measurement equivalence
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2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Nugent ◽  
Linda Daugherty

About 38.4% of U.S. households include a dog, and 25.4% a cat, as pets, and a recent poll suggested over 90% of pet owners feel their companion animal is a family member. Numerous studies have suggested pet ownership has physical, mental, and social health benefits, though much of this research has yielded mixed results. Results of a recent review suggested significant measurement problems in human-animal interaction (HAI) and human-animal bond (HAB) research, including the absence of validity evidence, overly long measures, lack of evidence for measurement equivalence across species of pets, and measures lacking a basis in important psychological, family, and attachment theories. This article describes the development and results of a measurement equivalence study of a new measure of the HAB called the family bondedness scale (FBS). This scale, and the research results, address multiple gaps in HAB measurement. Results of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses with multiple covariates indicated the scores on the FBS showed equivalence between cat and dog owners. The use of the FBS in both veterinary research and practice, as well as in research and practice in other disciplines, such as social work and psychology, are considered.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109442812110565
Author(s):  
Ajay V. Somaraju ◽  
Christopher D. Nye ◽  
Jeffrey Olenick

The study of measurement equivalence has important implications for organizational research. Nonequivalence across groups or over time can affect the results of a study and the conclusions that are drawn from it. As a result, the review paper by Vandenberg & Lance (2000) has been highly cited and has played an important role in understanding the measurement of organizational constructs. However, that paper is now 20 years old, and a number of advances have been made in the application and interpretation of measurement equivalence (ME) since its publication. Therefore, the goal of the present paper is to provide an updated review of ME techniques that describes recent advances in testing for ME and proposes a taxonomy of potential sources of nonequivalence. Finally, we articulate recommendations for applying these newer methods and consider future directions for measurement equivalence research in the organizational literature.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 4258
Author(s):  
Scott B. Maitland ◽  
Paula Brauer ◽  
David M. Mutch ◽  
Dawna Royall ◽  
Doug Klein ◽  
...  

Accurate measurement requires assessment of measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) to demonstrate that the tests/measurements perform equally well and measure the same underlying constructs across groups and over time. Using structural equation modeling, the measurement properties (stability and responsiveness) of intervention measures used in a study of metabolic syndrome (MetS) treatment in primary care offices, were assessed. The primary study (N = 293; mean age = 59 years) had achieved 19% reversal of MetS overall; yet neither diet quality nor aerobic capacity were correlated with declines in cardiovascular disease risk. Factor analytic methods were used to develop measurement models and factorial invariance were tested across three time points (baseline, 3-month, 12-month), sex (male/female), and diabetes status for the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (2005 HEI-C) and several fitness measures combined (percentile VO2 max from submaximal exercise, treadmill speed, curl-ups, push-ups). The model fit for the original HEI-C was poor and could account for the lack of associations in the primary study. A reduced HEI-C and a 4-item fitness model demonstrated excellent model fit and measurement equivalence across time, sex, and diabetes status. Increased use of factor analytic methods increases measurement precision, controls error, and improves ability to link interventions to expected clinical outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Maskileyson ◽  
Daniel Seddig ◽  
Eldad Davidov

Most of the countries in Europe are experiencing a rapid aging of their populations and with this an increase in mental health challenges due to aging. Comparative research may help countries to assess the promotion of healthy aging in general, and mentally healthy aging in particular, and explore ways for adapting mental health policy measures. However, the comparative study of mental health indicators requires that the groups understand the survey questions inquiring about their mental health in the same way and display similar response patterns. Otherwise, observed differences in perceived mental health may not reflect true differences but rather cultural bias in the health measures. To date, research on cross-country equivalence of depression measures among older populations has received very limited attention. Thus, there is a growing need for the cross-country validation of existing depression measures using samples of the older population and establishing measurement equivalence of the assessment tools. Indeed, insights on mental health outcomes and how they compare across societies is paramount to inform policy makers seeking to improve mental health conditions of the populations. This study, therefore, aims to examine measurement equivalence of self-reported depressive symptoms among older populations in 17 European countries and Israel. The data for the current analysis are from the sixth wave (2015) of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and consist of the population of respondents 50 years of age and older. The measurement of depression is based on the EURO-D scale, which was developed by a European consortium. It identifies existing depressive symptoms and consists of the 12 items: depression, pessimism, suicidality, guilt, sleep, interest, irritability, appetite, fatigue, concentration, enjoyment, and tearfulness. We examine the cross-country comparability of these data by testing for measurement equivalence using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) and alignment. Our findings reveal partial equivalence thus allowing us to draw meaningful conclusions on similarities and differences among the older population across 18 countries on the EURO-D measure of depression. Findings are discussed in light of policy implications for universal access to mental health care across countries.


