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The functional approach of emotion regulation has been mainly used in the clinical context. However, other fields such as traffic psychology have also adopted this perspective, showing interest in how difficulties in emotion regulation might interfere in driving. Various driving styles have been associated with maladaptive emotion regulation. Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is the most commonly used instrument to assess ER difficulties and it is often used in the context of driving. Most studies have scored DERS by using procedures of the classical test theory approach instead of advanced psychometrics. In this study, a sample of 318 male drivers aged between 20 and 69 (M age = 41.6 years, SD = 11.0) completed the DERS. The total sample was divided in two halves: drivers with road traffic offences and matched controls. Data analysis was carried out using the Rasch Rating Scale Model (RSM). Results indicated that response categories performed inadequately. Collapsing the 5 original categories into 3 new categories was necessary. To meet the unidimensionality requirement, both the first DERS item and the awareness subscale were removed. Model-data fit was then good enough. Item Separation Reliability (ISR = 0.97) was excellent and Person Separation Reliability (PSR = 0.89) was quite good. Even though requirements of invariant measurement were met, there was low validity evidence for the driving context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was the validation of the Colombian version of The Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) by means of the Rasch Rating Scale Model. The Q-CHAT was applied to parents of 100 typically developing toddlers and 40 toddlers and preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Q-CHAT scores showed some limitations. The questionnaire did not meet the condition of unidimensionality. Two dimensions were detected. The first dimension, with 13 items and 4 response categories (13i-4c), showed good psychometric properties: the items fit the Rasch Rating Scale model, the reliability of persons and items was appropriate, and scores adequately discriminate between children with and without ASD. The second dimension is a measure of traits that are usually associated with ASD, but that have shown validity problems. Thus, it is proposed that dimension 1 of the Q-CHAT (13i-4c) be used as the screening tool for ASD in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Our objective was to conduct a validation study of the Portuguese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) by means of the Rasch Rating Scale Model, and then compare it with the most used scales of anxiety in Portugal. The sample consisted of 1,160 adults (427 men and 733 women), aged 18-82 years old (M=33.39; SD=11.85). Instruments were Beck Anxiety Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. It was found that Beck Anxiety Inventory's system of four categories, the data-model fi t, and people reliability were adequate. The measure can be considered as unidimensional. Gender and age-related differences were not a threat to the validity. BAI correlated significantly with other anxiety measures. In conclusion, BAI shows good psychometric quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis that there would be a consistently ordered sequence of basic emotion words in Spanish—a phenomenal claim—has been strongly corroborated on 103,184 emotion terms from a representative corpus of 188,975,000. The observed sequence of miedo, pena, sorpresa, alegría, rabia, desprecio and asco—linguistic exemplars of emotion “families” corresponding to fear, sadness, surprise, happiness, anger, contempt and disgust—is highly consistent diachronically (through current and modern Spanish), and synchronically (through various countries, among them—Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA and Venezuela). These results converge with evidence of emotion universals from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, as well as with predictions from functional approaches. By analogy with the colour-perception domain, it is proposed that this sequence be hypothesized as a ranking of psychological salience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study was designed to quantify, by means of the Rasch model (RM), the effects of three instruction/ scoring conditions on student measures and on the reliability of an achievement multiple-choice test in a field context. Examinees performed the test in one of three conditions which differed only in the instructions provided. Predictions regarding performance indicators were fulfilled, and the expected differences in reliability favoring omission-inducing instructions did appear. This difference in reliability was found for both Rasch and raw data and thus it can be concluded that the fact that results from previous studies failed to corroborate this prediction must have been due to the lack of important consequences of test scores for the students. The RM has served to neatly quantify the differences between instructions promoting guessing and instructions promoting omission under uncertainty, showing that the recommendation to omit is not only educationally but also psychometrically sound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes some performance factors as a possible source of sex-related bias in psychometric tests of visuospatial aptitude. Effect of slowness of performance and reluctance to guess; Contribution of time limits and raw scores to the male advantage; Tests in the speedpower continuum.