The contributions of specific scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) to the classification of 180 adolescent substance abusers into groups characterized by aspects of behavioral control were studied. Seven scales made significant contributions to the classification of substance abusers into three groups, with…

The stability of a physical disability construct was examined across instruments and samples, not to report a formal equating of instrument calibrations, but to indicate whether such an effort could succeed. Implications of using Rasch analysis, often used in educational research, and the possibility of developing a universal metric are discussed.…

Describes a revised career grid procedure for assessing vocational constructs. Results based on a study of 146 college students indicate that the expressed method was not superior to the supplied method in choice consistency, integration, and differentiation. Also found no significant gender differences in cognitive complexity measures of the…

The construct validity of the assessment of coping dispositions was studied in samples of 169 and 203 recently divorced mothers assessed on 11 dimensions of coping 5.5 months apart. Results do not support coping dimensions as currently assessed and suggest a critical reappraisal of the dispositional coping construct. (SLD)

The unidimensionality of the fourth edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-IV) construct of cocaine dependence was examined among 263 black, 212 Mexican American, and 256 white men in treatment. Results generally support a unidimensional model of the cocaine dependence indicators, with one indicator…

Validity of the Desire for Control on Examinations (DCE) scale, developed as a measure of an individual's desire for control in an examination context, was studied with 3 samples (total of 378 college students), using a 5-point Likert-type scale, a general 5-point scale, and the Desirability of Control (DC) scale. The DCE exhibited acceptable…

Developed a measure of the quality of student experiences at an Australian university using a Rasch measurement model. Data for 363 college students support the view that eight aspects of the experiences questionnaire are linked and that the questionnaire has good construct validity and reliability. (SLD)

Includes "Toward Construct Validation of a Transfer Climate Instrument" (Holton et al.); "Improving Positive Transfer: A Test of Relapse Prevention Training on Transfer Outcomes" (Burke); "Invited Reaction: Progress or Relapse?" (Newstrom); "Invited Reaction: Theory, Research, and Practice" (Tang);…

Examines the structure and construct validity of a therapists' intentions form. Ten therapists rated their therapeutic intentions following each of 2,305 therapy sessions. Seven conceptually coherent clusters of intentions were identified: treatment context, session structure, affect, obstacles, encouraging change, behavior, and cognition-insight.…

Investigates construct, predictive, and differential validity for the Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test (CREVT). Adequate construct validity for the CREVT was documented, using the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-III as a criterion. Also, the CREVT effectively differentiated between students with disabilities. These…

Rebutting responses by Guglielmino, Long, and McCune to his earlier criticism of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale, Field reviews the effect of homogeneity in the scale's factor structure and of negatively phrased items and concludes that the scale does not measure readiness for self-directed learning. (SK)

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses investigated the dimensionality of a modification of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The sample of 147 fifth-year college students in an elementary teacher training program demonstrated the multidimensional construct validity of the new instrument--the College Student Survey--within the theoretical…

Students (N=738) from grades one-five who exhibited behavior problems were assessed for behavioral disturbance using the Teacher's Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were analyzed to assess the form's internal consistency, accuracy in discriminating disturbed and nondisturbed students, and validity in terms of grade repetition and…

Presents the results of multiple regression analysis, test-retest analysis, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis of the Computer Attitude Scale in order to assess the instrument's predictive ability, construct validity, and reliability. Findings indicate acceptable characteristics, including stability…

Sixty-four undergraduates rated the videotaped parenting behavior of two intrusive, abusive mothers and two control mothers, on rating scales matching an observational coding system developed by L. Oldershaw and others. Observers' ratings provided evidence of construct validity of the scales. (Author/JDD)