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Given that camouflaging has been suggested to contribute to delayed diagnosis and mental health problems among autistic people, validated measures of the construct are needed. This study describes the psychometric evaluation of the Swedish adaptation of the self-reported Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) in autistic (n = 100) and general population (n = 539) samples aged 10 to 83 years. Analyses indicated good-to-excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Construct validity was supported by autistic participants scoring higher than non-autistic, and autistic females scoring higher than autistic males on the measure. Also as expected, camouflaging was associated with theoretically linked traits, including autistic behaviors and depressive symptoms. On the other hand, the factor structure of the original CAT-Q did not provide a good fit in the Swedish data set, and validity issues were found, particularly in children younger than 15 years, warranting further investigation of the construct validity of the scale. Different age trajectories were observed, where camouflaging behaviors decreased during adulthood in non-autistic people but remained at an elevated level among autistic people.

Computer-based assessments is becoming more and more common in mathematics education, and because the digital media entails other demands than paper-based tests, potential threats against validity must be considered. In this study we investigate how preparatory instructions and digital familiarity, may be of importance for test validity. 77 lower secondary students participated in the study and were divided into two groups that received different instructions about five different types of dynamic and/or interactive functions in digital mathematics items. One group received a verbal and visual instruction, whereas the other group also got the opportunity to try using the functions themselves. The students were monitored using eye-tracking equipment during their work with mathematics items with the five types of functions. The result revealed differences in how the students undertook the dynamic functions due to the students' preparatory instructions. One conclusion is that students need to be very familiar with dynamic and interactive functions in tests, if validity is to be ensured. The validity also depends on the type of dynamic function used.

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a simulation-based assessment tool used extensively in medical education for evaluating clinical competence. OSCEs are widely regarded as more valid, reliable, and valuable compared to traditional assessment measures, and are now emerging within professional psychology training programs. While there is a lack of findings related to the quality of OSCEs in published psychology literature, psychometric properties can be inferred by investigating implementation. Accordingly, the current review assessed implementation of OSCEs within psychology programs against a set of Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAGs). Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) recommendations. Electronic databases including ProQuest Psychology, PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, PsycInfo and key indexing databases such as Scopus, ProQuest, and Web of Science were used to identify relevant articles. Twelve full-text articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Results: There was considerable heterogeneity in the quality of studies and reporting of OSCE data. Implementation of OSCEs against QAGs revealed overall adherence to be "Fair." Conclusion: The current review consolidated what is known on psychometric quality of OSCEs within psychology programs. A further need for quantitative evidence on psychometric soundness of OSCEs within psychology training is highlighted. Furthermore, it is recommended that future training programs implement and report OSCEs in accordance with standardized guidelines.

Cosmology concepts encompass complex spatial and temporal relations that are counterintuitive. Cosmology findings, because of their intrinsic interest, are often reported in the public domain with enthusiasm, and students come to cosmology with a range of conceptions some aligned and some at variance with the current science. This makes cosmology concepts challenging to teach, and also challenging to evaluate students' conceptual understanding. This study builds on previous research of the authors investigating the methodological challenges for characterising students' cosmology conceptions and the reasoning underlying these. Insights from student responses in two iterations of an open-ended instrument were used to develop a concept inventory that combined cosmological conceptions with reasoning levels based on the SOLO taxonomy. This paper reports on the development and validation of the Cosmology Concept Inventory (CosmoCI) for high school. CosmoCI is a 28-item multiple-choice instrument that was implemented with grade 10 and 11 school students (n = 234) in Australia and Sweden. Using Rasch analysis in the form of a partial credit model (PCM), the paper describes a validated progression in student reasoning in cosmology across four conceptual dimensions, supporting the utility of CosmoCI as an assessment tool which can also instigate rich discussions in the science classroom.

