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The Extended Crosswise Model (ECWM) is a randomized response model with neutral response categories, relatively simple instructions, and the availability of a goodness-of-fit test. This paper refines this model with a number sequence randomizer that virtually precludes the possibility to give evasive responses. The motivation for developing this model stems from a strategic priority of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) to monitor the prevalence of doping use by elite athletes. For this model we derived a maximum likelihood estimator that allows for binary logistic regression analysis. Three studies were conducted on online platforms with a total of over 6, 000 respondents; two on controlled substance use and one on compliance with COVID-19 regulations in the UK during the first lockdown. The results of these studies are promising. The goodness-of-fit tests showed little to no evidence for response biases, and the ECWM yielded higher prevalence estimates than direct questions for sensitive questions, and similar ones for non-sensitive questions. Furthermore, the randomizer with the shortest number sequences yielded the smallest response error rates on a control question with known prevalence. ispartof: PLOS ONE vol:17 issue:12 ispartof: location:United States status: published

StatRec is a prediction instrument for recidivism making use of only a limited number of static factors. In this paper, we discuss and update the StatRec scale for four-year reconviction and evaluate its predictive performance over several dimensions: time, region and non-random subsamples. Additionally, using criminal file data we investigate to what extend adding dynamic factors improves the predictive performance. The predictive performance of the scale proves to be relatively stable over time and comparable to the England and Wales’ OGRS-scales. The precision of the estimated probabilities is the only indicator that decreases slightly as time passes. Though the scale does not make use of dynamic and situational factors related to the risk of re-offending, criminal file analyses show that adding these enhance the predictive power only slightly. The scale could play a role in the validation of more specified dynamic risk instruments.

Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS), also known as Complex posttraumatic stress disorder, was assessed in a sample (N = 472) of adult psychiatric patients with confirmed diagnoses of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Somatoform Disorders (SoD), comorbid BPD + SoD, or Affective or Anxiety Disorders (Psychiatric Controls, PC). BPD + SoD patients had the most extensive childhood trauma histories and were most likely (38%) to meet DESNOS criteria, followed by BPD (26%), PC (17%), and SoD (10%), The BPD + SoD and BPD-only groups reported significantly higher levels of DESNOS symptoms than the SoD or PC groups, and did not differ from each other except for greater severity of DESNOS somatic symptoms by the BPD + SoD group. DESNOS warrants further investigation with psychiatrically impaired adults as a potential independent syndrome or as a marker identifying a subgroups of affectively or both affectively and somatically dysregulated patients diagnosed with BPD who have childhood trauma histories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder and Somatoform Disorders (PDF Download Available). Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232491929_Complex_Posttraumatic_Stress_Disorder_in_Patients_With_Borderline_Personality_Disorder_and_Somatoform_Disorders [accessed Oct 29, 2015].

In qualitative research of multiple case studies, Miles and Huberman proposed to summarize the separate cases in a so-called meta-matrix that consists of cases by variables. Yin discusses cross-case synthesis to study this matrix. We propose correspondence analysis (CA) as a useful tool to study this matrix. CA is a quantitative method that yields a graphical display of the rows and of the columns of a matrix. The rows and the columns receive coordinates that can be interpreted as quantifications, hence the cases can be compared using these quantifications. Using an example from qualitative educational research into teaching philosophy, we illustrate both methods and their complementarity. We discuss special features of the application of CA to case study research, such as flexible ways of coding the data, and the stability of the CA solution when the number of cases is much smaller than the number of variables.

Longitudinal studies have shown that preschool children's diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are likely to persist into school age. However, limited attention has been paid to instability of diagnosis. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to investigate both stability and change of ODD, CD and ADHD diagnosis in children aged 3.5-5.5 years. For diagnosing these disorders, a semi-structured diagnostic parent interview, i.e., the Kiddie-Disruptive Behavior Disorder Schedule (K-DBDS), was used at the first assessment and at follow-up assessments (9 and 18 months). Five diagnostic stability groups (chronic, partial remission, full remission, new onset, no diagnosis) were compared with regard to impairment and number of symptoms. Participants were referred preschool children with externalizing behavioral problems (N = 193; 83 % male) and typically developing (TD) children (N = 58; 71 % male). Follow-up assessments allowed to distinguish children belonging to the chronic group of ODD, CD or ADHD from those belonging to one of the remission groups. In addition, there was a substantial number of children with a new onset diagnosis. In conclusion, as a complement to studies showing stability of ODD, CD and ADHD diagnosis into school age, present findings point to changes of diagnosis in the preschool and early school period. Diagnostic reassessments therefore are needed in this age group.

