Item response theory (IRT) is an increasingly popular approach to the development, evaluation, and administration of psychological measures. We introduce, first, three IRT fundamentals: (a) item response functions, (b) information functions, and (c) invariance. We next illustrate how IRT modeling can improve the quality of psychological measurement. Available evidence suggests that the differences between IRT and traditional psychometric methods are not trivial; IRT applications can improve the precision and validity of psychological research across a wide range of subjects.
The present paper develops and tests two temporal models of the relationships among adolescents' ethnic identity exploration, ethnic identity affirmation and belonging, and attitudes toward their racial/ethnic ingroup and outgroups. Structural equation models for Euro-Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos revealed that all hypothesized relationships were positive and significant. The model in which ethnic identity exploration (at Time 1) predicts ethnic identity affirmation and belonging (at Time 2) was superior to the alternative model in which the relationship between them was reversed (i.e., affirmation and belonging at Time 1 predicts exploration at Time 2). Results (1) support the importance of exploration as a basis for establishing a secure attachment to one's ethnic identity, which, in turn, has positive implications for attitudes toward one's own group and other groups and (2) suggest that maintenance of ethnic identity is compatible with positive attitudes toward ethnic outgroups.While some research on adolescents shows that higher attachment to one's own group predicts more negative attitudes toward other groups (e.g., Masson & Verkuyten, 1993), other studies find this relationship to be positive (e.g., Phinney, Ferguson, & Tate, 1997). The latter researchers examined Latino and African American adolescents' attitudes toward familiar peers, in schools where these racial/ethnic groups were enrolled in roughly equal proportions and constituted the overwhelming majority. Using partial correlations, they showed that high levels of ethnic identity were associated with more positive ingroup attitudes, which were in turn associated with more positive outgroup attitudes, but ethnic identity was not directly associated with outgroup attitudes. To account for variation in the valence of such relationships across studies, Hinkle and Brown (1990) suggested that a strong ethnic identity may be positively or negatively related, or unrelated, to outgroup attitudes, depending on the circumstances.Of particular importance to understanding the relationship between ethnic identity and outgroup attitudes among adolescents may be the degree to which they have engaged in actively learning about their ethnic group. Roberts et al. (1999) characterized such ethnic identity exploration as a developmental process that informs the adoption of one's ethnic identity. A number of studies with adolescents (Roberts et al., 1999;Spencer, Icard, Harachi, Catalano, & Oxford, 2000;Yancey, Aneshensel, & Driscoll, 2001) NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript highly related to, but distinct from, other components of ethnic identity. Phinney and Ong (2007) suggested that ethnic identity exploration is unlikely without at least some level of attachment to one's ethnic group membership and that a commitment to one's group is expected to promote exploration of one's ethnicity. We agree.In the present study, we test two competing models of the relationship among ethnic identity exploration (EIE), eth...
Several studies have documented the health-related benefits of older adults' use of computer technology, but before they can be realised, older individuals must be positively inclined and confident in their ability to engage in computer-based environments. To facilitate the assessment of computer technology attitudes, one aim of the longitudinal study reported in this paper was to test and refine a new 22-item measure of computer technology attitudes designed specifically for older adults, as none such were available.1 Another aim was to replicate, on a much larger scale, the successful findings of a preliminary study that tested a computer technology training programme for older adults (Laganà 2008). Ninety-six older men and women, mainly from non-European-American backgrounds, were randomly assigned to the waitlist/control or the experimental group. The same six-week one-on-one training was administered to the control subjects at the completion of their post-test. The revised (17-item) version of the Older Adults' Computer Technology Attitudes Scale (OACTAS) showed strong reliability: the results of a factor analysis were robust, and two analyses of covariance demonstrated that the training programme induced significant changes in attitudes and self-efficacy. Such results encourage the recruitment of older persons into training programmes aimed at increasing computer technology attitudes and self-efficacy.
Previous studies in different countries have shown variability in the factor structures of the Affective Style Questionnaire, possibly due to differences in cultures, translation, or statistical approaches. We ran exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation using data from 2806 university students in Southern California. A four-factor structure was found instead of the three-factor structure found in the original Affective Style Questionnaire studies in the Northeastern United States. Support for concurrent and convergent validity was found for the Concealing and Adjusting factors. The Tolerating and Holding factors comprised two items each, making it difficult to recommend them in future studies.
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