An operational definition for "rural area" is pivotal if proposals, policies and decisions aimed at optimising the distribution of resources, closing the gap on inequity between areas and raising standards of living for the least advantaged populations are to be put in place. The concept of rurality, however, is often based on…

Teacher efficacy is linked to student achievement and classroom practices in general and special education, but has not been explored in early intervention (EI). Based upon the work of Gibson and Dembo [Gibson, S., & Dembo, M. H. (1984). Teacher efficacy: A contrast validation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(4) 569-582], a 15-item early…

Establishing an instrument's factorial invariance provides the empirical foundation to compare an individual's score across time or to examine the pattern of correlations between variables in differentiated age groups. In the recently published Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ COG) and Achievement (WJ ACH) Third Edition (III) the…

Classical factor analysis assumes independent and identically distributed observations. Educational data, however, are often hierarchically structured, with, for example, students being nested within classes. In this study, data on self-esteem gathered in a sample of 1,107 students within 72 school classes in Switzerland were analyzed using…

The purpose of the present study is to investigate evidence of the validity of Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics Scale (SATS) scores and their relationship with scores from two other measures of attitudes toward statistics, the Attitude Toward Statistics Scale (ATS) and the Statistics Attitude Survey. The pre- and postcourse responses of 342…

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is one of the most widely used measures in psychiatric outcome and clinical psychopharmacology research. To date, however, research on the psychometric properties of the expanded version of the BPRS (BPRS-E) has been limited. An exploratory factor analysis (n = 360) using maximum likelihood extraction with…

Using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), perceptions of global stress were assessed in 111women following breast cancer surgery and at 12 and 24 months later. This is the first study to factor analyze the PSS. The PSS data were factor analyzed each time using exploratory factor analysis with oblique direct quartimin rotation. Goodness-of-fit…

This study compared scores on two divergent thinking tests, the Verbal and the Figural Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), with scores on two creativity interest inventories, Davis's How Do You Think? and Raudsepp's How Creative Are You? The creativity interest inventories showed weak correlations with the Verbal TTCT and no correlations…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test three plausible conceptualizations of Inattention-Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (Ina-H-I) derived from the Attention Problems syndrome of the Teacher's Report Form (TRF): (a) a one factor model representing a general Ina-H-I factor; (b) a correlated two-factor model representing the Inattention (Ina) and…

This study investigated the structure of self-concept in Lebanon using an Arabic adaptation of the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ-I). Using a sample of 392 early and late adolescents, the study examined (a) the reliability of the scale, (b) gender, age, and socioeconomic (SE) differences in self-concept, (c) the extent to which self-concept…

Ten different confirmatory factor analysis models, including ones with correlated traits correlated methods, correlated traits correlated uniqueness, and correlated traits uncorrelated methods, were proposed to examine the factorial structure of the French version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). In line with previous studies…

We consider the question of how variation in the number and reliability of indicators affects the power to reject the hypothesis that the regression coefficients are zero in latent linear regression analysis. We show that power remains constant as long as the coefficient of determination remains unchanged. Any increase in the number of indicators…

Growing interest in positive change following trauma and adversity has prompted the development of a number of different labels and measurement instruments. This proliferation has led to some conceptual confusion, due to the different labels being used, and structural confusion, due to the different numbers of underlying factors proposed. The…

The present study was conducted to test the ability of two subscales from the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (FQQ; Parker & Asher, 1993) to discriminate between different target friendships. This was done by testing for mean differences between targets, and by using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine the factor…

This study used data from 220 adults to examine the relations among 3 inhibition-related functions. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that Prepotent Response Inhibition and Resistance to Distractor Interference were closely related, but both were unrelated to Resistance to Proactive Interference. Structural equation modeling, which combined…