This study aimed to review the validity and/or reliability of light-intensity physical activity (LPA) questionnaires and identify the most suitable questionnaires for measurement of LPA in adults. Following the PRISMA-P 2020 guidelines, we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase, and MedNar. Only studies that targeted adults [greater than or equal to]18 years old and used LPA measured by accelerometer and/or heart rate monitor as an objective criterion were included. The search resulted in 2748 article hits, from which we extracted 16 studies with 14 questionnaires. The 7-Day Sedentary and LPA Log and LPA Questionnaire were specifically designed for LPA measurement, and the Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors physical activity self-report questionnaire scale has been revised for LPA measurement. These questionnaires had comparatively high reliability and validity in this review. Most studies contained methodological limitations such as test-retest period. In the future, more accurate reliability/validity studies should be conducted for each questionnaire.

High quality of teacher-student relationships is widely recognized as fundamental part of good education. Moreover, students' self-efficacy beliefs, or their confidence to succeed within different domains at school, are important impact factors to achievement. Although there is support for an association between student-perceived teacher-student relationship quality and students' self-efficacy judgements, which mediates achievement, no tool explores this association. This article suggests that two instruments, respectively measuring students' perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality (TSR) and student's self-efficacy (SSE), can be used in parallel for a multifaceted exploration of individual students' perception of TSR quality, in relationship to their self-efficacy. Two well-established instruments were adopted, validated and their factor structures re-confirmed in a Swedish sample, using data from students in five schools (n=382). Factor analysis showed that models with three underlying dimensions of TSR and four underlying dimensions of SSE were the most appropriate. All sub-scales showed good-to-excellent reliability (Cronbach's[alpha] = 0.75-0.94). Findings indicated a lack of multigroup invariance across gender and school level for the TSR-model. Substantial associations were found between student-perceived teacher support, and students' self-efficacy for self-regulated learning and global academic success. We discuss utility and limitations, need of model improvement, and future potential.

Play and peer interactions are crucial for children's socioemotional development and growth. However, children with special needs, disabilities, and developmental delays may not participate in play with peers as much as typically developing children. Reliable and valid assessment information of children's social behavior is necessary to design programs that support the socioemotional development of young children with and without special needs. The Teacher Impression Scale (TIS) is a behavioral rating scale based on systematic observations of children's social behaviors in play. The study aimed to examine the internal structure evidence and the reliability of the Swedish version of the TIS. A sample of 46 preschool teachers used the TIS to rate the social behavior of 92 children. Teachers observed children with special education needs (SEN) and typically developing children (TD) during a 2-week time to assess the children's social interactions in different play situations. The results showed that the Swedish version of the TIS, the TIS-S, is reliable and can help teachers to identify the need of support for children in play and social interaction in inclusive preschool environments. Furthermore, the instrument could also be useful for identifying special educational strategies aimed at strengthening the social interaction between children.

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of characteristics often observed in typically developing people with a genetic load for autism, such as parents of autistic children. The Broad Autism Phenotypic Questionnaire (BAPQ) is a 36-item questionnaire developed to identify the BAP in first-degree relatives of autistic people. We translated the BAPQ into Swedish and examined its psychometric properties in a Swedish sample consisting of 45 parents of children with ASC and 74 parents of non-autistic children. We found support for the original 3-factor structure (aloof, pragmatic language and rigid), good internal consistency and convergent validity with the Autism Quotient. Thus, the Swedish BAPQ exhibits acceptable psychometric properties and may be useful for assessing the BAP in non-clinical populations.

Finding valid and reliable ways to assess complex clinical skills within psychology is a challenge. Recently, there have been some examples of applying Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in psychology for making such assessments. The aim of this study was to examine students' and examiners' perceptions of a digital OSCE in psychology regarding quality and students' feelings about the OSCE. Participants were 51 students enrolled in the Programme for Master of Science in Clinical Psychology during two semesters and nine examiners assessing each OSCE occasion, at Umeå University, Sweden. Web-based questionnaires were used for data collection. Psychometric analyses indicated that the subscales in the student questionnaire had adequate or close to adequate levels of item and scale reliability. Both students and examiners felt that the digital OSCE was realistic, valid and well-aligned with professional practice. Although students perceived the digital OSCE as stressful, the results showed that they were focused and concentrated and found the OSCE to be a positive learning experience, implying that the stress did not affect performance to any significant extent. Based on the examiners' experiences, it can be concluded that there are both advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered when planning future digital OSCEs.

