Assessment最新文献

Traditional clinical scale development is a lengthy and resource-intensive process, particularly during the empirical validation phase. This paper proposes a paradigm shift by introducing a computational pre-validation framework that leverages sentence embedding models to assess semantic properties of scale items prior to data collection. By transforming items into high-dimensional vector representations and analyzing their relationships within an MTMM-like structure, our method identifies potential item ambiguity, evaluates construct coherence, and tests discriminant validity at an early stage. We demonstrate its utility using widely used clinical instruments-including the SNAP-IV, CBCL Aggressive Behavior scale, and DSM-5-TR Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) criteria-revealing semantic patterns that align with established psychometric properties. While not intended to replace traditional validation, this approach offers a novel, cost-effective complement that can inform early revisions and reduce pilot testing cycles. We develop an open-source R package "embedScaleValid" to facilitate practical implementation. This work introduces a new perspective in clinical assessment science, integrating advances in NLP to enhance the efficiency and validity of psychological measurement tools.

Recent research has emphasized the conceptual distinction between personality traits and social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills. However, their self-report measures show substantial empirical overlap. This study introduces and evaluates the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory-Dual Rating (BESSI-Dual Rating), a modified version of the original BESSI designed to reduce this overlap. A sample of 598 Italian high school students completed the BESSI-Dual Rating, a Big Five personality inventory, and measures of academic and socio-emotional outcomes. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the structural validity of the BESSI-Dual Rating. Compared to previous BESSI validation studies, BESSI-Dual Rating scores showed improved discriminant and incremental validity relative to the corresponding traits. Furthermore, students perceived skill- and tendency-based items as meaningfully distinct-contrary to findings from prior research using alternative instruments. Parent-reported SEB skills provided additional support for the validity of the skill measures. These findings suggest that minor but targeted refinements in questionnaire design can enhance the empirical differentiation between skills and traits.

There are few performance-based tests assessing feigned severe psychopathology, and they tend to focus on specific diagnostic presentations. We explored how feigning impacts the Rorschach task, a typical performance test, with a preregistered meta-analysis of 21 studies (32 contrasts) comparing feigners of severe psychopathology (including experimental simulation and suspected malingering designs) to both nonclinical and clinical control groups. We investigated hypothesized Rorschach variables, controlling for the Number of Responses and adjusting for skewness when feasible. Compared with nonclinical controls, feigners simulate by increasing indicators of perception and thinking problems and exaggerating indicators of stress and distress; however, their task engagement remained similar. Relative to clinical controls, feigners provided less simplistic responses, displayed fewer thinking problems, similar perceptual difficulties, and exaggerated stress and distress indicators. We discuss three novel composites that may improve the detection of feigned severe psychopathology. These findings contribute to future research and clinical assessment in forensic contexts.

Recommended performance validity test (PVT) cutoffs may vary across examinee characteristics. This study evaluated Word Choice (WC) and Test of Memory Malingering Trial 1 (TOMM T1) cutoffs in a diverse clinical sample (41% Hispanic/Latino, 26% English/Spanish bilingual, education: 5-20 years). Logistic regressions examined predictors of performance using established cutoffs. Older age predicted reduced odds of WC valid performance. Higher education predicted increased odds of WC and TOMM T1 valid performance. Ethnicity and language were not statistically significant predictors. WC false positive rates were low (4.8%-6.5%) and did not differ by ethnicity or language. TOMM T1 false positives were higher in Hispanic/Latino and bilingual participants (13.5%-14.3%) compared to Non-Hispanic/Latino and monolingual participants (9%-10%); differences were nonsignificant. WC and TOMM T1 cutoffs appear appropriate for Hispanic/Latino and bilingual examinees, though caution is warranted given elevated TOMM T1 false positives and risk of misclassification in examinees with less education.

Hopelessness is conceptualized as a cognitive schema characterized by negative expectations regarding the future. It is linked to various psychopathological conditions, including depression, suicide, and schizophrenia. Consequently, the assessment of hopelessness has become a crucial element in both clinical practice and research. The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is the most extensively used instrument for measuring hopelessness and has been the focus of substantial research across diverse samples over many years. However, discussions on the factor structure of the scale continue. The present study investigated the factor structure of the BHS through a meta-analytic confirmatory factor analysis and synthesized the findings from the literature. The study included 52 samples (N = 35,628) derived from 36 studies that provided factor loadings from the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results indicated that among the models examined for the BHS, the positive-negative bifactor model demonstrated the best fit to the data. Furthermore, the measurement invariance of this model was examined across age, gender composition, language, cultural orientation, and clinical status. Measurement invariance was not supported across these groups, suggesting that the latent structure of the BHS may vary according to key demographic, linguistic, cultural, and clinical status.

