scholarly journals Developing a rigorous measure of the pre-school home mathematics environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-194
Author(s):  
Abbie Cahoon ◽  
Tony Cassidy ◽  
David J. Purpura ◽  
Victoria Simms

Children begin pre-school with varying levels of school readiness. Those children who enter pre-school with better foundational mathematics skills are more likely to succeed in school than those who do not. This initial variation in early mathematics suggests that experiences outside of the school setting, namely the home environment, may support learning and development. This study aims to systematically develop a comprehensive home mathematics environment questionnaire that reliably assesses the experiences of pre-school children (i.e., 3–5-year-olds) following recent recognised scale development and validation methods. Four studies were used to develop and validate the Pre-school Home Mathematics Questionnaire (PHMQ). Study 1 focused on 1) item generation through individual, in-depth interviews with parents of young children and 2) identifying previous questions from other home mathematics environment (HME) questionnaires to be incorporated into the PHMQ. Study 2 involved questionnaire refinement and was used to assess the psychometric properties of the new measure while addressing construct validity (i.e., factor structure and scale score reliability). Study 3 assessed content and criterion validity of the scale. Finally, Study 4 focused on construct validity through confirmatory factor analysis. Overall, the four studies demonstrate construct, content, and criterion validity. Hence, the newly developed PHMQ satisfies the American Psychological Association (APA) standards for psychometric adequacy.

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A201-A202
Author(s):  
Kristina Puzino ◽  
Susan Calhoun ◽  
Allison Harvey ◽  
Julio Fernandez-Mendoza

Abstract Introduction The Sleep Inertia Questionnaire (SIQ) was developed and validated in patients with mood disorders to evaluate difficulties with becoming fully awake after nighttime sleep or daytime naps in a multidimensional manner. However, few data are available regarding its psychometric properties in clinical samples with sleep disorders. Methods 211 patients (43.0±16.4 years old, 68% female, 17% minority) evaluated at the Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM) program of Penn State Health Sleep Research & Treatment Center completed the SIQ. All patients were diagnosed using ICSD-3 criteria, with 111 receiving a diagnosis of chronic insomnia disorder (CID), 48 of a central disorder of hypersomnolence (CDH), and 52 of other sleep disorders (OSD). Structural equation modelling was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the SIQ. Results CFA supported four SIQ dimensions of “physiological”, “cognitive”, “emotional” and “response to” (RSI) sleep inertia with adequate goodness-of-fit (TLI=0.90, CFI=0.91, GFI=0.85, RMSEA=0.08). Internal consistency was high (α=0.94), including that of its dimensions (physiological α=0.89, cognitive α=0.94, emotional α=0.67, RSI α=0.78). Dimension inter-correlations were moderate to high (r=0.42–0.93, p<0.01), indicating good construct validity. Convergent validity showed moderate correlations with Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) scores (r=0.38) and large correlations with Flinders fatigue scale (FFS) scores (r=0.65). Criterion validity showed significantly (p<0.01) higher scores in subjects with CDH (69.0±16.6) as compared to those with CID (54.4±18.3) or OSD (58.5±20.0). A SIQ cut-off score ≥57.5 provided a sensitivity/specificity of 0.77/0.65, while a cut-off score ≥61.5 provided a sensitivity/specificity of 0.71/0.70 to identify CDH vs. ESS<10 (AUC=0.76). Conclusion The SIQ shows satisfactory indices of reliability and construct validity in a clinically-diverse sleep disorders sample. Its criterion validity is supported by its divergent association with hypersomnia vs. insomnia disorders, as well as its adequate sensitivity/specificity to identify patients with CDH. The SIQ can help clinicians easily assess the complex dimensionality of sleep inertia and target behavioral sleep treatments. Future studies should confirm the best SIQ cut-off score by including good sleeping controls, while clinical studies should determine its minimal clinically important difference after pharmacological or behavioral treatments. Support (if any):


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-449
Author(s):  
Amy Y. M. Chow ◽  
Meetim Chow ◽  
Catherine K. P. Wan ◽  
Katherine K. L. Wong ◽  
Rita W. T. Cheung