What are the methodological requirements of performance measures? To what extent can managers influence performance scores and do they have similar organizational circumstances? What is needed for sound and fair comparisons between organizations? In this article, a step-by-step plan for performance comparisons between organizations is proposed in which both administrative and methodological challenges are addressed. The plan is illustrated with two performance measures derived from the Dutch prison system. Performance analysts may use the plan to analyze performance of public organizations.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines traumatic stress reactions in couples that were followed prospectively for 18 months after a burn event to their child. METHOD: The participants included 186 mothers and 159 fathers of 198 preschool children. Parents' self-reported traumatic stress reactions were measured with the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Predictors included parental emotions and the perceived life-threatening character of the child's injury. RESULTS: Rates for clinically significant symptoms (IES ≥26) decreased from 50% within the first month to 18% at 18 months postburn for mothers and from 27% to 6% for fathers. The decline in symptoms was not entirely linear. Mothers had higher scores than fathers, but the discrepancy in intrusion symptoms among couples diminished over the course of time. Early appraisal of life threat and emotions about the burn event were significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Both mothers and fathers are seriously affected by a burn event of their young child. Despite a general decrease over time, a subgroup of parents is at risk for chronic symptoms. The results call for the integration of prolonged parent support in family centered pediatric burn aftercare programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en

Using criminal population criminal conviction history information, prediction models are developed that predict three types of criminal recidivism: general recidivism, violent recidivism and sexual recidivism. The research question is whether prediction techniques from modern statistics, data mining and machine learning provide an improvement in predictive performance over classical statistical methods, namely logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis. These models are compared on a large selection of performance measures. Results indicate that classical methods do equally well as or better than their modern counterparts. The predictive performance of the different techniques differs only slightly for general and violent recidivism, while differences are larger for sexual recidivism. For the general and violent recidivism data we present the results of logistic regression and for sexual recdivisim of linear discriminant analysis.

Most dichotomous item response models share the assumption of latent monotonicity, which states that the probability of a positive response to an item is a nondecreasing function of a latent variable intended to be measured. Latent monotonicity cannot be evaluated directly, but it implies manifest monotonicity across a variety of observed scores, such as the restscore, a single item score, and in some cases the total score. In this study, we show that manifest monotonicity can be tested by means of the order-constrained statistical inference framework. We propose a procedure that uses this framework to determine whether manifest monotonicity should be rejected for specific items. This approach provides a likelihood ratio test for which the p-value can be approximated through simulation. A simulation study is presented that evaluates the Type I error rate and power of the test, and the procedure is applied to empirical data.Keywords: item response theory, latent monotonicity, manifest monotonicity, monotone homogeneity model, order-constrained statistical inference

Using criminal population criminal conviction history information, prediction models are developed that predict three types of criminal recidivism: general recidivism, violent recidivism and sexual recidivism. The research question is whether prediction techniques from modern statistics, data mining and machine learning provide an improvement in predictive performance over classical statistical methods, namely logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis. These models are compared on a large selection of performance measures. Results indicate that classical methods do equally well as or better than their modern counterparts. The predictive performance of the different techniques differs only slightly for general and violent recidivism, while differences are larger for sexual recidivism. For the general and violent recidivism data we present the results of logistic regression and for sexual recdivisim of linear discriminant analysis.

Objective This multicenter study examines acute stress reactions in couples following a burn event to their preschool child. Methods Participants were 182 mothers and 154 fathers, including 143 couples, of 193 children (0–4 years) with acute burns. Parents’ self-reported acute stress reactions and emotions regarding the burn event were measured within the first month postburn. Results More mothers than fathers reported clinically significant acute stress reactions. Multilevel analysis revealed that individual parent reactions were associated with parent gender and negative emotions about the burn event. Interestingly, avoidance symptoms overlapped to an important extent within couples, whereas intrusion symptoms were mainly intra-individual. Burn characteristics, such as burn size, contributed to acute stress within couples. Conclusions Mothers and fathers are seriously affected by their child’s burn trauma and share a part of their acute stress reactions. These results emphasize the importance of a family-based approach to support adjustment after pediatric medical trauma.

In dit methodologische artikel wordt een nieuwe aanpak gepresenteerd om te kijken naar studiesucces. De responsvariabele ‘studiesucces’ wordt gecodeerd als een ordinale variabele met de categorieën (i) vertrek in jaar 1, (ii) vertrek na jaar 1 dan wel langer studeren dan 4 jaar, (iii) diploma in jaar 4 en (iv) diploma in jaar 3. Studiesucces wordt voorspeld met ordinale regressie, waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van gegevens beschikbaar in het studievoortgangsysteem van de Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen (FSW) van de Universiteit Utrecht. In de presentatie van de resultaten wordt de nadruk gelegd op het interpreteren van de kansen dat een student in een van de vier categorieën van de variabele ‘Studiesucces’ terechtkomt. Door de tijd heen worden analyses verricht, waarbij de tentamenresultaten een steeds belangrijkere rol blijken te krijgen. Er wordt een Excel-programma gepresenteerd waarmee de kansen van een individuele student eenvoudig kunnen worden bepaald door zijn gegevens in te voeren. De gepresenteerde methodiek is eenvoudig door andere instellingen in het hoger onderwijs te implementeren.

