A readily applicable procedure is discussed that allows evaluation of the discrepancy between the popular coefficient alpha and the reliability coefficient of a scale with second-order factorial structure that is frequently of relevance in empirical educational and psychological research. The approach is developed within the framework of the…

U.S. Supreme Court justices and other federal judges are, effectively, appointed for life, with no built-in check on their cognitive functioning as they approach old age. There is about a century of research on aging and intelligence that shows the vulnerability of processing speed, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory to…

The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS), authored by Russell A. Barkley and published by Guilford in 2011, is an individually administered assessment tool that may be used to evaluate adults ages 18 to 81. The purpose of this measure is to screen those who may be experiencing executive functioning (EF) deficits in…

Supplementary methods for the analysis of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status are made available, including (a) quantifying the number of abnormally low Index scores and abnormally large differences exhibited by a case and accompanying this with estimates of the percentages of the normative population expected to…

Personal narratives are integral to autobiographical memory and to identity, with coherent personal narratives being linked to positive developmental outcomes across the lifespan. In this article, we review the theoretical and empirical literature that sets the stage for a new lifespan model of personal narrative coherence. This new model…

Multiracial Americans represent a rapidly growing population (Shih & Sanchez, 2009); however, very little is known about the types of challenges and resilience experienced by these individuals. To date, few psychological measures have been created specifically to investigate the experiences of multiracial people. This article describes 2…

The assessment of maintaining variables with the goal of developing prosocial intervention plans has become a driving force in the intellectual disabilities (ID) literature. One particularly crucial variable is whether the behavior is low or high rate and whether the challenging behavior is best characterized by self-injury or aggression. Because…

The development of the Asperger Syndrome (and high-functioning autism) Diagnostic Interview (ASDI) is described. Preliminary data from a clinical study of 20 individuals (ages 6-55) suggest that interrater reliability and test-retest stability may be excellent, with kappas exceeding 0.90 in both instances. The validity appears to be relatively…

Factor analysis of the Bell Reality Testing Inventory items produced three subscales interpreted as dimensions of the reality testing ego function: Reality Distortion, Uncertainty of Perception, Hallucinations and Delusions. Replication factor analysis confirmed the factor structure. Subscales appear sensitive to variations in psychopathology and…

This paper describes the development of the interRAI-Intellectual Disability (interRAI ID), a comprehensive instrument that assesses all key domains of interest to service providers relative to a person with an intellectual disability (ID). The authors report on the reliability and validity of embedded scales for cognition, self-care, aggression,…

This study describes the development of the Active Treatment Client Rights checklist (ATCR), which was designed to facilitate the assessment, monitoring, and implementation of readily observable client active treatment services for adults with developmental disabilities. The ATCR was found to be highly reliable, valid, and useful in enhancing…

The Functional Ability Rating Scale (FARS) is an instrument developed by local direct service workers in the field of human services to provide an objective measure of an individual's degree of limitation in seven areas of major life activity (MLA). The subject's level of functioning is assessed in Self-Care, Language and Communication, Learning…

Describes procedures for calculating conditional standard error of measurement (CSEM) and reliability of scale scores and classification of consistency of performance levels. Applied these procedures to data from the American College Testing Program's Work Keys Writing Assessment with sample sizes of 7,097, 1,035, and 1,793. Results show that the…

Shows that the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) is a reliable and valid instrument for separating test anxious readers in a population of students. Offers suggestions for reducing reading anxiety. Includes the 16-item TAS measure. (FL)

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess adults' orientations toward control versus autonomy in their interactions with children. The responses from 68 teachers had a good range and were internally consistent and temporally stable. Further, the measure was shown to be externally valid. (Author/BW)