Critically examining common statistical approaches and their strengths and weaknesses is an important step in advancing recreation and leisure sciences. To continue this critical examination and to inform methodological decision making, this study compared three approaches to determine how alternative approaches may result in contradictory…

The present paper reviews the techniques commonly used to correct an observed correlation coefficient for the simultaneous influence of attenuation and range restriction effects. It is noted that the procedure which is currently in use may be somewhat biased because it treats range restriction and attenuation as independent restrictive influences.…

Factor analysis can be a valuable tool for assessing validity; however, the reliabilities of identified factors must be attended to. This study examined the impacts of item variance on factor stability and structure. The attempt was to determine empirically whether unnumbered graphic scales scored using a larger number of scale steps produce more…

Investigates the psychometric adequacy of Steers and Braunstein's (1976) Manifest Needs Questionnaire. Research results indicate that the instrument possesses adequate stability but lacks adequate internal consistency. Factor analytic procedures fail to replicate the a priori factor structure. Results are compared with Steers and Braunstein's…

Developed and tested the psychometric properties of the 38-item Self Description Questionnaire for Preschoolers. Found that the scale was reliable for young children, first-order and higher order confirmatory factor analysis models fit the data, and factor correlations were mostly moderate. Achievement test scores correlated moderately with…

The Community Organization Sense of Community Scale (COSOC) is a frequently used or cited measure of the construct in community psychology and other disciplines, despite a lack of confirmation of its underlying 4-factor framework. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized structure of the COSOC, the potential effects of method bias on…

Aserts that it is unclear how the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional ratings link to other critical child and family risk factors. Identifies questions regarding how well individual dimensions of social behavior are measured and concerns about the partial overlap between competent and problem behavior. Expresses concerns about the…

This manuscript is a report of the third revision of the Maryland Preschool Self-Concept of Scale originally developed by Smith (1977). Two samples of 4-, 5-, and 6-year old children (N = 54 and N = 78) were administered the Maryland Preschool Self-Concept Scale - Revised (MPSS-R). In the first study, the measure was given twice, 3 to 5 weeks…

Explored applicability of the Loevinger conception of ego development for early adolescence and developed a measure of earliest ego levels: Sentence Completion Test for Children and Youth. Found oral administration of test did not yield essentially different responses or significantly differing ego-level scores from the written version, regardless…

Motivating students to perform well on assessment tests is difficult when students know the results have no academic consequence. The present study evaluates the influence of assessment context (graded vs. non-graded) on the reliability of an assessment measure. Results indicate the graded condition produces higher reliability (r = 0.71) than the…

Presents a comprehensive review of validity that includes an empirical evaluation of the actual and potential consequences of score interpretation and use, how those consequences come about, and what determines them. Six distinguishable aspects of construct validity are highlighted as a means of addressing central issues implicit in the notion of…

In this investigation, methodological and substantive issues regarding early mastery motivation (also termed competence motivation and effectance motivation) were examined longitudinally using a primarily middle-class sample of 37 children observed at 1 and 3.5 years of age. Data on cognitive competence and mastery motivation were collected in…

The fear of success (FOS) construct in the achievement motivation of women was initially written by undergraduates in which the opening sentence described a male or female who ranked first in a medical school class. From these results, an intrapsychic interpretation of FOS was made. Other researchers, who accepted the sex of the cue character as…

The report of the National Academy of Education (NAE), "Setting Performance Standards for Student Achievement," provides an interpretation of NAE investigations into the procedures surrounding establishment of achievement levels for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAE report synthesizes the investigations of…

The National Academy of Education (NAE) Panel has drawn two major conclusions in its evaluation of the National Assessment Governing Board's (NAGB) efforts to set achievement levels for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). They are that the Angoff procedure is fundamentally flawed for the setting of achievement levels, and that…