Juan Ramón Barrada

Analysis of the factor structure of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3) in Spanish secondary-school students through exploratory structural equation modeling.

The aims of the present study were: (1) to assess the factor structure of the SATAQ-3 in Spanish secondary-school students by means of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) models; and (2) to study its invariance by sex and school grade. ESEM is a technique that has been proposed for the analysis of internal structure that overcomes some of the limitations of EFA and CFA. Participants were 1559 boys and girls in grades seventh to tenth. The results support the four-factor solution of the original version, and reveal that the best fit was obtained with ESEM, excluding Item 20 and with correlated uniqueness between reverse-keyed items. Our version shows invariance by sex and grade. The differences between scores of different groups are in the expected direction, and support the validity of the questionnaire. We recommend a version excluding Item 20 and without reverse-keyed items.

Validation of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) in a sample of Spanish women

The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) was developed to measure eating styles that may contribute to or attenuate the development of overweight. It comprises three scales that measure emotional, external and restrained eating. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the internal structure of the Spanish version of the DEBQ using updated psychometric techniques in a sample of women. A sample of 647 Spanish females answered the questionnaire. Both exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the factor structure of the DEBQ. Reliabilities were estimated with Cronbachs alpha. The relations between the subscales of the DEBQ and age, BMI, and scores on the Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT) and the Restrained Scale-Revised (RS) were computed with Pearson correlations. Results showed that the internal structure was similar to the theoretical proposal, although items associated with boredom and idleness presented cross-loading problems. The reliability estimates were satisfactory. The Emotional and External Eating factors correlated with the BMI, and External Eating was negatively correlated with age. The Restraint factor of the DEBQ showed significant relationships with scales of the EAT-26 and RS. The dimensional validity of the DEBQ is reproduced in a Spanish sample, and the DEBQ seems to be an effective instrument for research in Spanish females. Minor modifications to the DEBQ are recommended.

Incorporating randomness in the Fisher information for improving item-exposure control in CATs.

The most commonly employed item selection rule in a computerized adaptive test (CAT) is that of selecting the item with the maximum Fisher information for the estimated trait level. This means a highly unbalanced distribution of item-exposure rates, a high overlap rate among examinees and, for item bank management, strong pressure to replace items with a high discrimination parameter in the bank. An alternative for mitigating these problems involves, at the beginning of the test, basing item selection mainly on randomness. As the test progresses, the weight of information in the selection increases. In the present work we study, for two selection rules, the progressive methods (Revuelta & Ponsoda, 1998) and the proportional method (Segall, 2004a), different functions that define the weight of the random component according to the position in the test of the item to be administered. The functions were tested in simulated item banks and in an operative bank. We found that both the progressive and the proportional methods tolerate a high weight of the random component with minimal or zero loss of accuracy, while bank security and maintenance are improved.

Bifactor analysis and construct validity of the HADS: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in fibromyalgia patients.

The dimensionality of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a current source of controversy among experts. The present study integrates a solid theoretical framework (Clark & Watsons, 1991, tripartite theory) and a fine-grained methodological approach (structural equation modeling; SEM) to examine the dimensionality and construct validity of the HADS in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. Using the HADS data of 269 Spanish patients with FM, we estimated the cross-sectional and, for the first time, longitudinal fit (autoregressive model) of 2 competing models (oblique 2-factor vs. bifactor) via confirmatory factor analysis. The pattern of relationships between the HADS latent dimensions and positive and negative affect (PA and NA) was analyzed using SEM. HADS reliability was assessed by computing the omega and omega hierarchical coefficients. The bifactor model, which accounted for the covariance among HADS items with regard to 1 general factor (psychological distress) and 2 specific factors (depression and anxiety), described the HADS structure better than the original oblique 2-factor model during both study periods. All latent dimensions of the bifactor model were temporally stable. The SEM analysis revealed a significant link between psychological distress and NA as well as between depression and low PA. Only the general factor of psychological distress showed adequate reliability. In conclusion, the HADS shows a clear bifactor structure among FM patients. Our results indicate that it is not recommendable to compute anxiety and depression scores separately because anxiety variance is tapped primarily by the broader construct of psychological distress, and both specific dimensions show low reliability.

