Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-120).

Thesis (M.Tech.: Human Resources Management)-Dept. of Human Resources Management, Durban University of Technology, 2008. ix, 132 leaves / The research outlines the statement of the problem, motivation for the study and the related legislated requirements for all research in the field of psychological assessment. It will also take a closer look at related issues supporting the background of psychometric testing and present day themes and trends that are becoming prevalent in contemporary practice. There is an in-depth discussion on Personality which is one of the main foundation components of the Discus Behaviour Profiling System which is personality. Points on, ethics, translation, validity, reliability, test construction and cross cultural matters are also discussed.

Orientador: Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos / Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar um modelo teórico cognitivo, comportamental e emocional relacionado à percepção da intensidade da dor e sua interferência no cotidiano e à qualidade de vida de indivíduos adultos com diferentes condições dolorosas. Para tanto, avaliaram-se as propriedades psicométricas dos instrumentos de medida utilizados. Trata-se de estudo transversal. Participaram 1.103 indivíduos que buscaram atendimento à Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara - UNESP nos anos de 2015 e 2016. Foram incluídos indivíduos adultos e os mesmos foram classificados segundo o relato de ausência de dor nas últimas 24 horas (G0), dor nas últimas 24 horas presente há menos de 3 meses (G1), dor recorrente presente há mais de 3 meses (G2) e dor contínua há mais de 3 meses (G3). Foram levantadas informações demográficas. As informações foram coletadas por meio de entrevista pessoal. A percepção da intensidade da dor e sua interferência no cotidiano foram avaliadas utilizando o Inventário Breve de Dor (BPI Forma Curta) adaptado, com período de referência "última experiência dolorosa". A percepção da qualidade de vida foi obtida a partir do Questionário de Qualidade de Vida da Organização Mundial de Saúde (WHOQoL-Bref). Para mensuração das variáveis cognitivas, foram utilizados os instrumentos Questionário de Vigilância e Consciência relacionado à Dor (PVAQ) e a Escala de Catastrofização da Dor (PCS). Para as variáveis comportamentais, utilizou-se o Questionário de Autoeficácia relac... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a theoretical cognitive, behavioral, and emotional model for pain that considers individuals' perceptions of the intensity of pain and its interference in daily function and their quality of life among adults with different pain conditions. To achieve this, the psychometric properties of the measurement instruments used herein were evaluated. This was a cross-sectional study. This study involved 1,103 adults who sought treatment at the School of Dentistry of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara in 2015 and 2016. The adults included in the study were classified based on their reports of a lack of pain the last 24 hours (G0), of pain in the previous 24 hours and had been experiencing pain for less than three months (G1), of recurrent pain for three months or more (G2), and of continuous pain for three months or more (G3). Demographic information was also collected through personal interviews. Perceptions of pain intensity and interference in daily function were evaluated using an adapted version of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-Short Form) for which the period of reference was "the last painful experience". Perceptions of quality of life were obtained using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF). The cognitive variables were measured using the Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Behavioral variables were assessed using the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC Form C). For the emotional variables, the instruments used were the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS20) and the short version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Face, content, and construct validity of the instruments (including factor, convergent, and discriminant validity) were also determined. Confirmator / Doutor

Poor insight has clinical significance as a predictor of non-adherence to treatment, increased number of relapses, hospitalisations, recovery and risk of violence. Empirical research has led to advances in the redefinition, knowledge and understanding of insight in psychosis. However, the use of a wide range of definitions and measures has created difficulties in interpreting research findings, without clarifying the concepts being measured and evaluating the quality of their associated assessment tool. Therefore, the aim of the first piece of work, a Systematic Review (SR), was to identify and describe the constructs of insight in psychosis and their assessment tools and briefly evaluate their psychometric properties. Insight in psychosis is particularly relevant to Forensic Mental Health Services, given its link with offending behaviour and risk to others. However, outside of those provided by risk appraisal tools, there are no current guidelines that specifically target the assessment, or intervention, of insight. Therefore, the second piece of work, a research project (RP), aimed to explore current practices, as described by experienced clinicians. The SR identified twelve assessment tools and fourteen papers for detailed analysis. Twelve theoretical constructs were identified, the most prominent being awareness of mental illness and awareness of the need for treatment. Other prominent theoretical constructs included awareness of negative consequences of illness and awareness of generic or specific symptoms. However, few of the subscales associated with each theoretical construct were supported by empirical evidence. Further work to clarify aspects of insight that are important areas for intervention, along with the provision of data to support these, should continue to be a focus for on-going research. The RP was a qualitative design using Thematic Analysis. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews from 11 qualified Clinical Psychologists working in Forensic Mental Health Services across Scotland. The RP identified three overarching themes. The first “risk related” illustrated the influence of risk to other when assessing and treating patients. The second “holistic approach” illustrated that insight or mental illness was rarely looked at in isolation. The third theme “no specific or satisfactory unified approach” illustrated the diversity of the conceptualising, assessment and treatment of insight. Opportunities exist to develop a more uniformed approach and to introduce or develop outcome measures for interventions.

