Search

Previous methods for measurement of the autokinetic effect have several drawbacks, including limited accuracy and limited information. A new computer technique for measurement of the autokinetic effect is presented. A computer and computer mouse record tracing movements every tenth of a second, yielding a permanent record that can be analyzed further. The method is flexible, sensitive, and stable, as shown by test-retest correlations using 26 subjects. Correlations and medians for latency, total distance traveled, number of stops, straight line distance from origin to endpoint, maximum speed, maximum acceleration, percent of time in motion, and speed and percent of motion in each of eight compass directions were computed. The results are similar to previously reported values.

The studies presented by Reardon, Kalogrides, and Ho provide preliminary support for a National Assessment of Educational Progress–based aggregate linking of state assessments when used for research purposes. In this commentary, I suggest future efforts to explore possible sources of district-level bias, evaluation of predictive accuracy at the state level, and a better understanding of the performance of the linking when applied to the inevitable nonrepresentative district samples that will be encountered in research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We illustrate the application of mixture IRT models to evaluate respondent confusion due to the negative wording of certain items on a social-emotional learning (SEL) assessment. Using actual student self-report ratings on four social-emotional learning scales collected from students in grades 3–12 from CORE Districts in the state of California, we also evaluate the consequences of the potential confusion in biasing student- and school-level scores as well as the estimated correlational relationships between SEL constructs and student-level variables. Models of both full and partial confusion are examined. Our results suggest that (1) rating scale confusion due to negatively worded items does appear to be present; (2) the confusion is most prevalent at lower grade levels (third–fifth); and (3) the occurrence of confusion is positively related to both reading proficiency and ELL status, as anticipated, and consequently biases estimates of SEL correlations with these student-level variables. For these reasons, we suggest future iterations of the SEL measures use only positively oriented items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family research in the field of ASD has focused on describing the impact of child challenges on parents, usually mothers, and given little attention to the ways in which mothers and fathers reciprocally influence the development of the child with ASD. The current study examined the direction of effects between the emotional quality of the mother-child and father-child relationships and the child's severity of ASD symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems across three time points spanning 2 years. Using parent Five Minute Speech Samples and teacher ratings of the severity of the child's ASD symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems, four cross-lagged structural equation models were employed to test bidirectional effects between parent warmth and criticism and child ASD symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems across three waves of data (approximately 12 months apart) in 159 families who had a child with ASD (initially aged 6 to 13 years). Mothers and fathers had an average age of 39.53 (SD=5.55) and 41.66 years (SD=6.19). Children with ASD were predominately male (86.2%) and white, non-Hispanic (76.7%). Crossed-lagged model results indicated bidirectional effects for both mothers and fathers. Warmth in the mother-child relationship and father-child relationship impacted child functioning at earlier time points. In the opposite direction, child functioning impacted father warmth and mother criticism at later time points. Findings indicate that the emotional quality of the parent-child relationships are bidirectionally related to the symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems of children with ASD. Important implications for supporting families are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete-option multiple-choice (DOMC) items differ from traditional multiple-choice (MC) items in the sequential administration of response options (up to display of the correct option). DOMC can be appealing in computer-based test administrations due to its protection of item security and its potential to reduce testwiseness effects. A psychometric model for DOMC items that attends to the random positioning of key location across different administrations of the same item is proposed, a feature that has been shown to affect DOMC item difficulty. Using two empirical data sets having items administered in both DOMC and MC formats, the variability in key location effects across both items and persons is considered. The proposed model exploits the capacity of the DOMC format to isolate both (a) distinct sources of item difficulty (i.e., related to the identification of keyed responses versus the ruling out of distractor options) and (b) distinct person proficiencies related to the same two components. Practical implications in terms of the randomized process applied to schedule item key location in DOMC test administrations are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Exploring the Effects of Item Specific Factors in Sequential and IRTree Models" published in the journal Psychometrika. The correction notice addresses a miscommunication regarding the authors of commentaries on the paper, clarifying that the commentary "Item-Specific Factors in IRTree Models: When They Matter and When They Don't" should be attributed to Meiser and Reiber, not DeBoeck. The notice apologizes for any confusion caused by this error. The publisher, Springer Nature, maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

The functioning of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in several offender populations was investigated by using item response theory. Application of a multigroup graded response model to four groups suggested that scalar equivalence might hold at least approximately for each population, although the PCL-R provided greater information about the latent trait of psychopathy for male criminal offenders scored from the standard procedure.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder report elevated parenting stress. The current study examined bidirectional effects between parenting stress and three domains of child functioning (ASD symptoms, internalizing behavior problems, and externalizing behavior problems) across four time points in 188 families of children with ASD (ages 5–12 years). Mother and father reports of parenting stress and child functioning were used in cross-lag models to examine bidirectional associations between parenting stress and child functioning. Results indicated parent-driven effects for child internalizing behavior problems, while child externalizing behavior problems and ASD symptoms evidenced both parent-driven and child-driven effects, in different ways for mothers versus fathers. Overall, findings have important implications for interventions for families of children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract NHC-boranes react with oxalic acid in acetonitrile slowly at room temperature and rapidly at 80 °C to form NHC-boryl oxalates. For example, heating of 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene borane with oxalic acid in acetonitrile (80 °C, 2 h) provides the cyclic NHC-boryl oxalate derived from two sequential acid/base reactions in 59% isolated yield. The new NHC-boryl oxalates are robust white solids that are formally complexes of 1,3,2-dioxaborolane-4,5-dione, itself an unknown heterocycle. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article reviews research on executive function (EF) skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the relation between EF and language abilities. The current study assessed EF using nonverbal tasks of inhibition, shifting, and updating of working memory (WM) in school-age children with ASD. It also evaluated the association between children's receptive and expressive language abilities and EF performance. Method: In this study, we sought to address variables that have contributed to inconsistencies in this area of research--including task issues, group comparisons, and participant heterogeneity. EF abilities in children with ASD (n = 48) were compared to typically developing controls (n = 71) matched on age, as well as when statistically controlling for group differences in nonverbal cognition, socioeconomic status, and social communication abilities. Six nonverbal EF tasks were administered-2 each to evaluate inhibition, shifting, and WM. Language abilities were assessed via a standardized language measure. Language--EF associations were examined for the ASD group as a whole and subdivided by language status. Results: Children with ASD exhibited significant deficits in all components of EF compared to age-mates and showed particular difficulty with shifting after accounting for group differences in nonverbal cognition. Controlling for social communication--a core deficit in ASD--eliminated group differences in EF performance. A modest association was observed between language (especially comprehension) and EF skills, with some evidence of different patterns between children on the autism spectrum with and without language impairment. Conclusions: There is a need for future research to examine the direction of influence between EF and language. It would be beneficial for EF interventions with children with ASD to consider language outcomes and, conversely, to examine whether specific language training facilitates aspects of executive control in children on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]