Discusses the benefits and shortcomings of three systems for assessing risk factors affecting children: the Illinois CANTS 17B; the Washington Assessment of Risk Matrix; the Child at Risk Field System. Although these systems are used in 23 states, the lack of staff knowledgeable about human development and the uncertain reliability and validity of…

Research relating to the factor structure of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire is reviewed. Different opinions about the factors measured by the 16PF are discussed. Focusing on the second-order factor level could eliminate problems with the instruments' reliability. (SLD)

Development of the Learning Strategies Survey is described, and two related studies involving 1,091 college students (354 males and 737 females) are presented to demonstrate use of this survey to predict learning from expository text. Factor analysis yielded two stable factors of high internal reliability and acceptable test-retest reliability.…

Responses from 52 of 174 business faculty and 61 of 203 business practitioners rated important ethical concerns on a Kohlberg-influenced scale. A high degree of consistency between the two samples was found. Environmental, employment, and corporate/individual integrity issues ranked highest. (SK)

Results of 3 studies, involving 80 adult employees, 6,810 defense contractor employees, and 88 graduate students, support the reliability and validity of a new measure of global work autonomy, the Global Work Autonomy Scale (B. Ashforth and A. Saks, 1995). (SLD)

Examined the reliability of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Scale (MEIM) (J. Phinney, 1992) in measuring feelings of ethnic affirmation and belongings, ethnic behaviors, and ethnic knowledge with 118 inner-city African American children aged 8 to 12 years. Results of reliability analyses are mixed and indicate that constructs of ethnic behavior and…

A survey of 279 undergraduates examined the validity and reliability of "The Courage to Heal Workbook" (TCHW) checklist and whether the checklist can distinguish between participants reporting sexual abuse histories and those who did not. The checklist had robust reliability and could significantly discriminate between survivors and…

The psychometric properties of the Motivation Assessment Scale were examined using 90 ratings of different problem behaviors among 86 individuals with mental retardation. Although reliability and internal consistency were generally poor, the results depended upon topographies of problem behavior and methods of calculation. The construct validity…

Describes the Spanish translation and field testing of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation, Preschool Edition, which assesses social competence, affective expression, and adjustment difficulties in children aged 2.5-6.5. Field tests with 639 children showed that the Spanish version has satisfactory reliability and internal consistency…

Data from the experimental functional analysis of challenging behaviors of 27 individuals with mental retardation were analyzed to assess agreement among three forms of interpretation. Results found that the methods of interpreting function from experimental assessment can give different results and that test-retest reliability of the experimental…

The reliability and validity of state and trait forms of the Multiple Affective Adjective Checklist-R6 are investigated in a sample of seventh-grade public school students. High internal consistency and adequate validity are found for both forms. Test-retest reliability is higher for trait than for state. Appropriateness for use in research is…

Presents data on the High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, a 27-item checklist for completion by lay informants when assessing symptoms characteristic of Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents with normal intelligence or mild mental retardation. Reliability and…

Disadvantaged Mexican dropouts aged 16-22 (n=25) and 25 Hispanic elementary students completed dropout-prediction instruments. Elementary students were unable to consider their future and self-report was not viable for them. Among dropouts, pregnancy and moving around were salient predictors. Modifications of the instruments were recommended. (SK)

Addresses generalizability theory (GT), which offers a flexible framework for assessing dependability of measurement. GT allows for consideration of multiple sources of error, allowing investigators to assess the overall impact of measurement error. Illustrative analyses demonstrate the special advantages of GT for planning studies in which…

The validity of the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was tested with a sample of 40 child physical abusers and 40 nonabusers in Argentina. More than 97% of subjects were correctly classified as abusing or nonabusing individuals. The article is in Spanish. (CR)