ABSTRACTBackground: This paper reports the development and validation of the Chinese Significant Wish Fulfillment Scale (CSWFS), a new multidimensional scale for assessing the perceived importance and level of fulfillment of wishes of older adults.Methods: Three studies were involved. Study 1 developed a 26-item pool on wish fulfillment through in-depth interviews with 22 older adults. Study 2 reduced the pool to 23 items through validation with a new sample of 315 older adults and examined the internal reliability. Study 3 involved a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and examined the test-retest reliability and the convergent validity of the scale with the construct of regret.Results: A five-factor structure model of 23 items was identified through exploratory factor analysis, which accounted for 51.67% of variance. As informed by the CFA in Study 3, a five-factor 22-item model was the best fit. Internal reliability and test-retest reliability was found to be good. Convergent validity was examined through correlation with the construct of future regret. The correlation, though statistically significant, was small.Conclusion: CSWFS demonstrates good psychometric properties, but the construct might be slightly different from that of future regrets. Probably, CSWFS addresses a construct that is under-explored but is of importance to older adults and especially to the Chinese community.


2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Magaret Stroebe ◽  
Cecilia L. W. Chan ◽  
Amy Y. M. Chow

The rationale, development, and validation of the Bereavement Guilt Scale (BGS) are described in this article. The BGS was based on a theoretically developed, multidimensional conceptualization of guilt. Part 1 describes the generation of the item pool, derived from in-depth interviews, and review of the scientific literature. Part 2 details statistical analyses for further item selection (Sample 1, N = 273). Part 3 covers the psychometric properties of the emergent-BGS (Sample 2, N = 600, and Sample 3, N = 479). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a five-factor model fit the data best. Correlations of BGS scores with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, self-forgiveness, and mode of death were consistent with theoretical predictions, supporting the construct validity of the measure. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were also supported. Thus, initial testing or examination suggests that the BGS is a valid tool to assess multiple components of bereavement guilt. Further psychometric testing across cultures is recommended.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1203-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solimun Solimun ◽  
Adji Achmad Rinaldo Fernandes

Purpose The aim of this research is to investigate the consistency between the criterion validity and the unidimensional validity – case study in management research. Design/methodology/approach The investigation of construct validity and criterion validity by using confirmatory factor analysis is presented in this paper. Data were found from three dissertations of Doctoral Program of Management on Brawijaya University and Airlangga University. It consists of seven variables. The first data consist of three variables, i.e. X1, X2 and Y1; the second data consist of two variables, i.e. X2 and Y1; and the third data consist of two variables, i.e. X3 and Y1. Findings The measurement instrument of latent variables must be valid. There are many methods of construct validity, i.e. unidimensional validity and criterion validity. The criterion validity is less sensitive than unidimensional validity, that is, it is more simple and easy for application. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to only analyzing criterion validity and unidimensional validity. Practical implications The unidimensional validity is more sensitive than criterion validity, that is, it is more complex and difficult for application. But if structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to analyze data, the unidimensional validity test must be used; this causes SEM to have constraint, i.e. factor indeterminacy. Social implications Majority in Dissertation of Doctoral Program (Brawijaya University and Airlangga University) using criterion validity to investigate the instrument validity, without investigating the unidimensional validity, is included in this paper. Originality/value To investigate the instrument validity, no studies have focused on the selection of instrument validity, particularly in the field of management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-340
Author(s):  
Nesrullah Okan ◽  
Halil Eksi

The aim of this study is to adapt the Moral Integrity Scale developed by Sclenker (2008) to Turkish and conduct its psychometric analysis. The scale items were translated into Turkish by five specialists in the first place. After the language structure, culture suitability and understandability of the items were examined by the two experts, the items agreed upon were translated back to their original language by the two translation experts. After the positive evaluations of the experts, the final version of the scale items was decided. During the adaptation process of the study, data were collected from 470 people for exploratory factor analysis; from 248 people for confirmatory factor analysis and from 100 people for criterion validity. In this context, Exploratory Factor Analysis (AFA) was used to test the construct validity of the scale first. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it is seen that the moral integrity scale explains 52,127% of the variance as one dimension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then performed to test the construct validity of the scale. The one-dimensional and 18-item structure of the Moral Integrity Scale was analyzed with DFA and accepted fit indices were obtained (X2 / sd = 2.745; p <.001; RMSEA = 0.061; S-RMR = 0.051; NFI = 0.929; CFI = 0.954; GFI = 0.915; RFI = 0.919). In order to calculate the scale reliability, the Cronbach Alpha (α) internal consistency coefficients and the difference between the lower and upper scores of 27% were examined. For the Moral Integrity Scale, the internal consistency coefficient Cronbach’s Alpha value was determined as 961. At the same time, the moral identity scale was used for criterion validity and a significant positive relationship was obtained with the two sub-dimensions of this scale. The total score obtained from the scale gives the person’s moral integrity score. According to all these results, it is understood that the Moral Integrity Scale has sufficient validity and reliability values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shegang Zhou ◽  
Yanfei Hou ◽  
Ding Liu ◽  
Duo Xu ◽  
Xiaoyuan Zhang

