support and care network for patients with DOCs.

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Lexical and grammatical development in trilingual speakers of isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans

South African Journal of Communication Disorders ◽

10.4102/sajcd.v63i2.141 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 63 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Anneke P. Potgieter

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Developmental Delay ◽

South African ◽

Normative Data ◽

Lexical Development ◽

Linguistic Development ◽

African Languages ◽

Grammatical Development ◽

Home And School ◽

Over Time

Background: There is a dearth of normative data on linguistic development among child speakers of Southern African languages, especially in the case of the multilingual children who constitute the largest part of this population. This inevitably impacts on the accuracy of developmental assessments of such speakers. Already negative lay opinion on the effect of early multilingualism on language development rates could be exacerbated by the lack of developmental data, ultimately affecting choices regarding home and school language policies.Objectives: To establish whether trilinguals necessarily exhibit developmental delay when compared to monolinguals and, if so, whether this delay (1) occurs in terms of both lexical and grammatical development; and (2) in all three the trilinguals’ languages, regardless of input quantity.Method: Focusing on isiXhosa, South African English and Afrikaans, the study involved a comparison of 11 four-year-old developing trilinguals’ acquisition of vocabulary and passive constructions with that of 10 age-matched monolingual speakers of each language.Results: The trilinguals proved to be monolingual-like in their lexical development in the language to which, on average, they had been exposed most over time, that is, isiXhosa. No developmental delay was found in the trilinguals’ acquisition of passive constructions, regardless of the language of testing.Conclusion: As previously found for bilingual development, necessarily reduced quantity of exposure does not hinder lexical development in the trilinguals’ input dominant language. The overall lack of delay in their acquisition of the passive is interpreted as possible evidence of cross-linguistic bootstrapping and support for early multilingual exposure.

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Normative data and factorial structure of the Turkish version of the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time (BEST)

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1080/24750573.2017.1298421 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 152-158

Author(s):

Ercan Akin ◽

Samet Kose ◽

Vedat Ceylan ◽

Gulizer Temel ◽

Mehmet Hakan Turkcapar

Keyword(s):

Normative Data ◽

Factorial Structure ◽

Turkish Version ◽

Over Time

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A comparison of the emotional and behavioural problems of intellectual disability offenders in medium and low security

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour ◽

10.1108/jidob-12-2015-0047 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 109-115

Author(s):

Sarah Ashworth ◽

Paul Mooney

Keyword(s):

Normative Data ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Current Data ◽

Small Sample ◽

Behavioural Problems ◽

Emotional And Behavioural Problems ◽

Treatment Needs ◽

Content Type ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Over Time

Purpose There are few reliable psychometric measures of the psychopathology of offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, previous research has indicated that the emotional problems scale (EPS) is useful in identifying a range of treatment needs and in predicting risk to self and others. The purpose of this paper is to compare the severity of the emotional and behavioural problems of a small sample of offenders with ID in medium and low secure services, as assessed by EPS. Additionally, the data are tentatively compared with those reported in previous research to precipitate discussion regarding the changes in clinical populations in secure care over time. Design/methodology/approach The study collected demographic and EPS data for patients with ID (n=25) on medium secure and a low secure wards. Data were collected as part of routine clinical practice, with EPS forms being completed by nursing and other multi-disciplinary staff. Findings It was found that there was no statistically significant difference in EPS scores between medium and low secure patients with ID. The authors also highlight differences between the current sample and the normative data collected by previous research. Originality/value The data regarding the psychopathology of medium and low secure patients with ID provide insight into the ever changing resourcing needs and risk profiles of this complex patient group. In addition, there is a dearth of empirical research that comments on the clinical differences observed over time in forensic populations. As the current data differ from pre-existing normative data, the potential shift in populations and also implications for the accuracy of clinical decision making based on the assessment are discussed.

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NORMATIVE DATA FROM THE STANDARDIZATION OF RAVEN'S STANDARD PROGRESSIVE MATRICES IN KUWAIT IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2006.34.2.169 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 169-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek ◽

John Raven

Keyword(s):

Normative Data ◽

Reference Data ◽

School Students ◽

International Context ◽

Age Norms ◽

Dramatic Effect ◽

Probability Sample ◽

Wide Range ◽

Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices ◽

Over Time

A probability sample (N=6,594) of Kuwaiti school students aged 8–15 years responded to the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven, 1958). The test was administered, untimed, in group sessions. In this paper, the smoothed summary age norms for Kuwait (which will themselves be of interest to many psychologists and others working in Kuwait and neighboring countries) are first compared with what have become the standard international reference data for such work, namely the 1979 British norms, and thereafter with data collected in a wide range of cultures. It emerges that, at any point in time, the norms are remarkably stable across cultures, but have changed dramatically over time. These findings show that, while as yet unidentified features of the environment have a dramatic effect on scores, aspects of the environment that many would have expected to have a significant effect (such as differences in calligraphy) are much less important than might have been thought.

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Social transmission bias and the cultural evolution of folk-economic beliefs

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18000365 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David Hirshleifer ◽

Siew Hong Teoh

Keyword(s):

Cultural Evolution ◽

Social Transmission ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Economic Problems ◽

Economic Attitudes ◽

The Social ◽

Economic Beliefs ◽

Over Time

AbstractEvolved dispositions influence, but do not determine, how people think about economic problems. The evolutionary cognitive approach offers important insights but underweights the social transmission of ideas as a level of explanation. The need for asocialexplanation for the evolution of economic attitudes is evidenced, for example, by immense variations in folk-economic beliefs over time and across individuals.

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