Methods for Restricting Maximum Exposure Rate in Computerized Adaptative Testing

The Sympson-Hetter (1985) method provides a means of controlling maximum exposure rate of items in Computerized Adaptive Testing. Through a series of simulations, control parameters are set that mark the probability of administration of an item on being selected. This method presents two main problems: it requires a long computation time for calculating the parameters and the maximum exposure rate is slightly above the fixed limit. Van der Linden (2003) presented two alternatives which appear to solve both of the problems. The impact of these methods in the measurement accuracy has not been tested yet. We show how these methods over-restrict the exposure of some highly discriminating items and, thus, the accuracy is decreased. It also shown that, when the desired maximum exposure rate is near the minimum possible value, these methods offer an empirical maximum exposure rate clearly above the goal. A new method, based on the initial estimation of the probability of administration and the probability of selection of the items with the restricted method (Revuelta & Ponsoda, 1998), is presented in this paper. It can be used with the Sympson-Hetter method and with the two van der Lindens methods. This option, when used with Sympson-Hetter, speeds the convergence of the control parameters without decreasing the accuracy. One of the objectives of administering tests is accurate as- sessment of the examinees trait level. In order to achieve adequate measurement, it is necessary that the probability of responding correctly to the items is marked solely by their psychometric characteristics and by the examinees trait lev- el. In the case of an examinee receiving the test with prior knowledge of the items to which he will have to respond, this would no longer hold and there would be an over-estimation of his trait level that would reduce the tests validity. This risk is especially present when the test is applied by means of a computerized adaptive test (CAT). In this kind of test, the items in the item bank remain operative for a reasonably long period of time. This means that a future examinee can obtain knowledge of part of the item bank if he receives information from an examinee already tested who remembers the items he faced. The risk will be higher the higher the overlap rate between examinees, this being understood as the proportion of items shared, on average,

A Method for the Comparison of Item Selection Rules in Computerized Adaptive Testing

In a typical study comparing the relative efficiency of two item selection rules in computerized adaptive testing, the common result is that they simultaneously differ in accuracy and security, making it difficult to reach a conclusion on which is the more appropriate rule. This study proposes a strategy to conduct a global comparison of two or more selection rules. A plot showing the performance of each selection rule for several maximum exposure rates is obtained and the whole plot is compared with other rule plots. The strategy was applied in a simulation study with fixed-length CATs for the comparison of six item selection rules: the point Fisher information, Fisher information weighted by likelihood, Kullback-Leibler weighted by likelihood, maximum information stratification with blocking, progressive and proportional methods. Our results show that there is no optimal rule for any overlap value or root mean square error (RMSE). The fact that a rule, for a given level of overlap, has lower RMSE than another does not imply that this pattern holds for another overlap rate. A fair comparison of the rules requires extensive manipulation of the maximum exposure rates. The best methods were the Kullback-Leibler weighted by likelihood, the proportional method, and the maximum information stratification method with blocking.

New Item Selection Methods for Cognitive Diagnosis Computerized Adaptive Testing

This article introduces two new item selection methods, the modified posterior-weighted Kullback–Leibler index (MPWKL) and the generalized deterministic inputs, noisy “and” gate (G-DINA) model discrimination index (GDI), that can be used in cognitive diagnosis computerized adaptive testing. The efficiency of the new methods is compared with the posterior-weighted Kullback–Leibler (PWKL) item selection index using a simulation study in the context of the G-DINA model. The impact of item quality, generating models, and test termination rules on attribute classification accuracy or test length is also investigated. The results of the study show that the MPWKL and GDI perform very similarly, and have higher correct attribute classification rates or shorter mean test lengths compared with the PWKL. In addition, the GDI has the shortest implementation time among the three indices. The proportion of item usage with respect to the required attributes across the different conditions is also tracked and discussed.