Psychotherapy style is conceptualized as the therapeutic method that a therapist employs while working with clients during treatment. It influences both the therapeutic process and results of therapeutic actions. The present study developed and validated the Psychotherapy Style Scale (PSS). By following a systematic psychometric development process, a three-factor structure of the PSS was identified. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of multidimensional structure and validity of the PSS. Cronbach’s α suggested that the resulting scale was highly reliable. Criterion validity was also satisfactory, demonstrated by correlations between the scale and criterion validity measures. The PSS has the potential to help better understand therapists’ behavioral characteristics and select the most appropriate therapists for clients who undergo psychotherapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1b) ◽  
pp. 2156759X1983444
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Poynton ◽  
Bernalyn Ruiz ◽  
Richard T. Lapan

This article describes the process used to develop a new measure of college knowledge and the findings from an initial study to examine the measure’s construct validity. We employed common test construction (item response theory, classical test theory) and factor analytic (exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis) approaches to analyzing the data from 519 graduating high school seniors; these analyses support the construct validity of the measure. We discuss the importance of college knowledge in the college decision-making process and implications for school counseling practice and research.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai-fu Fung ◽  
Esther Oi-wah Chow ◽  
Chau-kiu Cheung

Abstract Background This longitudinal study aimed to develop a nine-item Brief Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (BSAWS) derived from the original 40-item Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS). Methods The psychometric properties of the shortened scale were evaluated based on a sample of 157 older adults. The factor structure and dimensionality of the original SAWS were examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent explorative factor analysis of the BSAWS supported the construct validity of the shortened scale. Results The internal consistency, criterion validity and construct validity of the shortened scale were also evaluated and the results indicated that the BSAWS possesses good psychometric properties and is comparable with the full version. Conclusions This scale refinement may help researchers and practitioners conduct epistemological surveys or clinical research related to wisdom.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai-fu Fung ◽  
Esther Oi-wah Chow

Abstract Background This longitudinal study aimed to develop a nine-item Brief Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (BSAWS) derived from the original 40-item Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS). Methods The psychometric properties of the shortened scale were evaluated based on a sample of 157 older adults. The factor structure and dimensionality of the original SAWS were examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent explorative factor analysis of the BSAWS supported the construct validity of the shortened scale. Results The internal consistency, criterion validity and construct validity of the shortened scale were also evaluated and the results indicated that the BSAWS possesses good psychometric properties and is comparable with the full version. Conclusions This scale refinement may help researchers and practitioners conduct epistemological surveys or clinical research related to wisdom.


Author(s):  
Haoran Li ◽  
Wen Luo ◽  
Juzhe Xi ◽  
Yanan Peng

Abstract. Procrastination is a complicated phenomenon with many thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that may characterize different subgroups of procrastinators. Such phenomenon has not been well studied in an integrated theoretical framework. This study aims to establish a theory about the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of procrastination and to develop and validate an operational instrument. In Study 1, we conducted qualitative research based on grounded theories and generated seven initial categories with 22 themes associated with the components in procrastination. In Study 2, we developed an instrument, the Multidimensional Procrastination Scale (MPS), and established a five-dimension structure for the MPS using explanatory factor analysis (EFA; N = 435) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 387). In Study 3, we established construct validity and predictive validity for the MPS by building a nomological framework and predicting behavioral procrastination, respectively. The theoretical framework of procrastination included maladaptive (i.e., impulsive and unorganized, hesitation, lack of incentives, avoidance) and adaptive (i.e., arousal and rationalization) components. The MPS demonstrated acceptable reliability, factorial validity, construct validity, and predictive validity. The findings of this study have implications for further studies on the typology of procrastination and the development of tailored interventions to alleviate maladaptive aspects of procrastination.


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