abstract: For this thesis a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to investigate the robustness of three latent interaction modeling approaches (constrained product indicator, generalized appended product indicator (GAPI), and latent moderated structural equations (LMS)) under high degrees of nonnormality of the exogenous indicators, which have not been investigated in previous literature. Results showed that the constrained product indicator and LMS approaches yielded biased estimates of the interaction effect when the exogenous indicators were highly nonnormal. When the violation of nonnormality was not severe (symmetric with excess kurtosis < 1), the LMS approach with ML estimation yielded the most precise latent interaction effect estimates. The LMS approach with ML estimation also had the highest statistical power among the three approaches, given that the actual Type-I error rates of the Wald and likelihood ratio test of interaction effect were acceptable. In highly nonnormal conditions, only the GAPI approach with ML estimation yielded unbiased latent interaction effect estimates, with an acceptable actual Type-I error rate of both the Wald test and likelihood ratio test of interaction effect. No support for the use of the Satorra-Bentler or Yuan-Bentler ML corrections was found across all three methods. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2010

abstract: Although the issue of factorial invariance has received increasing attention in the literature, the focus is typically on differences in factor structure across groups that are directly observed, such as those denoted by sex or ethnicity. While establishing factorial invariance across observed groups is a requisite step in making meaningful cross-group comparisons, failure to attend to possible sources of latent class heterogeneity in the form of class-based differences in factor structure has the potential to compromise conclusions with respect to observed groups and may result in misguided attempts at instrument development and theory refinement. The present studies examined the sensitivity of two widely used confirmatory factor analytic model fit indices, the chi-square test of model fit and RMSEA, to latent class differences in factor structure. Two primary questions were addressed. The first of these concerned the impact of latent class differences in factor loadings with respect to model fit in a single sample reflecting a mixture of classes. The second question concerned the impact of latent class differences in configural structure on tests of factorial invariance across observed groups. The results suggest that both indices are highly insensitive to class-based differences in factor loadings. Across sample size conditions, models with medium (0.2) sized loading differences were rejected by the chi-square test of model fit at rates just slightly higher than the nominal .05 rate of rejection that would be expected under a true null hypothesis. While rates of rejection increased somewhat when the magnitude of loading difference increased, even the largest sample size with equal class representation and the most extreme violations of loading invariance only had rejection rates of approximately 60%. RMSEA was also insensitive to class-based differences in factor loadings, with mean values across conditions suggesting a degree of fit that would generally be regarded as exceptionally good in practice. In contrast, both indices were sensitive to class-based differences in configural structure in the context of a multiple group analysis in which each observed group was a mixture of classes. However, preliminary evidence suggests that this sensitivity may contingent on the form of the cross-group model misspecification. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

The purpose of the study was to develop a scale to measure sexual orientation and to examine its psychometric properties. Previous scales were critically examined and compared and the need for a scale which simultaneously measures same and opposite sex responsiveness independently, and accounts for dynamic changes over time, while testing a number of overt and covert dimensions of sexual orientations, was established. A 48-item scale was designed to tap self-reported intensity and frequency of Emotional Attachment, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Attraction and Sexual Contact towards males and females in the Past, Present and Future. An initial study was conducted with 13 undergraduate university students of both genders, representing a variety of sexual orientations and nationalities, and qualitative feedback was obtained and utilized to make appropriate adjustments and refinements to the scale. The scale was then administered to 133 Rhodes University undergraduate psychology students to obtain quantitative data with regard to its internal structure. The scale was found to have a good internal consistency reliability Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.8106. Existing sub-scales had lower alpha coefficients. Factor analysis, a form of construct validation, was performed and four factors emerged. These had very good internal consistency reliability alpha coefficients: Sexual Responsiveness to Females (0.9894), Sexual Responsiveness to Males (0.9741), Emotional Attachment to Females (0.8403) and Emotional Attachment to Males (0.8372). These factors were further statistically analysed to ascertain how they relate to one another and to the demographics of gender, age, relational status and sexual orientation identity. Future research will need to assess other forms of reliability and validity and focus on larger and more varied samples.

Making tobacco products associated with lower risks available to smokers who would otherwise continue smoking is recognized as an important strategy towards addressing smoking-related harm. Predicting use behavior is an important major component of product risk assessment. In this context, risk perception is a possible factor driving tobacco product uptake and use. As prior to market launch real-world actual product use cannot be observed, assessing risk perception can provide predictive information. Considering the lack of suitable validated self-report instruments, the development of a new instrument was undertaken to quantify perceived risks of tobacco and nicotine-containing products by adult smokers, former smokers and never-smokers. Initial items were constructed based on a literature review, focus groups and expert opinion. Data for scale formation and assessment were obtained through two successive US-based web surveys (n=2020 and 1640 completers, respectively). Psychometric evaluation was based on Rasch Measurement Theory and Classical Test Theory. Psychometric evaluation supported the formation of an 18-item Perceived Health Risk scale and a 7-item Perceived Addiction Risk scale: item response option thresholds were ordered correctly for all items; item locations in each scale were spread out (coverage range 75-87%); scale reliability was supported by high person separation indices > 0.93, Cronbach's alpha > 0.98 and Corrected Item-Total Correlations > 0.88; and no differential item functioning was present. Construct validity evaluations met expectations through inter-scale correlations and findings from known-group comparisons. The Perceived Risk Instrument is a psychometrically robust instrument applicable for general and personal risk perception measurement, for use in different types of products (including cigarettes, nicotine replacement therapy, potential Modified Risk Tobacco Products), and for different status groups (i.e., current smokers with and without intention to quit, former smokers, never smokers).

