Kimberly S. Maier

A Rasch hierarchical measurement model

In this article, a hierarchical measurement model is developed that enables researchers to measure a latent trait variable and model the error variance corresponding to multiple levels. The Rasch hierarchical measurement model (HMM) results when a Rasch IRT model and a one-way ANOVA with random effects are combined (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Goldstein, 1987; Rasch, 1960). This model is appropriate for modeling dichotomous response strings nested within a contextual level. Examples of this type of structure include responses from students nested within schools and multiple response strings nested within people. Model parameter estimates of the Rasch HMM were obtained using the Bayesian data analysis methods of Gibbs sampling and the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm (Gelfand, Hills, Racine-Poon, & Smith, 1990; Hastings, 1970; Metropolis, Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Teller, & Teller, 1953). The model is illustrated with two simulated data sets and data from the Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development. The results are discussed and parameter estimates for the simulated data sets are compared to parameter estimates obtained using a two-step estimation approach.

Athletes' Evaluations of Their Head Coach's Coaching Competency

This study provided initial validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency derived from the Coaching Competency Scale (CCS). Data were collected from intercollegiate mens (n = 8) and womens (n = 13) soccer and womens ice hockey teams (n = 11). The total number of athletes was 585. Within teams, a multidimensional internal model was retained in which motivation, game strategy, technique, and character building comprised the dimensions of coaching competency. Some redundancy among the dimensions was observed. Internal reliabilities ranged from very good to excellent. Practical recommendations for the CCS are given in the Discussion section.

Pilot Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among Sedentary Urban Middle School Girls: A Two-Group Pretest-Posttest Quasi-Experimental Design

The primary purpose of the study was to determine whether girls in one school receiving nurse counseling plus an after-school physical activity club showed greater improvement in physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, and body composition than girls assigned to an attention control condition in another school (N = 69). Linear regressions controlling for baseline measures showed no statistically significant group differences, but the directionality of differences was consistent with greater intervention group improvement for minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity/hour (t = 0.95, p = .35), cardiovascular fitness (t = 1.26, p = .22), body mass index (BMI; t = −1.47, p = .15), BMI z score (t = −1.19, p = .24), BMI percentile (t = −0.59, p = .56), percentage body fat (t = −0.86, p = .39), and waist circumference (t = −0.19, p = .85). Findings support testing with a larger sample.

Extending validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency.

This study extended validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency derived from the Coaching Competency Scale (CCS; Myers, Feltz, Maier, Wolfe, & Reckase, 2006) by examining use of the original rating scale structure and testing how measures related to satisfaction with the head coach within teams and between teams. Motivation, game strategy, technique, and character building comprised the dimensions of coaching competency. Data were collected from athletes (N = 585) nested within intercollegiate mens (g = 8) and womens (g = 13) soccer and womens ice hockey (g = 11) teams (G = 32). Validity concerns were observed for the original rating scale structure and the predicted positive relationship between motivation competency and satisfaction with the coach between teams. Validity evidence was offered for a condensed post hoc rating scale and the predicted relationship between motivation competency and satisfaction with the coach within teams.

Treatment Fidelity of Motivational Interviewing Delivered by a School Nurse to Increase Girls' Physical Activity

Motivational interviewing, which involves the use of person-centered, directive counseling techniques, shows promise for changing adolescent behaviors. The purpose of this article was to describe the methodology and findings related to the treatment fidelity of three face-to-face motivational interviewing sessions involving middle school girls and a school nurse to help the girls increase their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The following four areas related to treatment fidelity were addressed: (a) study design, (b) training of interventionists, (c) intervention delivery, and (d) intervention receipt. Findings showed that 34 of 37 (91.9%) girls completed all three sessions. An initial motivational interviewing training workshop followed by evaluation of audiotaped sessions with constructive feedback can result in successful and consistent delivery by a school nurse.

