Describes the results of administering the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) to 400 incarcerated drug-using women. Reports on AUDIT's utility, validity, and reliability. Results demonstrate that AUDIT can be used to identify problem drinkers among incarcerated, drug-using women. (MKA)

The Reliable Digits (RD) method of detecting malingering developed by M. Greiffenstein, J. Baker, and T. Gola (1994) was studied with 47 mild brain injury litigating and 49 mild brain injury nonlitigating participants. Results support the previous finding that the validity of each of the specific neuropsychological tests for brain injury should be…

Three new improved scales that measure independent divergent-thinking attitudes were developed: "Valuing New Ideas,""Belief That Creativity Is Not for Only a Select Few," and "Not Feeling Too Busy for New Ideas." Two studies found the scales to have higher internal consistencies, improved understanding and labeling, and external validity.…

A series of five integrated experiments with 155 subjects to determine validity of the TOMM showed that scores on the TOMM are able to detect when an individual is not putting forth maximum effort. TOMM's high levels of sensitivity and specificity suggest that it has high promise as a clinical test for detecting malingering of memory impairments.…

Inconsistent item-pair Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) and True Response Inconsistency (TRIN) scales were developed for the Jesness Inventory using 500 male and female delinquents to detect random and acquiescent sets. Specificities above 0.90 showed sensitivities up to 0.89 for VRIN and 0.85 and 0.62 for TRIN. Predictive power and overall…

The Missouri Occupational Card Sort (MOCS) and the Self-Directed Search were completed by 298 college students and 97 Upward Bound students. MOCS demonstrated adequate reliability. Holland's hexagonal model did not serve as an adequate factor structure for MOCS. Participants favored the MOCS. (SK)

Respondents' Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) classifications may differ considerably on the basis of the form and scoring method used. The BSRI was reexamined with respect to past and present relevance. (Contains 62 references and 3 tables.) (Author)

Aims to provide school psychologists with valid instruments to assess goals and reputations of young children by determining whether Importance of Goals and Reputation Enhancement Scales could be replicated with a primary school sample. The factor structure proved replicable and reliable for the two scales. Second-order factor structure was only…

Describes the development of an instrument to measure substance abuse counseling orientations. The Powerless-Empowerment Scale, which was developed by investigating its reliability and viability, demonstrated initial promise as an instrument that can be used in a variety of settings in the substance abuse field. (Contains 22 references.) (GCP)

Examines whether the Clinical Rating Scale retains its validity when used by psychotherapists in their clinical practice. Confirmatory factor analysis reveals that data provides a reasonable approximation of the underlying factor structure. Concludes that although primarily considered a research instrument, the scale may have a role in clinical…

Assessed the predictive validity of the Risk and Promise Profile [copyright], which identifies personal and social influences on academic persistence, with diverse sample of older college students. Hierarchical multiple regression and ANOVA indicated that the profile explains significant portions of the variance associated with academic success,…

Describes the President's Challenge, a program of fitness testing for 6- to 17-year-olds from the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Identifies requirements for the Presidential Physical Fitness Award for exercises and running, by age level and sex. Includes information on the validity of the award standards. (KB)

Reviews the conclusions about student ratings of teacher effectiveness on which most experts agree, cites some of the main sources of support for these conclusions, and discusses some dissenting opinions and the research support for those opinions. (EV)

Examines student ratings of teacher effectiveness within a new framework that emphasizes six distinct aspects of validity: content, substantive, structural, generalizability, external, and consequential. Concludes that greater attention should be directed toward consequential validity, particularly how ratings are used on today's campuses and what…

Discusses general issues relevant to the use of measures in diverse populations. Describes the ideal strategy for developing a measure of underlying constructs. Describes the relevance of an examination of measurement equivalence in developing a measure for use in diverse populations and key issues to be addressed in measure development. (KB)