We fit 10 PIRLS testlets with standard item response and testlet response theory model. The variances of testlet effects are examined and compared. Item parameters and ability parameters estimated from the two different models are compared. The results indicate that variances of testlet effects range from .168 to .489. Item parameters as well as ability parameter estimated from two approaches c...

Because children are becoming overweight, unhealthy, and unfit, understanding the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle in childhood has important public health and educational implications. Animal research has indicated that aerobic exercise is related to increased cell proliferation and survival in the hippocampus as well as enhanced hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Recent ...

BACKGROUND In Western European countries, the prevalence of depressive symptoms is higher among ethnic minority groups, compared to the host population. We explored whether these inequalities reflect variance in the way depressive symptoms are measured, by investigating whether items of the PHQ-9 measure the same underlying construct in six ethnic groups in the Netherlands. METHODS A total of...

OBJECTIVES Melancholic features of depression (MFD) seem to be a unidimensional group of signs and symptoms. However, little importance has been given to the evaluation of what features are related to a more severe disorder. That is, what are the MFD that appear only in the most depressed patients. We aim to demonstrate how each MFD is related to the severity of the major depressive disorder. ...

Background The Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) was developed as a wrist joint specific measure of pain and disability and evidence of sound validity has been accumulated through classical psychometric methods. Rasch analysis (RA) has been endorsed as a newer method for analyzing the clinical measurement properties of self-report outcome measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ...

The study was designed to estimate the psychometric properties of Hastings and Brown's (2002a) Difficult Behavior Self-efficacy Scale. Participants were two samples of physical educators teaching in Korea (n=229) and the United States (U.S.; n=139). An initial translation of the questionnaire to Korean and pilot study were conducted along with the larger study using a confirmatory factor analys...

This study aimed to develop the Metacognitive Skills Assessment in a Research Proposal Writing Context (MSARPW), multidimensional measure, based on student perspectives, for assessing metacognitive skills thesis writing, and assess instrument’s psychometric properties using item factor analysis (IFA) response models. The 40-item MSARPW was administered 602 Indonesian university students (Mage =...

Background: assessment of psychopathy has gained much attention in the past few decades. The four-factor model of psychopathy has proved to be an efficient model for assessment of psychopathy in forensic and non-forensic samples. Several measures have been developed to capture the four-factor model. These four factors are labeled as interpersonal manipulation, criminal tendencies, erratic lifes...