The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV), specifically the disruptive behavior module for preschool-age children. The participants were 128 children (M = 4.43 years, SD = .54; Girls = 63) of African American (n = 37), European American (n = 41), Latino American (n = 38), and Mixed Ethnic (n = 12) background from Western Massachusetts. The overall internal consistency, concurrent validity, and predictive validity of the ADHD and ODD subsections were examined. Gender and ethnicity were examined as potential moderators of those as well. The DISC-IV and a behavior rating scale for teachers were administered at the beginning of the school year and the administration of the rating scale occurred again at end of the school year. The DISC-IV ADHD and ODD subsections exhibited acceptable overall internal consistency. The concurrent validity of the ADHD subsection was also found, but not for the ODD subsection. Most importantly, both DISC-IV subsections exhibited overall predictive validity, above initial teacher ratings. Partially supporting our hypotheses, ethnicity moderated the concurrent validity of the DISC-IV ADHD subsection, with DISC-IV scores of African American children having a stronger association with teachers’ ratings; boys also exhibited a stronger association than girls although not reaching significance. Also approaching significance, the DISC ADHD subsection appeared to predict year-end teacher ratings better for African American children than for European American and Latino American children. Overall, the DISC-IV was found to be a psychometrically reliable and valid diagnostic instrument for preschool-age children.

Thesis advisor: Margaret Lombe / For children that overcome Nigeria’s high child mortality rate, there is the additional and less-obvious hurdle of not reaching their full potential in life due to developmental delays. When children are on track developmentally, they stand a better chance of being ready for school, excelling academically, economically, and socially throughout the lifespan. Fewer studies in the Nigerian context have examined how known risk and protective factors interact to affect early childhood development (ECD). This three-paper dissertation used data from the nationally representative 2016/17 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and was guided by the social determinants of health framework, the socioecological model of child development, and the family stress and investment models. The study highlighted the factors, including disparities across the multiethnic and diverse socioeconomic groups of Nigeria that are associated with child outcomes. i. Paper 1 assessed the performance and psychometric properties of the 10-item ECDI used in the MICS to track developmental outcomes among Nigerian children. ii. Paper 2 characterized the risk and protective factors for ECD across the 36 states and FCT of Nigeria using a multilevel modeling approach and, iii. Paper 3 used a structural regression to model the association between maternal subjective wellbeing (SWB), and developmental outcomes among the 3- to 4-year-old children. Findings highlighted discrepancies in the construct validity of the ECDI. Across the studies, resources, and family socioeconomic status particularly maternal level of education were significant predictors of outcomes for the child. Further, the study revealed that a child’s developmental context matters, where 29% of the variation in child outcomes was attributed to clustering by states. The studies extend prior research on ECD in Nigeria by its use of more accurate milestones to characterize ECD, its multilevel modeling approach, and its investigation of maternal SWB as a proxy for mental health. In all, findings from the dissertation call attention to the need to revise the ECDI, and for culturally adapted and validated ECD instruments. The study also highlighted the need to invest more resources in child development, mental health, and family strengthening especially through maternal education and wealth creation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

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no / This study aimed to determine if response times gathered during perimetry can be exploited within a thresholding algorithm to improve the speed and accuracy of the test. Frequency of seeing (FoS) curves were measured at 24 locations across the central 30° of the visual field of 10 subjects using a Method of Constant Stimuli, with response times recorded for each presentation. Spatial locations were interleaved, and built up over multiple 5-min blocks, in order to mimic the attentional conditions of clinical perimetry. FoS curves were fitted to each participant’s data for each location, and response times derived as a function of distance-from-threshold normalised to the slope of each FoS curve. This data was then used to derive a function for the probability of observing response times given the distance-from-threshold, and to seed simulations of a new test procedure (BURTO) that exploited the probability function for stimulus placement. Test time and error were then simulated for patients with various false response rates. When compared with a ZEST algorithm, simulations revealed that BURTO was about one presentation per location faster than ZEST, on average, while sacrificing less precision and bias in threshold estimates than simply terminating the ZEST earlier. Despite response times varying considerably for a given individual and their thresholds, response times can be exploited to reduce the number of presentations required in a visual field test without loss of accuracy.

