BACKGROUND Self-efficacy is needed for effectuating lifestyle changes, and it is therefore an important target related to health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) using Rasch analysis in a sample of adults with morbid obesity. METHODS A convenience sample of adults with morbid obesity was recruited from patient educ...

PURPOSE To determine the psychometric validity of the National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) and its subscale structure for use in people with low vision. METHODS Two hundred thirty-two participants completed the NEI VFQ-25. Rasch analysis was used to test the psychometric performance of the questionnaire and each subscale. Factor models were hypothesized and tested...

We performed a Rasch analysis of cross-sectional developmental data gathered from children and adults who were presented with a task series derived from Inhelder's and Piaget's balance beam. The partial credit model situates both participants and items along a single hierarchically ordered dimension. As the Model of Hierarchical Complexity predicted, order of hierarchical complexity accurately ...

PURPOSE To investigate whether the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) possesses the essential psychometric characteristics to measure depressive symptoms in people with visual impairment. METHODS The PHQ-9 scale was completed by 103 participants with low vision. These data were then assessed for fit to the Rasch model. RESULTS The participants' mean +/- standard deviation (SD) age was 7...

OBJECTIVE To examine internal construct validity of the Neurobehavioral Functioning Inventory (NFI) by applying Rasch analysis. SETTING An outpatient rehabilitation program trial in New Zealand employing a goal-setting intervention in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). PARTICIPANTS One hundred eight people (mean age = 46 years; 73% male) between 6 months and 5 years post-TBI. DESIG...

People with chronic conditions, such as epilepsy, are at a high risk for depression; however depression is often under-recognized and undertreated. Depression scales, including one specific to people with epilepsy, have been used for screening in this population, although none have been assessed with Rasch measurement theory. This study used Rasch analyses in order to evaluate and compare the p...

A study was proposed to determine to what extent a hierarchical structure exists in music and in tests used to measure music ability. The first research question was whether items in the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale (J. Watkins and S. Farnum, 1954) (WFPS) form a hierarchy, so that early exercises (bars played) are generally easier than later ones. Another question was whether the items in t...

BACKGROUND Little research has assessed the degree of severity and ordering of different types of sexual behaviors for HIV/STI infection in a measurement scale. The purpose of this study was to apply the Rasch model on psychometric assessment of an HIV/STI sexual risk scale among men who have sex with men (MSM). METHODS A cross-sectional study using respondent driven sampling was conducted am...

One of the major objections to the standard multiple-recapture approach to population estimation is the assumption of homogeneity of individual “capture” probabilities. Modeling individual capture heterogeneity is complicated by the fact that it shows up as as a restricted form of interaction between lists in the contingency table cross-classifying list memberships for all individuals. Traditio...

BACKGROUND The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) is one of the most frequently used and recommended outcome measures for patients with low back pain. OBJECTIVE To examine the fit of data from 4 different versions of the RDQ to a Rasch model in a Norwegian sample of patients with chronic low back pain and degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis. METHODS Patients with chronic low back p...