Bem-Estar Psicológico é um construto multidimensional baseado no funcionamento psicológico positivo. Para mensurar sua teoria, Ryff propôs uma escala de seis dimensões, com versões de 120, 84, 54 e 18 itens. Este trabalho tem como um de seus objetivos revisar sistematicamente estudos de validação das versões da Escala de Bem-Estar Psicológico de Ryff, sumarizando as propriedades psicométricas das mesmas. Foram incluídos estudos quantitativos que utilizaram a escala de Bem-Estar Psicológico, considerando as versões originais de 120, 84, 54 e 18 itens. Foram considerados elegíveis apenas os estudos sobre a validação da escala de Ryff em quaisquer versões e estudos com diferente número de itens oriundos das versões originais citadas anteriormente. Como estratégia de busca incluiu-se às bases de dados indexados Scopus e National Library of Medicine (Pubmed). A primeira estratégia de busca consistiu de palavras e descritores de Bem-Estar Psicológico. A segunda estratégia de busca adicionou palavras para especificar publicações na área de psicometria. Foram encontrados 38 artigos, totalizando 54 estudos, pois alguns artigos possuem mais de um estudo. A versão de 18 itens foi a mais validada, com 16 estudos, o espanhol foi a língua mais utilizada, a maioria dos artigos realizou análise fatorial e grande parte das amostras era composta por adultos com alto nível de escolaridade. O outro objetivo é realizar a análise fatorial exploratória com diferentes versões da Escala de Bem-estar Psicológico de Ryff de 18 itens e realizar a análise fatorial confirmatória com o modelo que apresentou melhor ajuste. Trata-se de um estudo transversal aninhado a uma coorte, cuja amostra foi de 389 idosos. Os dados desse estudo foram obtidos a partir da coorte de Carlos Barbosa que tinha como objetivo avaliar a saúde geral, bucal e psicológica e estado nutricional de idosos vivendo de maneira independente neste município. Foi realizada análise fatorial exploratória para avaliar a estrutura dimensional da escala de 18 itens e análise fatorial confirmatória para o modelo de melhor ajuste. Conclui-se que a escala de Bem-Estar Psicológico não é culturalmente dependente e que há necessidade de modificação de alguns itens para que o construto seja corretamente aplicado e compreendido na amostra estudada. / Psychological Well-Being is a multidimensional construct based on positive psychological functioning. To measure his theory, Ryff proposed a six-dimensional scale, with versions of 120, 84, 54, and 18 items. This work has as one of its objectives to systematically review validation studies of Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale versions, summarizing their psychometric properties. We included quantitative studies that used the Psychological Well-Being scale, considering the original versions of 120, 84, 54 and 18 items. Only studies on the validation of the Ryff scale in any versions and studies with different numbers of items from the original versions mentioned above were considered eligible. As a search strategy, the indexed databases Scopus and National Library of Medicine (Pubmed) were included. The first search strategy consisted of words and descriptors of Psychological Well-Being. The second search strategy added words to specify publications in the area of psychometrics. We found 38 articles, totaling 54 studies, once some articles have more than one study. The 18-item version was the most validated, with 16 studies, Spanish was the most used language, most of the articles performed factorial analysis and most of the samples were composed of adults with a high level of education. The other objective is to perform the exploratory factorial analysis with different versions of the Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale of 18 items and perform the confirmatory factorial analysis with the model that presented the best fit. It is a cross-sectional study nested with a cohort, whose sample was 389 elderly. The data from this study were obtained from the Carlos Barbosa cohort whose objective was to evaluate the general, oral and psychological health and nutritional status of elderly people living independently in this municipality. An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to evaluate the dimensional structure of the 18-item scale and confirmatory factorial analysis for the best fit model. It is concluded that the Psychological Well-Being scale is not culturally dependent and that there is a need to modify some items so that the construct is correctly applied and understood in the sample studied.

abstract: Including a covariate can increase power to detect an effect between two variables. Although previous research has studied power in mediation models, the extent to which the inclusion of a mediator will increase the power to detect a relation between two variables has not been investigated. The first study identified situations where empirical and analytical power of two tests of significance for a single mediator model was greater than power of a bivariate significance test. Results from the first study indicated that including a mediator increased statistical power in small samples with large effects and in large samples with small effects. Next, a study was conducted to assess when power was greater for a significance test for a two mediator model as compared with power of a bivariate significance test. Results indicated that including two mediators increased power in small samples when both specific mediated effects were large and in large samples when both specific mediated effects were small. Implications of the results and directions for future research are then discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2013