Multidimensionality and hierarchical data structure are common in assessment data. These design features, if not accounted for, can threaten the validity of the results and inferences generated from factor analysis, a method frequently employed to assess test dimensionality. In this article, we describe and demonstrate the application of the…

This paper reports an investigation into the psychometric properties of the COR-Advantage1.5 (COR-Adv1.5) assessment tool, a criterion-referenced observation-based instrument designed to assess the developmental abilities of children from birth through kindergarten. Using data from 8534 children participating in a state-funded preschool program…

There has been considerable debate over the ways in which children's early literacy skills develop over time. Using confirmatory multidimensional scaling (MDS) growth analysis, this paper directly tested the hypothesis of a cumulative trajectory versus a compensatory trajectory of development in early literacy skills among a group of 1233…

We explored the perceptual structure of facial expressions of six basic emotions, varying systematically in intensity, in adults and children aged 7 and 14 years. Multidimensional scaling suggested that three- or four-dimensional structures were optimal for all groups. Two groups of adults demonstrated nearly identical structure, which had…

Objective: Increased behavior problems have been reported in offspring of mothers with depression. In-home observations link maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and mother-child interaction patterns with toddler behavior problems and examine their persistence into late childhood. Method: Maternal characteristics (N = 153) and behaviors of…

This study explores parental ethnotheories of children's temperament through mothers' responses to McDevitt and Carey's Behavioral Style Questionnaire (1978) for 299 children aged 3 to 8 years and interviews with their parents, in Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. We first established a standardized,…

The purposes of the present investigation are to evaluate a new, adaptive procedure for assessing multiple dimensions of self-concept for children younger than 8 years and to examine related theoretical issues. The multidimensional, hierarchical structure of self-concept is well established for older children, but there is a paucity of research…

The question of developmental synchrony within the concrete operations period described in Piagetian literature was investigated. The idea of synchrony has been challenged by Brainerd's initial groupement research, which indicated a two-dimensional structure, corresponding to class operations and relational operations. A review of the literature…

This annual report discusses several topics related to the work of the Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The articles are: (1) "The Study of Mothers' Parenting Practices with Child's Withdrawn Behaviors and Temperament" (Sueko Toda); (2) "Structure, Developmental Change, and Sex…