No abstract

Building on social-cognitive theory and the expectancy-value theory, this study indicated that early parent expectations for children’s post-secondary educational attainment have a stronger effect on 8th-grade achievement than home-based parental involvement. With a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students and their parents in the United States of America, Structural Equation Modeling was employed in order to discern longitudinal effects on achievement via mediators. For instance, expectations held by parents in kindergarten exert much of their positive effect on adolescent academic achievement via expectations held in 8th grade. Student expectations (which are influenced by parental expectations) also significantly predict 8th grade achievement. Parent involvement in homework and grade checking in 8th grade has a slight negative effect on achievement. Home literacy in kindergarten predicts achievement in 8th grade indirectly via kindergarten achievement. These results indicate that parents can have a positive impact on academic achievement through early home literacy and maintaining a strong hope that their children will succeed in college. Because early parent expectations have long lasting effects on children, parent involvement interventions for young children need to be developed that also target elevating parental expectations. This study further clarifies the effects of the family environment on educational outcomes.

factor analysis, attitudes, preferences, utility theory, personality development, psychological scaling,

Along with examples involving vocational interests and mathematics achievement, the authors describe a multiple regression based, pattern recognition procedure that can be used to identify a pattern of predictor scores associated with high scores on a criterion variable. This pattern is called the criterion pattern. After the criterion pattern has been identified, a second regression procedure can be used to estimate the proportion of variation attributable to the criterion pattern. Cross-validation can then be used to estimate the variation attributable to a criterion pattern derived from regression weights estimated in another sample. Finally, issues of criterion pattern invariance and interpretation are discussed.

No abstract

Preliminary reliability and validity data are reported on a new, brief measure of psychiatric symptomatology. The Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire (SA-45) is a 45-item, patient self-report symptom inventory derived from the original Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90), using cluster analytic methods. The SA-45 consists of nine 5-item scales assessing each of the same symptom domains as its parent instrument with no item overlap across domains. The vast majority of the internal consistency reliabilities for the SA-45's nine scales were in the .70s and .80s across different age and patient status samples. As expected, both adolescent and adult patient samples generally differed significantly from nonpatient control samples, and patients at treatment follow-up differed significantly from patients at intake. Moreover, depressed patients with and without psychotic features differed significantly on three scales. A cluster analysis generally supported the nine-scale structure of the inventory, but it failed to consistently support the distinction between the Paranoid Ideation and Interpersonal Sensitivity scales. Limitations to the study are noted, but overall, the initial findings support the use of the SA-45 in clinical settings. Suggestions for needed future research are presented.

No abstract

The relation between coordinate estimates in components analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) is considered. Algebraic relations between metric MDS and components analysis are reviewed. Three small Monte Carlo studies suggest that the same relations usually, although not universally, characterize components and nonmetric MDS analyses of correlation matrices. Although the relation between components and scaling solutions is generally complex, in one special case the K-dimensional scaling solution forms a subspace of the (K + 1)-factor components solution. In a second special case, the solutions are essentially equivalent. Two examples—one based on human abilities tests and one on vocational interest data—conform to the first special case. The merits of the MDS and factor approaches are compared. Results are related to other methodological issues surrounding research on the general ability factor, response tendencies in self-ratings, and halo in employee evaluations.