Methods A standardised measurement tool was developed by identifying aspects of self that can be measured, and research methods that are effective at investigating self in people without dementia. The measure consists of three sets of illustrated ‘I am…’ statements representing Activities, Traits and Physical Characteristics, and Relationships and Occupations. Participants were asked to (i) sort these according to whether each was ‘just like me’, ‘a bit like me’ or ‘not at all like me’ (ii) sort their ‘just like me’ choices to identify the statement most like them; (iii) describe memories associated with this statement. The measure was tested with 20 people with dementia to inform refinement. The refined measure was tested for reliability and validity by comparing results from five people with dementia and six age-matched people without dementia. Results Outcome measures were strength, complexity and quality of self and an ‘episodicity’ score reflecting the descriptive richness of memories. The initial administration to 20 people indicated that the measure was suitable for people with mild to moderate dementia, and the outcomes were meaningful and reliable. An ‘Observational Framework’ was developed to enable measurement of self via gestures and expressions of people with limited verbal abilities. The second study indicated that the new measure has good test-retest reliability, but convergent validity was not demonstrated. Participants with dementia demonstrated strength, complexity and quality of self scores comparable to participants without dementia. The results suggest that providing visual cues bypasses the cognitive processes required for effortful recall. / Alzheimer’s Society

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Yes / Research Question: To assess the feasibility of the MGSIS-5and G3L-20 in a community sample of cisgender men aged 40 years and older Research problem: Psychometric measures can aid urologic practice by prompting patients to talk about aspects of their body that are either too sensitive or a natural part of aging. Importantly, reliable and valid measures can also contribute to a an evidenced-based-practice-based-evidence cycle where they can establish the impact of changes recommended by research while using the results in turn to inform research. In this study, we examine two psychometric measures on the opposite ends of a psychological-physical continuum; the Male Genital Self-Image Scale (MGSIS-5) and the Groin and Lower Limb Lymphedema questionnaire (G3L-20) Methodology: Non-experimental psychometric design administering the questionnaires online to a community sample of cisgender men aged 40 years old and above. Validity and reliability analyses were conducted. Results: 30 men completed the study; 14 aged 40-49, 14 aged 50-59 and 2 aged 60-69. The MGSIS-5 and G3L-20 show acceptable reliability and validity with one- and three-component structures respectively. Conclusions: The MGSIS-5 and G3L-20 show sufficient feasibility to justify the resources for studies with larger community samples and for pilot studies with clinical populations.

This study provided reliability and validity evidence to substantiate the Implementation Profile Inventory II's (IPI-II) use as a measure of a user's perceptions of Ely's (1990a) eight conditions of change. To establish the psychometric properties of the IPI-II, three alternative factor structure models for Ely's conditions were compared. A confirmatory approach was used for the analysis of the evidence. A four-factor structure hypothesized by Ensminger et al (2004) appears to fit reasonably well; however, this study provided stronger evidence for a fifth underlying construct as a better model for the IPI-II's structure in a sample of 252 university faculty and staff. Perceptions of conditions that influence implementation of innovations are important measures of success and can serve as a planning guide for the instructional designer (Ely, 1990a, 1990b, 1999a, 1999b; Ensminger and Surry, 2002; Ensminger, 2005). The IPI-II is a revised scale (Ensminger and Surry, n.d.) designed to measure a user's perceptions of the importance of Ely's eight conditions of change. Psychometric information was obtained and reported on the measure's dimensionality, reliability, and validity. Recommendations are offered to facilitate the revision of questionnaire items to achieve a stable, well-defined solution for the factor structure (dimensionality) of the IPI-II. This study represented the first psychometric evaluation of the IPI-II and the first confirmatory study in the development cycle of the Implementation Profile Inventory. / Ph. D.