Author(s):  
En-Chi Chiu ◽  
Tzu-Hua Chien ◽  
Ya-Chen Lee

Background: The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) is increasingly used to assess general cognitive function in people with dementia. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score can be converted from the CASI (i.e., the estimated MMSE). Recognizing that measurement equivalence is critical to meaningfully representing one with the other, we aimed to determine whether the estimated MMSE score obtained from the CASI was equivalent to the original MMSE in people with dementia. Methods: We obtained 110 data points for the MMSE and CASI scores in people with dementia. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Pearson’s r, percent of standard error of measurement (SEM%), paired t-test, and effect size (Cohen’s d) were used to investigate the equivalence. Results: To examine the equivalence between the original and estimated MMSE score, the ICC and Pearson’s r of the total score and six domains were 0.62–0.95 and 0.62–0.96, respectively. The SEM% of the total score and six domains were 0.6–8.9%. The paired t-test results showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the total score and the three domains. The Cohen’s d of the total score and six domains were 0.06–0.27. Conclusions: The estimated MMSE score was found to have moderate to excellent equivalence to the original MMSE score. The three domains (i.e., registration, attention and calculation, and visual-constructional ability) with moderate equivalence should be used cautiously to interchange with the original MMSE in people with dementia.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Promporn Wangwacharakul ◽  
Silvia Márquez Medina ◽  
Bozena Bonnie Poksinska

Purpose Customers from different cultures might have different expectations and perceptions of quality, leading to different levels of satisfaction. Together with the construct and measurement equivalence issues of cross-cultural surveys, this raises the question of the comparability of customer satisfaction measurements across countries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the survey method of anchoring vignettes as a tool for improving the comparability of customer satisfaction measurements across countries and to shed some light on cultural influences on customer satisfaction measurements. Design/methodology/approach Based on the models of American Customer Satisfaction Index and European Performance Satisfaction Index, the authors designed and conducted a survey using the method of anchoring vignettes to measure and compare customer satisfaction with mobile phone services in four countries – Costa Rica, Poland, Sweden and Thailand. The survey was carried out with young adults aged 20–30 years, who were mostly university students. Findings This study demonstrates how anchoring vignettes can be used to mitigate cultural bias in customer satisfaction surveys and to improve both construct and measurement equivalence of the questionnaire. The results show that different conclusions on cross-cultural benchmarking of customer satisfaction would be drawn when using a traditional survey compared to the anchoring vignettes method. Originality/value This paper evaluates the survey method of anchoring vignettes as a potential quantitative research method for studying customer satisfaction across countries. The results also contribute to customer satisfaction research as these shed some light onto how culture influences customer satisfaction measurements. The practical implication for firms and managers is that allocating resources among different countries based on traditional customer satisfaction surveys may be misleading.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keri J. S. Brady ◽  
R. Christopher Sheldrick ◽  
Pengsheng Ni ◽  
Mickey T. Trockel ◽  
Tait D. Shanafelt ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Disparities in US physician burnout rates across age, gender, and specialty groups as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI) are well documented. We evaluated whether disparities in US physician burnout are explained by differences in the MBI’s functioning across physician age, gender, and specialty groups. Methods We assessed the measurement equivalence of the MBI across age, gender, and specialty groups in multi-group item response theory- (IRT-) based differential item functioning (DIF) analyses using secondary, cross-sectional survey data from US physicians (n = 6577). We detected DIF using two IRT-based methods and assessed its impact by estimating the overall average difference in groups’ subscale scores attributable to DIF. We assessed DIF’s practical significance by comparing differences in individuals’ subscale scores and burnout prevalence estimates from models unadjusted and adjusted for DIF. Results We detected statistically significant age-, gender-, and specialty- DIF in all but one MBI item. However, in all cases, average differences in expected subscale-level scores due to DIF were < 0.10 SD on each subscale. Differences in physicians’ individual-level subscale scores and burnout symptom prevalence estimates across DIF- adjusted and unadjusted IRT models were also small (in all cases, mean absolute differences in individual subscale scores were < 0.04 z-score units; prevalence estimates differed by < 0.70%). Conclusions Age-, gender-, and specialty-related disparities in US physician burnout are not explained by differences in the MBI’s functioning across these demographic groups. Our findings support the use of the MBI as a valid tool to assess age-, gender-, and specialty-related disparities in US physician burnout.


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