The factor structure of the measure of school engagement 'Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning: Teacher Report' was investigated in the sample of 360 Swedish 6th graders. Confirmatory factor analyses showed no support for the suggested four-factor structure including behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, behavioural disaffection and emotional disaffection. Exploratory analyses resulted instead in solutions differentiating between indicators of engagement and indicators of emotional problems. A four-factor solution including factors of positive engagement, disengagement, internalized and externalized emotional problems had the best fit. Positive engagement and disengagement factors showed good internal consistency with omega coefficients exceeding 0.95 and are deemed suitable for further use. Several challenges of measuring the complex construct of school engagement are discussed.

The present study reports on the development of a questionnaire that evaluates children's experiences of their physical classroom environment, activities and interactions. It also explores the psychometric properties of the questionnaire and how acoustical characteristics of the classroom, class size and student characteristics (age, sex and Swedish as a second language) influence the self-reported outcomes. After development, the questionnaire name should read Activities and Interactions in the Classroom were administered to 101 students (7.9-10.7 years old). Demographic information about the students was collected from parents. The psychometric properties including test-retest reliability are good but can be improved by reducing the number of items. Acoustical characteristics of the classrooms and student characteristics did not predict questionnaire outcomes. As the acoustical conditions in students' classrooms were close to optimal, communication fostering support should be in focus. The present questionnaire can be used to assess young students' experiences of their classroom environment and learning situations.

The paper argues that contemporary test validity theory places the consequences of testing on the lives of all college applicants at the back of the test validation argument. It introduces the notion of test efficacy as a process to gather evidence on claims on consequences of testing on all college applicants that can be traced back to validity. The paper proposes a test efficacy framework to evaluate test efficacy claims on the impact of admission examinations on all college applicants (not just those attaining the admission standard).

The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) is a structured observation instrument. It has been developed to support high-quality early childhood inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities. The aim of this study is to examine the cultural validity of the instrument in Swedish preschools and to investigate its perceived usefulness in a Swedish preschool context. Ten special educators, who conducted professional dialogues with preschool teachers and other preschool staff members in a Swedish municipality, were enrolled. The instrument was compared with the Swedish national curriculum for the preschool, and the perceptions of special educators were collected by way of dialogue seminar method. Thematic analyses were conducted. The results of the study show that the instrument, with few exceptions, is valid in Sweden, and that the instrument can be useful for special educators conducting professional dialogues about early childhood inclusion with preschool teachers and other preschool staff members. The study has relevance for those who work with early childhood inclusion in Sweden as well as elsewhere, and for those who plan to validate the instrument and investigate its perceived usefulness in a context pertinent to them. High-quality inclusion is on the agenda in many nations, and a Sustainable Development Goal. [Paper presented at the Intergenerational and Comparative Perspectives on Quality Inclusive Education (ICPQIE) (Stockholm, Sweden, June 22-25, 2018).]

This study aims to present the validation of a test designed to assess young learners' general L2 English vocabulary knowledge, the Young Learner Vocabulary Assessment Test (YLVAT). YLVAT consists of 37 items selected from the K1-2 frequency levels of the Productive and Vocabulary Levels Tests. In the study, Swedish learners (N = 52, age 12) took YLVAT and filled out an evaluation; scores from the national test of English (reading and listening comprehension) were also collected. Four validity measurements were used: the spread of YLVAT scores, correlation with the national test--reading, correlation with the national test--listening, and evaluation responses. YLVAT results point to a sufficient spread of scores (M = 18.9, SD = 6.5). There were significant correlations between YLVAT and (1) reading (r = 0.597**), (2) listening (r = 0.541**), (3) perceived test difficulty (r[subscript s] = -0.538**), and (4) how fun it was to take the test (r[subscript s] = 0.683**). An ANOVA showed that learners who found YLVAT "easy" or "very easy" scored significantly (p = 0.000) higher (26.1) than those who found it "difficult" (18.3) or "very difficult" (12.9). Finally, teachers found YLVAT to correlate with their own assessment of learners' vocabulary.

