Investigates validity of the Suicide Assessment Checklist (SAC) in a sample of 1,969 admissions to a psychiatric emergency crisis center. Supporting construct related validity, total score differences were found in the expected directions as a function of referral reason. Convergent validity was based on observed correlations between selected SAC…

Notes that presbycusis, hearing loss associated with aging, may be marked by a second dimension of hearing loss, a loss in vocalic sensitivity. Reports on the development of the Vocalic Sensitivity Test, which controls for the verbal elements in speech while also allowing for the vocalics to exercise their normal metacommunicative function of…

Provides an approach for selecting and evaluating both group and individually administered standardized tests of reading. Reviews considerations of the quality of test development; test content; test reliability and validity; and concerns of cost and time investment. Presents sample ratings of two common instruments. (RS)

Examined test-retest stability of Behavior Rating Profile for students grades l-12 (N=198), parents (N=212), and teachers (N=176) on 3 norm-referenced scales. Found Teacher Rating scale reliable across all grades for screening and eligibility, Parent Rating scale reliable for Grade 3-12 screening and Grade 3-6,ll, and l2, eligibility. Found…

Issues arising from difference scores with zero reliability that nevertheless allow a powerful test of change are discussed. Issues include the appropriateness of underlying statistical models for psychological data and the relationship between difference scores and power. Increases in reliability always increase power for a fixed effect size.…

Introduces Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (SB4) as an attempt to revitalize Stanford-Binet by maintaining links with previous editions while simultaneously incorporating more recent developments found in other popular tests of intelligence. Discusses the SB4's theoretical foundation, materials and administration, scaling,…

Found that faulty test procedures may explain why infants sometimes locate hidden objects more easily in multiple-well tests than in two-well trials. Also found that errors in seven-well tests were not evenly distributed but occurred disproportionately in the direction of the previously correct well, suggesting that memory and inhibition are both…

Investigates the use of "vague quantifiers" (terms such as "often,""sometimes,""rarely," or "never") in communication research. Finds that these words do not always mean the same thing to different people, and thus may not constitute interval scales. Suggests that research outcomes based upon such…

Multidimensional scaling was applied to Women-in-General (n=300) and Men-in-General (n=300) samples of the Strong Interest Inventory. Participants were matched on occupational title, obtaining two-dimensional solutions that demonstrated gender differences in the underlying structure of vocational interests. (SK)

In a national survey of 2,963 professional women, the Trauma Symptom Checklist was found to be reliable and to display predictive validity in regard to childhood sexual victimization. Women who reported a sexual abuse history scored significantly higher than did women with no such history on each of the six subscales. (Author/DB)

Reviews NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), which is based on Five-Factor Model taxonomy of personality traits. Summarizes characteristics of test, features for administration and scoring, and studies of reliability, stability, and validity. Claims NEO-PI may be particularly appropriate for use in counseling because it is brief,…

Developed bipolar Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Optimism-Pessimism (PSM) scale based on results on Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanation applied to MMPI. Reliability and validity indices show that PSM scale is highly accurate and consistent with Seligman's theory that pessimistic explanatory style predicts increased…

Conducted four studies in attempt to determine reliability and validity of state and trait versions of Depression Adjective Check Lists (DACL) with college students. Findings revealed that the DACL reliability and validity were sufficiently high to justify use of Depression Adjective Check Lists in research with college students. (Author/NB)

This study developed a testing approach to increase sample size to approximately 450 scorable items, previously determined as necessary to optimize the reliability of a speech recognition test. The approach involves an interactive computer program which presents words in 50 three-word groups. The approach was evaluated with 100 persons with normal…

Investigated the reliability and validity of the Student Activities Interest Questionnaire, developed to relate student interests to available campus activities using Holland's (1997) vocational interest categories. Found the instrument to be sufficiently reliable and valid for use as an informal means of prioritizing campus activities. (EV)