Hirschi's social control theory of delinquency status that delinquency involvement is the function of the failure of an adolescent to form or maintain a bond to society comprised of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. In the past decade Hirschi and other researchers have found substantial support for this original thesis using tabular…

Three analyses of /-t,d/ deletion are undertaken to investigate whether convergence with the matrix regional dialect has taken place in Los Angeles Chicano English. Two superficial analyses mistakenly find convergence. A third emic multivariate analysis finds no phonological convergence. (33 references) (Author/CK)

Quantitative results from a study involving 78 elementary students suggest that content-related attitudes do not significantly affect subjects' reading comprehension. However, qualitative results suggest that attitudes may affect reading comprehension in qualitatively different ways. (IAH)

The impact of language skills on earnings should be measured using multivariate analysis with a model of the earnings determination process. Analysis of data on the 1973 earnings of university graduates revealed that cross-tabular and multivariate results were quite different. The former method attributed other earnings determinants to language…

It is shown that goodness-of-fit criteria developed for the evaluation of multivariate structural models can be applied to assist in evaluating the dimensionality of a test consisting of binary items, and correlative methods regularly used in factor analysis can be employed to diagnose causes of misfit. (Author)

This study examined two conceptions of perfectionism in relation to interpersonal problems. Two hundred and seventy-nine undergraduate participants completed the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) and the Dyadic Almost Perfect Scale (DAPS). The authors used empirically derived discriminant functions (APS-R) and cluster analysis (DAPS) to…

Four identity dimensions (Commitment Making, Identification with Commitment, Exploration in Depth, and Exploration in Breadth) were used to derive identity statuses by means of cluster analysis in a sample of late adolescents. This strategy resulted in both a qualitative refinement and a quantitative extension of Marcia's (1966) model. Five…

Background: The marked degree of heterogeneity in persons with developmental dyslexia has motivated the investigation of possible subtypes. Attempts have proceeded both from theoretical models of reading and the application of unsupervised learning (clustering) methods. Previous cluster analyses of data obtained from persons with reading…

Advances in cognitive research increase the need for assessment that can address the processes and the strategies by which persons solve problems. Several psychometric models have been introduced to handle claims cast in information-processing terms, explicitly modeling performance in terms of theory-based predictions of performance. Cognitively…

Focuses on the role of communication competencies in superiors' overall judgments about the performance of subordinates. Finds that superiors' perceptions of subordinates' specific communication competencies are related to the superiors' overall perceptions of subordinate performance. (MS)

This comparison of two approaches to the development of computerized supports for decision making--expert systems and multivariate models--focuses on computerized systems that assist professionals with tasks related to diagnosis or classification in human services. Validation of both expert systems and statistical models is emphasized. (39…

Makes the case that hierarchical linear models or longitudinal multilevel models are a better alternative than standard regression models for empirical tests of predictive developmental hypotheses. Describes a multivariate longitudinal model linking developmental data to a criterion and presents an example from a study of the prediction of infant…

We evaluated the statistical power of single-indicator latent growth curve models (LGCMs) to detect correlated change between two variables (covariance of slopes) as a function of sample size, number of longitudinal measurement occasions, and reliability (measurement error variance). Power approximations following the method of Satorra and Saris…

Information utilization was examined among 90 social service decision makers. Results indicated that propensity to use a particular type of information is relatively independent of the propensity to use a particular source from which the information is obtained. (Author/LMO)

With the development of refined theory and increased measurement sophistication in family research, multidimensional concepts and multiple indicators are appearing in the literature. This paper provides a nonmathematical introduction to canonical correlation analysis and three empirical examples that demonstrate the technique's applicability in…