Evaluating knowledge and learning in psychotherapy is a growing field of research. Studies that develop and evaluate valid tests are lacking, however. Here, in the context of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for adolescents, a new test was developed using subject matter experts, consensus among researchers, self-reports by youths, and a literature review. An explorative factor analysis was performed on 93 adolescents between 15 and 19 years old, resulting in a three-factor solution with 20 items, accounting for 41% of the total variance. The factors were "Act in aversive states," "Using positive reinforcement," and "Shifting attention." The internal consistency for the whole instrument was good ([alpha] = 0.84). Hopefully, the procedure presented here can contribute to the field by illustrating one way of evaluating knowledge in ICBT. The clinical use of the knowledge test needs further investigation.

This study contributes to an operationalization of the concept of action competence for sustainability through the theoretical development and empirical validation of a new 12-item Likert-scale questionnaire: "the Self-Perceived Action Competence for Sustainability Questionnaire," SPACS-Q. Other scales in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) typically measure concepts such as pro-environmental and sustainability attitudes and behaviors, and therefore do not fully cover the concept of action competence for sustainability. An action differs from a 'mere' behavior in that it is voluntary and targeted at bringing about change, which is the overarching goal of ESE. We define action competence as a latent capacity among individuals to act sustainably. We introduce a novel scale measuring this seminal concept. Totally, 614 Swedish adolescents aged 12-19 participated in this study. The scale includes three latent subconstructs: i) knowledge of action possibilities, ii) confidence in one's own influence, and iii) the willingness to act. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability measures and investigation of convergent validity reveal a questionnaire instrument with excellent psychometric quality. We put forward that the SPACS-Q is a novel and theory-driven, empirically reliable and valid, instrument, and encourage fellow researchers to use the SPACS-Q when investigating people's action competence for sustainability in various contexts.

Purpose: Intelligibility is a core concept of speech-language pathology, central both to the assessment of speech disorders and to intervention in such disorders. One purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and usability of a single-word assessment procedure, the Swedish Test of Intelligibility for Children (STI-CH), in a clinical setting. Another purpose was to investigate the validity and reliability of an assessment method designed to assess functional intelligibility: the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS). Method: Thirty children aged 4;1-10;1 years;months were recruited from speech-language pathology clinics in Western Sweden. Each child's treating speech-language pathologist served as listener in the STI-CH assessment while the ICS was completed by each child's parents. External listeners (2 last-year speech-language pathology students) were used to assess the validity of the speech-language pathology. Results: The mean duration of the test procedure for the STI-CH was about 19 min, and 57% of the test sessions were reported as difficult. There was a weak but statistically significant correlation between the results from the STI-CH and the ICS (r = 0.40, p < 0.05), and both methods showed high reliability in terms of interlistener reliability (intraclass correlation exceeding 0.97) and internal consistency, respectively. Conclusions: The STI-CH had high reliability and was time efficient but had some procedural problems. The ICS had moderate validity but high reliability. The STI-CH is promising for clinical use but needs to be developed further. The validity of the ICS can be discussed and needs to be further investigated.

This research aimed at evaluating the development and use of low-cost affective domain assessment instruments, culminating with personal and group characterization of representative global information technology (IT) professional values. Values and valuing are a compelling component of Bloom's affective domain of learning for engineering education. In helping students develop professional engineering competencies, it is essential that they develop not just cognitive knowledge of something but also values related to that knowledge and the ability to express these values in professional action. However, even if some professional values are identified, understood, and expressed, assessing students' values and valuing are difficult, and assessment instruments are often difficult to develop, particularly for assessing student learning in the context of a particular course. This exploratory study aimed at examining assessment of dispositional knowledge in the context of global software engineering (GSE). It focused on the development and use of a set of instruments for assessing affective domain student learning of global IT/software engineering (SE) professional values. The project included making explicit the IT professional values of interest among the participating faculty in the form of actionable value statements. Following a process derived from Thurstone scale development, the project included validation of these statements with an expert panel as question roots, followed by the use of these questions to investigate student and alumni receiving, responding, and valuing of these professional values. The effort needed to generate questionnaires suitable for course use was relatively low; these questionnaires were deployed to students and alumni from an open-ended global software engineering project course. Students responding reported significant agreement when receiving these global values, but sent more mixed responses in responding to and valuing them. The effort helped identify several actionable IT professional values worth reinforcing in future course offerings.

