Problem Statement: Among individuals aged 12 years or older, 14.3% (40.0 million) reporting the use of an illicit drug in the previous year. Given the prevalence of drug abuse, it is increasingly important to determine effective screening practices, treatment procedures, and best practices among various subpopulations to identify drug use-related…

The effects of different response option orders on survey responses have been studied extensively. The typical research design involves examining the differences in response characteristics between conditions with the same item stems and response option orders that differ in valence--either incrementally arranged (e.g., strongly disagree to…

High attrition rates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines are an ongoing problem. Graduate student attrition, in particular, is understudied. Most past studies have focused on students' attributes, undergraduate preparation, and mentoring relationships. Emerging results from the implementation of the American Physical…

The current study examined the psychometric properties of scores from the Redox Concept Inventory (ROXCI) scores using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch analysis. CFA analysis provides evidence for construct validity, and Rasch analysis demonstrates the performance of ROXCI items in terms of their accuracy in estimating person…

Background: Sensory irregularities are commonly seen across developmental and intellectual disability groups. Identifying patterns of dysfunction within these clinical groups facilitates the development of appropriate intervention strategies. Thus, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the new Sensory Processing (SP) Scale Inventory rating…

Deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM)--the ability to interpret others' beliefs, intentions and emotions--undermine the ability of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to interact in socially normative ways. This study provides psychometric data for the Adult-Theory of Mind (A-ToM) measure using video-scenarios based in part on Happé's…

Six commonly used instruments for assessment of eating disorders were analyzed. Effect size results from Erford et al.'s (2013) meta-analysis for the treatment of bulimia nervosa were used to compare each scale's ability to measure treatment outcomes for bulimia nervosa. Effect size comparisons indicated higher overall effect sizes using the…

This quasi-experimental study examined expressive vocabulary outcomes for Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) toddlers, after one year of home-visiting services. First, this study applied Rasch modelling to establish the construct validity and reliability of a widely used expressive vocabulary measure, as modified for a sample of ethnic and…

Purpose: An analysis of the psychometric properties of an Icelandic version of McMasters Family Assessment Device (FAD) was conducted in this study. Method: Two groups, clinical and nonclinical, comprising of 529 parents answered the FAD. The study examined the internal reliability and discriminant validity of the instrument in addition to…

The paper by Wilson and Moore (this volume), based on the Messick Lecture delivered in 2006 at the annual Language Testing Research Colloquium in Melbourne, may present a familiar challenge to some language testers: of reading outside one's comfort zone. The distinctive character of language testing lies in its combination of two primary fields of…

Enzyme function is central to student understanding of multiple topics within the biochemistry curriculum. In particular, students must understand how enzymes and substrates interact with one another. This manuscript describes the development of a 15-item Enzyme-Substrate Interactions Concept Inventory (ESICI) that measures student understanding…

The psychometric properties of a questionnaire developed to assess symptoms of anxiety disorders (SCARED-71) were compared between two groups of children: children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and comorbid anxiety disorders (ASD-group; "n" = 115), and children with anxiety disorders (AD-group; "n" = 122).…

Bullying in schools has revealed deleterious psychosocial consequences for bullies, victims, and bystanders. Programs aimed at preventing bullying have largely revealed limited positive outcomes. Efforts that have been associated with positive results have drawn from the social-ecological model, focusing on the constellation of individual…

This study introduces the Satisfaction with Life Scale adapted for Children (SWLS-C) and presents psychometric findings regarding its validation. The SWLS-C was adapted from the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al. 1985), which is one of the most commonly used measures to assess satisfaction with life in adults. Three subject matter…

Introduction: Health educators who teach professionals about evidence-based practice (EBP) need instruments to measure change in skills and knowledge. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the interrater reliability, internal consistency, and responsiveness of the Adapted Fresno Test (AFT) of competence in EBP. Methods: Reliability testing…