Modeling Incomplete Scaled Questionnaire Data with a Partial Credit Hierarchical Measurement Model

The partial credit hierarchical measurement model (HMM) results when a partial credit IRT model and a hierarchical linear model are combined (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Masters, 1982). This combined model enables the standard errors of parameters to be estimated accurately. The partial credit HMM is illustrated using a subset of data from the Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development, a five-year longitudinal project studying the career aspirations of adolescents. The data used for this study consisted of a subset of students’ responses to multiple administrations of an attitudinal questionnaire, as well as student-level covariates. Using student responses to seven seven-point semantic differential items tapping student mood, the partial credit HMM was used to explore the effects of gender and classroom activity upon student mood as students were engaged in a mathematics classroom. Gibbs sampling and the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm were used to impute values for the missing data and to estimate the parameters of the model. The results of the data analysis indicated that female students had lower mood than male students did for all classroom activities.

Using a Multivariate Multilevel Polytomous Item Response Theory Model to Study Parallel Processes of Change: The Dynamic Association Between Adolescents' Social Isolation and Engagement With Delinquent Peers in the National Youth Survey

The application of multidimensional item response theory models to repeated observations has demonstrated great promise in developmental research. It allows researchers to take into consideration both the characteristics of item response and measurement error in longitudinal trajectory analysis, which improves the reliability and validity of the latent growth curve (LGC) model. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the potential of Bayesian methods and the utility of a comprehensive modeling framework, the one combining a measurement model (e.g., a multidimensional graded response model, MGRM) with a structural model (e.g., an associative latent growth curve analysis, ALGC). All analyses are implemented in WinBUGS 1.4.3 (Spiegelhalter, Thomas, Best, & Lunn, 2003), which allows researchers to use Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation methods to fit complex statistical models and circumvent intractable analytic or numerical integrations. The utility of this MGRM-ALGC modeling framework was investigated with both simulated and empirical data, and promising results were obtained. As the results indicate, being a flexible multivariate multilevel model, this MGRM-ALGC model not only produces item parameter estimates that are readily estimable and interpretable but also estimates the corresponding covariation in the developmental dimensions. In terms of substantive interpretation, as adolescents perceived themselves more socially isolated, the chance that they are engaged with delinquent peers becomes profoundly larger. Generally, boys have a higher initial exposure extent than girls. However, there is no gender difference associated with other latent growth parameters.

Johnson-Neyman Type Technique in Hierarchical Linear Models

In hierarchical linear models we often find that group indicator variables at the cluster level are significant predictors for the regression slopes. When this is the case, the average relationship between the outcome and a key independent variable are different from group to group. In these settings, a question such as “what range of the independent variable is the difference in the outcome variable statistically significant among groups?” naturally arises. The Johnson–Neyman (J-N) technique answers this kind of question in the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) settings. In the hierarchical modeling context, the F test, which is widely used in ANCOVA, cannot be applied because the assumption of homogeneity of variance within cluster units is violated. Instead, the approximate Wald test can be used to determine the region of significance. To illustrate the application of the J-N technique in the context of hierarchical linear modeling, an example from research in education is provided.

Perceived Challenge, Teacher Support, and Teacher Obstruction as Predictors of Student Engagement.

This study explored associations between students’ perceptions of challenge, teacher-provided support and obstruction, and students’ momentary academic engagement in high school science classrooms. Instrumental and emotional dimensions of support and obstruction were examined separately, and analyses tested whether the relationship between challenge and engagement was moderated by teacher support, teacher obstruction, and individual characteristics like gender and grade level. Students’ perceptions of challenge were positively related to their momentary reports of engagement in science learning activities, while teachers’ instrumental support was positively associated with engagement across all levels of perceived challenge. Even though teachers’ provision of emotional support was not predictive of student engagement, teachers’ emotional obstruction was negatively associated with student engagement. Teachers’ instrumental obstruction had less consistent associations with student engagement, and was only associated with declines in engagement during those moments when students perceived greater challenge in class. Both gender and grade level emerged as moderators of the relationship between challenge and engagement. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research and instructional practice.

Demographic, Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Variables Associated With Overweight and Obesity in Low-Active Girls

This study examined personal, cognitive, affective, and behavioral variables related to body mass index (BMI) among 73 6th and 7th grade girls, and differences between categories of healthy weight, overweight, and obese in the variables. BMI was correlated with barriers to physical activity, enjoyment of physical activity, light physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity, vigorous physical activity, and sedentary time. As compared to obese girls, those who were non-obese perceived greater enjoyment of physical activity, engaged in more light and vigorous physical activity, and had fewer minutes/hour of sedentary time. Findings can inform interventions.