This study reports on the standardization of the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance. Data collected on 2,266 typical students (ages 5- 18) and 1,371 students with emotional disturbances led to the identification of six behavioral problem factors that correspond to the federal definition of emotional disturbance and were highly internally…

Use of acoustic reflectometry was compared with tympanometry in middle ear screenings for 357 children, aged 5 months to 19 years. Results were analyzed according to sex, age, and sensorineural hearing status. Intratest reliability was highly significant and positive predictive accuracy and specificity rates were excellent, but sensitivity rates…

Reports on two studies designed to develop and evaluate the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive (ATQ-P), a measure of positive automatic thinking that is complementary to the ATQ, a measure of negative thinking in psychopathology. Describes results suggesting that ATQ-P is reliable and valid measure of positive thinking. (Author/NB)

Responds to Crowley's and Wilson's articles on the reliability of the van Hiele Geometry Test. Discusses the issue of the difficulty of trying to maximize content validity while minimizing measurement error. (YP)

This study first found that an adaptation of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children exhibited construct validity and test-retest reliability in assessing preschool children's sensitivity to age-related differences in peers' developmental abilities. Second, children with disabilities were viewed as less…

In the context of developing assessment instruments in psychology, issues of standardization, norming procedures, and test reliability and validity are discussed. Criteria, guidelines, and rules of thumb are provided to help the clinician with instrument selection for a given psychological assessment. (SLD)

The Child Abuse and Trauma Scale, a self-report measure yielding a quantitative index of the frequency and extent of negative experiences in childhood and adolescence, was administered to 1,198 college students and 17 subjects with Multiple Personality Disorder. Results revealed the scale's strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and…

Describes the development of the School-Age Temperament Inventory (SATI) as a parental report of children ages 8 through 11 years. A total of 435 mothers and 228 of their spouses served as parent informants in its assessment. Suggests that the SATI has adequate validity and reliability for use in research and structured parenting programs,…

Reports the development of a multidimensional instrument of stable coping styles that focuses on whether one's problem-focused coping efforts were facilitating or inhibiting progress toward problem resolution. Describes steps of scale construction, provides initial estimates of stability of factor structure and construct, concurrent, and…

The validity and reliability of a scale measuring attitudes toward foreign language were studied with 536 high school seniors. Results of principal components analysis identified five interpretable dimensions and suggested the need to improve the internal structure of the measure. (SLD)

This article describes the Course Experience Questionnaire, a student evaluation of teaching performance. The article discusses the instrument's theoretical basis, statistical qualities, and national trials in Australian higher education. The questionnaire is seen to offer a reliable, verifiable, and useful means of evaluating teaching quality in…

Twenty students and 45 adults with visual impairments or blindness were administered a test of tactile concentration and short-term memory involving the reproduction of the order of finger stimulation using the Finger Knocking Box. Reliability and validity scores indicated encouraging results with use of the instrument. (JDD)

Analysis of spontaneous language samples of 10 children (ages 8-9) with specific language impairments found that interviews were a reliable, valid, and efficient assessment context, eliciting the same profile of behaviors as a freeplay context without altering diagnostic classifications. (Author/JDD)

A set of Q-sort items to assess individual differences in infant-mother attachment was adapted for a Hispanic population of low-SES background. Completion of the Q-sort by observers and inner-city Hispanic mothers and testing of 43 infants with the Ainsworth Strange Situation established the Q-set's validity and indicated moderate reliability for…

Effects of item wording on questionnaire reliability and validity were studied, using 280 undergraduate business students who completed a questionnaire comprising 4 item types: (1) regular; (2) polar opposite; (3) negated polar opposite; and (4) negated regular. Implications of results favoring regular and negated regular items are discussed. (SLD)