A school-based program implemented by community providers previously trained for the prevention of eating and weight-related problems in secondary-school adolescents: the MABIC study protocol.

BackgroundThe prevention of eating disorders and disordered eating are increasingly recognized as public health priorities. Challenges in this field included moving from efficacy to effectiveness and developing an integrated approach to the prevention of a broad spectrum of eating and weight-related problems. A previous efficacy trial indicated that a universal disordered eating prevention program, based on the social cognitive model, media literacy educational approach and cognitive dissonance theory, reduced risk factors for disordered eating, but it is unclear whether this program has effects under more real-world conditions. The main aim of this effectiveness trial protocol is to test whether this program has effects when incorporating an integrated approach to prevention and when previously-trained community providers implement the intervention.Methods/designThe research design involved a multi-center non-randomized controlled trial with baseline, post and 1-year follow-up measures. Six schools from the city of Sabadell (close to Barcelona) participated in the intervention group, and eleven schools from four towns neighboring Sabadell participated in the control group. A total of 174 girls and 180 boys in the intervention group, and 484 girls and 490 boys in the control group were registered in class lists prior to baseline. A total of 18 community providers, secondary-school class tutors, nurses from the Catalan Government’s Health and School Program, and health promotion technicians from Sabadell City Council were trained and delivered the program. Shared risk factors of eating and weight-related problems were assessed as main measures.DiscussionIt will be vital for progress in disordered eating prevention to conduct effectiveness trials, which test whether interventions are effective when delivered by community providers under ecologically valid conditions, as opposed to tightly controlled research trials. The MABIC project will provide new contributions in this transition from efficacy to effectiveness and new data about progress in the integrated approach to prevention. Pending the results, the effectiveness trial meets the effectiveness standards set down by the Society for Prevention Research. This study will provide new evidence to improve and enhance disordered eating prevention programs.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN47682626

Personality disorders among patients with panic disorder and individuals with high anxiety sensitivity

BACKGROUND No studies have been found that compared the psychopathology features, including personality disorders, of Panic Disorder (PD) and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia (PDA), and a nonclinical sample with anxiety vulnerability. METHOD The total sample included 152 participants, 52 in the PD/PDA, 45 in the high anxiety sensitivity (AS) sample, and 55 in the nonclinical sample. The participants in PD/PDA sample were evaluated with the structured interview ADIS-IV. The Brief Symptom Inventory and the MCMI-III were used in all three samples. RESULTS Statistically significant differences were found between the PD/PDA and the nonclinical sample in all MCMI-III scales except for antisocial and compulsive. No significant differences were found between PD/PDA and the sample with high scores in AS. Phobic Anxiety and Paranoid Ideation were the only scales where there were significant differences between the PD/PDA sample and the high AS sample. CONCLUSIONS Our findings showed that people who scored high on AS, despite not having a diagnosis of PD/PDA, were similar in regard to psychopathology features and personality to individuals with PD/PDA.

Psychometric properties of the Perception of Teasing Scale in a Spanish adolescent sample: POTS-S

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS-S). Participants were 1559 adolescents. They completed a translated version of the POTS and versions validated in Spanish population of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory-2, and the Children’s Eating Attitudes Test. The results showed that the POTS-S retains the original structure of two factors, weight and competency, with satisfactory fit indices. The POTS-S constitutes a shorter questionnaire than the original version; specifically, it consists of 9 items instead of 11. The POTS-S showed good internal consistency and satisfactory test-retest stability. The relationship between the weight subscale and the variables related to eating and weight were statistically significant. As regards the competency subscale, the correlations were all lower than those for the weight subscale, except in the case of the self-esteem variable. The POTS-S showed good psychometric properties, indicating its suitability as an instrument for assessing the perception of teasing in Spanish adolescents.