On the information obtainable from comparative judgments

Personality tests employing comparative judgments have been proposed as an alternative to Likert-type rating scales. One of the main advantages of a comparative format is that it can reduce faking of responses in high-stakes situations. However, previous research has shown that it is highly difficult to obtain trait score estimates that are both faking resistant and sufficiently accurate for individual-level diagnostic decisions. With the goal of solving this problem, I study the information obtainable from comparative judgments analyzed by means of Thurstonian IRT models. First, I extend the mathematical theory of ordinal comparative judgments and corresponding models. Second, I provide optimal test designs for factor loadings of Thurstonian IRT models from both frequentist and Bayesian statistical perspectives. Third, I derive analytic upper bounds for the accuracy of trait score estimates achievable through these models. Fourth, I perform numerical experiments that complement results obtained in earlier simulation studies. The combined analytical and numerical results suggests that it is indeed possible to design personality tests using comparative judgments that can reduce faking in high-stakes situations while yielding trait scores estimates that are sufficiently accurate for individual-level diagnostic decisions. Recommendations for the practical application of comparative judgments for the measurement of personality, specifically in high-stakes situations, are given.

Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of yield and fruit traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.)

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is an economically important vegetable crop grown in tropical parts of the world. In this study, a high-density linkage map of M. charantia was constructed through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology using F2:3 mapping population generated from the cross DBGy-201 × Pusa Do Mausami. About 2013 high-quality SNPs were assigned on a total of 20 linkage groups (LGs) spanning over 2329.2 CM with an average genetic distance of 1.16 CM. QTL analysis was performed for six major yield-contributing traits such as fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit weight, fruit flesh thickness, number of fruits per plant and yield per plant. These six quantitative traits were mapped with 19 QTLs (9 QTLs with LOD > 3) using composite interval mapping (CIM). Among 19 QTLs, 12 QTLs derived from ‘Pusa Do Mausami’ revealed a negative additive effect when its allele increased trait score whereas 7 QTLs derived from ‘DBGy-201’ revealed a positive additive effect when its allele trait score increased. The phenotypic variation (R2%) elucidated by these QTLs ranged from 0.09% (fruit flesh thickness) on LG 14 to 32.65% (fruit diameter) on LG 16 and a total of six major QTLs detected. Most QTLs detected in the present study were located relatively very close, maybe due to the high correlation among the traits. This information will serve as a significant basis for marker-assisted selection and molecular breeding in bitter gourd crop improvement.

Integrating Multiple Informants’ Reports: How Conceptual and Measurement Models May Address Long-Standing Problems in Clinical Decision-Making

Assessing youth psychopathology involves collecting multiple informants’ reports. Yet multi-informant reports often disagree, which necessitates integrative strategies that optimize predictive power. The trait-score approach leverages principal components analysis to account for the context and perspective from which informants provide reports. This approach may boost the predictive power of multi-informant reports and thus warrants rigorous testing. We tested the trait score approach using multi-informant reports of adolescent social anxiety in a mixed clinical and community sample of adolescents ( N = 127). The trait score incrementally predicted observed social anxiety (βs = 0.47–0.67) and referral status (odds ratios = 2.66–6.53) above and beyond individual informants’ reports and a composite of informants’ reports. The trait score predicted observed behavior at magnitudes well above those typically observed for individual informants’ reports of internalizing psychopathology (i.e., rs = .01–.15). Findings demonstrate the ability of the trait score to improve prediction of clinical indices and potentially transform widely used practices in multi-informant assessments.

Maternal Iodine Status During Pregnancy Is Not Consistently Associated with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Autistic Traits in Children

ABSTRACT Background Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause intellectual disability, presumably through inadequate placental transfer of maternal thyroid hormone to the fetus. The association between mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency and child neurodevelopmental problems is not well understood. Objectives We investigated the association of maternal iodine status during pregnancy with child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic traits. Methods This was a collaborative study of 3 population-based birth cohorts: Generation R (n = 1634), INfancia y Medio Ambiente (n = 1293), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 2619). Exclusion criteria were multiple fetuses, fertility treatment, thyroid-interfering medication use, and pre-existing thyroid disease. The mean age of assessment in the cohorts was between 4.4 and 7.7 y for ADHD symptoms and 4.5 and 7.6 y for autistic traits. We studied the association of the urinary iodine-to-creatinine ratio (UI/Creat) <150 μg/g—in all mother–child pairs, and in those with a urinary-iodine measurement at ≤18 weeks and ≤14 weeks of gestation—with the risk of ADHD or a high autistic-trait score (≥93rd percentile cutoff), using logistic regression. The cohort-specific effect estimates were combined by random-effects meta-analyses. We also investigated whether UI/Creat modified the associations of maternal free thyroxine (FT4) or thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations with ADHD or autistic traits. Results UI/Creat <150 μg/g was not associated with ADHD (OR: 1.2; 95% CI: 0.7, 2.2; P = 0.56) or with a high autistic-trait score (OR: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.6, 1.1; P = 0.22). UI/Creat <150 μg/g in early pregnancy (i.e., ≤18 weeks or ≤14 weeks of gestation) was not associated with a higher risk of behavioral problems. The association between a higher FT4 and a greater risk of ADHD (OR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.6; P = 0.017) was not modified by iodine status. Conclusions There is no consistent evidence to support an association of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency during pregnancy with child ADHD or autistic traits.

