Summarizes the conduct and results of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, an investigation that has assessed mental abilities in more than 5,000 adults and has followed some for as long as 35 years. Integrative findings are presented on age changes, cohort differences, factor structure, individual differences, and interventions. (SLD)

Distance education programs for adult learners have been largely neglected by developers of diagnostic instruments to identify students' level of academic preparedness. The purpose of this study was to modify the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) so that it could be used for learners in distance programs (A-LASSI) and to generate…

Although depression is considered to be common in the elderly, reliable rates of prevalence are lacking. Studies have shown that age differences on measures of depressive symptomatology can be attributed to higher levels of somatic complaints. In order to examine whether the association between somatic and depressive symptoms varies as a function…

The organization of cognitive factors in a sample of older adults was investigated by a joint factor analysis of the subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised (WJ-R) and the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude-Adult (DTLA-A). Two extensive batteries were administered, following R. W. Woodcock's recommendation that in…

A study involving 169 graduate nursing students (4 males and 165 females) was conducted to assess the construct validity of the Adult Career Concerns Inventory (ACCI). The ACCI is designed to assess career concerns of adults of any age and occupation. Focused on the "planfulness" and exploration factors of the theoretical model of…

Structural changes in an English as a Second Language (ESL) 30-item reading comprehension test were examined through principal components analysis on a small sample (n=31) of students. Tests were administered on three occasions during intensive ESL training. Principal components analysis of the items was performed for each test occasion.…

Examines the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised across nine age groups using several methods of factor analysis, including reliable component analysis (RCA). Factor structure is discussed, and the usefulness of the RCA method is demonstrated. (SLD)

Confirmatory factor analyses of 94 items on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator were performed for 1,091 adults. Results provided qualified support for the four-factor model. Exploratory factor analyses were also performed to identify areas in which model fit could be improved; these analyses strongly supported the four-factor analysis. (SLD)

This study was designed to explain how Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) could be viewed as a structural equations model (SEM). The study replicated the major profiles extracted from PAMS in the context of the latent variables in SEM. Data involved the Basic Theme Scales of the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory (Campbell and…

Some years ago, B. Efron and his colleagues developed bootstrap resampling methods as a way of estimating the degree to which statistical results will replicate across variations in sample. A basic problem in the multivariate use of bootstrap procedures involves the requirement that the results across resamplings must be rotated to best fit in a…

While scales assessing psychological well-being have been used both as criterion measures and as variables of interest in their own right, there has been little attempt to deal with the issue of the time-boundedness of perceived well-being. A study was undertaken to examine the combined factor structure of two measures of well-being, the…

This research aims to clarify the dimensionality of the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA). A multiple indicator structural equation model, which includes eleven items loading on three first-order factors and one second-order factor, is proposed to delineate the structure of LSIA. This model was empirically examined by using data from the 1974…

This study described an explicit multidimensional scaling (MDS) model for profile data, the Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) model. It also illustrated the application of this model to the study of the structure of cognitive ability patterns using the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised (WJPB-R; 1989; 1991) and…

The classification of intelligence has been a prime interest to many for over three-quarters of a century. The Wechsler scales of intelligence and the development of factor analysis have both played major roles in the shaping of psychometric thought. An examination of this joint history by means of a review of the factor analytic studies of the…

The Bath County Computer Attitude Scale (BCCAS) has received limited attention concerning its reliability and validity with a U.S. adult population. As developed by G. G. Bear, H. C. Richards, and P. Lancaster in 1987, the instrument assessed attitudes toward computers in areas of computer use, computer-aided instruction, programming and technical…