In dit methodologische artikel wordt een nieuwe aanpak gepresenteerd om te kijken naar studiesucces. De responsvariabele ‘studiesucces’ wordt gecodeerd als een ordinale variabele met de categorieën (i) vertrek in jaar 1, (ii) vertrek na jaar 1 dan wel langer studeren dan 4 jaar, (iii) diploma in jaar 4 en (iv) diploma in jaar 3. Studiesucces wordt voorspeld met ordinale regressie, waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van gegevens beschikbaar in het studievoortgangsysteem van de Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen (FSW) van de Universiteit Utrecht. In de presentatie van de resultaten wordt de nadruk gelegd op het interpreteren van de kansen dat een student in een van de vier categorieën van de variabele ‘Studiesucces’ terechtkomt. Door de tijd heen worden analyses verricht, waarbij de tentamenresultaten een steeds belangrijkere rol blijken te krijgen. Er wordt een Excel-programma gepresenteerd waarmee de kansen van een individuele student eenvoudig kunnen worden bepaald door zijn gegevens in te voeren. De gepresenteerde methodiek is eenvoudig door andere instellingen in het hoger onderwijs te implementeren.

Objective This multicenter study examines acute stress reactions in couples following a burn event to their preschool child. Methods Participants were 182 mothers and 154 fathers, including 143 couples, of 193 children (0–4 years) with acute burns. Parents’ self-reported acute stress reactions and emotions regarding the burn event were measured within the first month postburn. Results More mothers than fathers reported clinically significant acute stress reactions. Multilevel analysis revealed that individual parent reactions were associated with parent gender and negative emotions about the burn event. Interestingly, avoidance symptoms overlapped to an important extent within couples, whereas intrusion symptoms were mainly intra-individual. Burn characteristics, such as burn size, contributed to acute stress within couples. Conclusions Mothers and fathers are seriously affected by their child’s burn trauma and share a part of their acute stress reactions. These results emphasize the importance of a family-based approach to support adjustment after pediatric medical trauma.

Affect regulation is often compromised as a result of early life interpersonal traumatization and disruption in caregiving relationships like in situations where the caretaker is emotionally, sexually or physically abusing the child. Prior studies suggest a clear relationship between early childhood attachment-related psychological trauma and affect dysregulation. We evaluated the relationship of retrospectively recalled childhood traumatization by primary caretaker(s) (TPC) and affect dysregulation in 472 adult psychiatric patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), somatoform disorder (SoD), both BPD and SoD, or disorders other than BPD or SoD, using the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, the self-report version of the Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress, the Self-Rating Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (SRIP) and the Traumatic Experiences Checklist. Almost two-thirds of participants reported having experienced childhood TPC, ranging from approximately 50% of patients with SoD or other psychiatric disorders to more than 75% of patients with comorbid BPD+SoD. Underregulation of affect was associated with emotional TPC and TPC occurring in developmental epoch 0-6 years. Over-regulation of affect was associated with physical TPC. Childhood trauma by a primary caretaker is prevalent among psychiatric patients, particularly those with BPD, and differentially associated with underand over-regulation of affect depending on the type of traumatic exposure. Keywords: Borderline personality disorder; somatoform disorders; child abuse; affect dysregulation (Published: 28 March 2011) Citation: European Journal of Psychotraumatology 2011, 2: 5628 - DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v2i0.5628 For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files in the column to the right (under Reading Tools).

Randomized response is a misclassification design to estimate the prevalence of sensitive behaviour.Respondents who do not followthe instructions of the design are considered to be cheating. A mixture model is proposed to estimate the prevalence of sensitive behaviour and cheating in the case of a dual sampling scheme with direct questioning and randomized response. The mixing weight is the probability of cheating, where cheating is modelled separately for direct questioning and randomized response. For Bayesian inference, Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling is applied to sample parameter values from the posterior. The model makes it possible to analyse dual sample scheme data in a unified way and to assess cheating for direct questions as well as for randomized response questions. The research is illustrated with randomized response data concerning violations of regulations for social benefit.

Randomized response is a misclassification design to estimate the prevalence of sensitive behaviour.Respondents who do not followthe instructions of the design are considered to be cheating. A mixture model is proposed to estimate the prevalence of sensitive behaviour and cheating in the case of a dual sampling scheme with direct questioning and randomized response. The mixing weight is the probability of cheating, where cheating is modelled separately for direct questioning and randomized response. For Bayesian inference, Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling is applied to sample parameter values from the posterior. The model makes it possible to analyse dual sample scheme data in a unified way and to assess cheating for direct questions as well as for randomized response questions. The research is illustrated with randomized response data concerning violations of regulations for social benefit.