Sources of Error in IRT Trait Estimation

In item response theory (IRT), item response probabilities are a function of item characteristics and latent trait scores. Within an IRT framework, trait score misestimation results from (a) random error, (b) the trait score estimation method, (c) errors in item parameter estimation, and (d) model misspecification. This study investigated the relative effects of these error sources on the bias and confidence interval coverage rates for trait scores. Our results showed that overall, bias values were close to 0, and coverage rates were fairly accurate for central trait scores and trait estimation methods that did not use a strong Bayesian prior. However, certain types of model misspecifications were found to produce severely biased trait estimates with poor coverage rates, especially at extremes of the latent trait continuum. It is demonstrated that biased trait estimates result from estimated item response functions (IRFs) that exhibit systematic conditional bias, and that these conditionally biased IRFs may not be detected by model or item fit indices. One consequence of these results is that certain types of model misspecifications can lead to estimated trait scores that are nonlinearly related to the data-generating latent trait. Implications for item and trait score estimation and interpretation are discussed.

Exploring the relationship between callous-unemotional traits, empathy processing and affective valence in a general population

Callous–Unemotional (CU) traits are personality attributes, which are associated with a deficit of affective valence and reduced empathetic responding in high CU trait clinical populations. The aim of the research was to explore whether a similar pattern of empathy and emotional responding correlated with CU trait manifestation in the general population. A total of 124 participants completed the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Empathy Quotient, an expression recognition task, and a measure of affective response. Negative correlations with CU trait score were observed for both cognitive empathy and emotional empathy. Accuracy in the identification of fearful expressions presented a negative association with CU trait score. Self-rating of affective valence, when viewing both positive and negative images, indicated a universal reduction in emotional response associated with increased CU trait manifestation.

Relationships Between State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test Scores Among Korean Twins and Families: The Healthy Twin Study

We explored heritabilities of the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and associations including genetic and environmental correlations between the phenotypes among Korean twins and their families. We analyzed the data of 1,748 participants (835 men, 913 women, 656 individuals of monozygotic twins, 173 individuals of same-sexed dizygotic twins, 919 non-twin family members, age 30–79 years) from the Healthy Twin study. Heritabilities and bivariate analyses were assessed using the SOLAR package software. In the methods of generalized estimation equations, women in the 4th quartile of state and trait scores were 17% and 15%, respectively more likely to be hazardous alcohol users compared to women in the lower three quartiles (P< .05). However, there were no significant associations between these phenotypes in men. After adjusting for age and squared age, the heritability estimates were 0.26 in men and 0.34 in women for the state score; for the trait score, 0.35 in men and 0.31 in women; for the AUDIT score, 0.32 in men and 0.37 in women (P< .001). After adjusting for age and squared age, there was a significant genetic correlation between the trait score and the AUDIT score, and a significant non-genetic correlation between the state score and the AUDIT score in women, while there were no significant genetic or non-genetic correlations between these phenotypes in men. The STAI and AUDIT scores are heritable in Koreans and the relationships between these phenotypes may be inconsistent by sex.

Familial Tourette's Syndrome in a Large British Pedigree

A British pedigree multiply affected by the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and spanning six generations is described. Of 122 members identified, 85 were individually interviewed, and 50 were diagnosed as ‘cases'. ‘Cases' consisted of 29 with definite or probable Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, 17 with definite or probable chronic multiple tics, and four with definite or probable obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Only eight of the 50 ‘cases' had consulted a doctor for their symptoms. ‘Cases' and ‘non-cases' could be distinguished on the basis of echo-phenomena, obsessive-compulsive features, self-injurious behaviour, and the trait score of the Leyton Obsessional Inventory, but did not differ significantly on any other psychopathological variables. The pattern of inheritance of the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome in this pedigree is consistent with autosomal dominant transmission.