Given the paucity of brief self-report instruments to assess youth's personality, this study aimed to develop the 15-item Dichotomous Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-15D) and to preliminarily test its psychometric properties. It consists of a 15-item adaptation of the BFI-2 for children and adolescents, which considers the breadth of the 5 traits and is rated on a dichotomous scale. In a sample of 970 7- to 12-year-olds, we found support for its factorial structure, invariant across sex and age level. Despite expected drawbacks in internal consistency, corrected item-total correlations were adequate across all dimensions. Moreover, the BFI-2-15D shows evidence consistent with discriminant and concurrent validity. Notwithstanding limitations, this brief questionnaire may represent a useful alternative to longer instruments in research contexts characterized by time constraints and when it is important to reduce respondents' fatigue and cognitive load.

Practical, neurologically validated measures of emotion identification are still needed in the dementia field. The Dynamic Affect Recognition Test (DART) was designed to identify emotion reading deficits in persons with dementia (PWD). Participants included 257 early-stage PWD and 115 healthy controls (HC) who underwent DART and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). DART performance was worse in PWD than in HC, with the lowest scores observed in the semantic behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (sbvFTD). DART showed strong diagnostic specificity (areas under the curve (AUCs) ≥82% comparing syndromes), with the highest performance distinguishing syndromes with prominent socioemotional impairment, particularly sbvFTD. DART performance was associated with other emotion identification measures and predicted real-world socioemotional sensitivity. Poorer DART performance predominantly correlated with focal atrophy in right-sided emotion processing areas, including the insula, temporal pole, and caudate head. The DART is a brief, clinically practical, video-based test of emotion identification designed for PWD that accurately reflects the neuroanatomy involved in emotion.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition requiring early and accurate identification to optimize outcomes. The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale (SNAP-IV) is widely used to assess ADHD symptoms; however, its length may limit feasibility in large-scale screening. This study applied a multi-algorithm machine-learning framework to refine the 18 core ADHD items of the SNAP-IV by identifying the most predictive items through cross-model consensus ranking while preserving balanced symptom construct representation. Data were drawn from the Taiwan National Epidemiological Study of Child Mental Disorders (410 ADHD, 3,607 controls) and an independent National Taiwan University Hospital cohort (676 ADHD, 374 controls). Across ten classifiers optimized for screening with priority on sensitivity, reduced subsets comprising 4 parent-reported and 6 teacher-reported items retained robust predictive performance across cohorts. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural validity of the two-factor (Inattention/Hyperactivity-Impulsivity) shortened scales, with strong latent reliability (McDonald's omega). A machine learning-derived, construct-balanced SNAP-IV short form provides an efficient and psychometrically sound tool for ADHD screening.

Both positive and adverse developmental experiences have significant impacts across the lifespan. Psychometric measurement of adversity serves multiple conceptual frameworks for parsing experiences; however, existing measurements of positive experiences largely serve count-based frameworks. We present the POS-DEV scale, a retrospective measure of positive experiences with caregivers, close friends, and adult role models across experience dimensions of psychosocial predictability, opportunity, and safety. Exploratory factor analyses (Study 1, n = 406; Study 2, n = 316) reduced items while a confirmatory factor analysis (Study 3, n = 289) confirmed a final factor structure for POS-DEV across childhood and adolescent windows with excellent psychometric properties and construct validity. Six-month test-retest reliability (Study 4, n = 203) was excellent for total scores. Positive experiences explained variation in adult mental health above and beyond adversity effects (Study 5, n = 1,021), highlighting the POS-DEV scale's utility for capturing important but under-measured promotional aspects of the early psychosocial environment.

Fifty-five children and adolescents with complicated mild-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) completed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) within 1 to 12 months post-injury. Compared with demographically matched neurologically healthy controls, selected from the WISC-V standardization sample, participants with TBI demonstrated statistically significantly lower scores across WISC-V indices. The working memory, processing speed, and cognitive proficiency indices also demonstrated statistically significant negative correlations with brain injury severity based on time to follow commands. Logistic regression analyses unequivocally supported a priori criteria for the processing speed index and partially supported the cognitive proficiency index (but not the working memory index) in accurately predicting brain injury versus control group membership. In conclusion, our results provided moderate support for the criterion-related validity of the WISC-V cognitive proficiency index in the evaluation of sequelae of pediatric traumatic brain injury.