Previous studies indicate that school climate is important for student health and academic achievement. This study concerns the validity and reliability of the student edition a Swedish instrument for measuring pedagogical and social school climate (PESOC). Data were collected from 5,745 students at 97 Swedish secondary schools. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, and multilevel composite reliability estimates, as well as correlations with school-level achievement indicators, were calculated. The results supported an 8-factor structure at the student level and 1 general factor at the school level. Factor loadings and composite reliability estimates were acceptable at both levels. The school-level factor was moderately and positively correlated with school-level academic achievement. The student PESOC is a promising instrument for studying school climate.

Although students' perceived learning is central in physical education (PE), few measurements are available. Furthermore, little is known about how students' perceptions of PE effect students' perceived learning in PE. Therefore, the aim was to develop a scale to assess students' perceived learning and a measurement to assess students' perceived contentment in PE, and furthermore, to analyze the interrelationship between students' perceived learning and students' perceived contentment in PE. A total of 1203 students in Sweden who were aged 12-16 years participated. The results from the exploratory (n = 601) and confirmatory (n = 602) factor analyses as well as the validity and reliability analyses showed that there was psychometric support for the one-dimensional model perceived learning in PE and for the three-dimensional model perceived contentment in PE. The structural equation modeling analyses showed that both competence and joyfulness were directly and positively related to students' perceived learning.

Reading comprehension is often treated as a multidimensional construct. In many reading tests, items are distributed over reading process categories to represent the subskills expected to constitute comprehension. This study explores (a) the extent to which specified subskills of reading comprehension tests are conceptually conceivable to teachers, who score and use national reading test results and (b) the extent to which teachers agree on how to locate and define item difficulty in terms of expected text comprehension. Eleven teachers of Swedish were asked to classify items from a national reading test in Sweden by process categories similar to the categories used in the PIRLS reading test. They were also asked to describe the type of comprehension necessary for solving the items. Findings of the study suggest that the reliability of item classification is limited and that teachers' perception of item difficulty is diverse. Although the data set in the study is limited, the findings indicate, in line with recent validity theory, that the division of reading comprehension into subskills by cognitive process level will require further validity evidence and should be treated with caution. Implications for the interpretation of test scores and for test development are discussed.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is among the most widely used scales assessing autistic traits in the general population. However, some aspects of the AQ are questionable. To test its scale properties, the AQ was translated into Swedish, and data were collected from 349 adults, 130 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 219 without ASD, and analysed with Rasch. Several scale properties of the AQ were satisfactory but it did not meet the criterion of a unidimensional measure of autistic traits. The Rasch analysis showed that the 50-item AQ could be reduced to a 12-item subset with little loss of explanatory power, with the potential to efficiently measure the degree to which adults with and without ASD show autistic traits.

Research is currently testing how the new maladaptive personality inventory for DSM (PID-5) and the well-established common Five-Factor Model (FFM) together can serve as an empirical and theoretical foundation for clinical psychology. The present study investigated the official short version of the PID-5 together with a common short version of FFM, reflecting the time-constraints often imposed in all types of assessment. The objective was to model the dependency of maladaptive traits on common traits, hypothesized to show a mutual structure of latent higher order factors. A Swedish adult community sample was surveyed. The results showed that all five maladaptive traits shared a conjoint higher order organization with all the five common traits through the higher order factors of positive and negative emotion, and internalizing and externalizing. In conclusion, the study results support the nascent theory and practice in section III in DSM-5 basing psychopathology on personality traits.

The purpose of this study is to describe the development and validation of a survey that examines science students' social media learning behaviours. Inherent in critiques regarding "digital natives" is a need to better understand what the current generation of learners actually do in their social media practices for "learning". The survey can help us understand how students actually use social media for learning science. Survey development followed an inductive approach [Brinkman, 2013. "Qualitative interviewing". Oxford ebook; Mansourian, 2006. "Adoption of grounded theory in LIS research." "New Library World", 107(9/10), 386-402; Strauss & Corbin, 1998. "Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and technique (2nd ed.)". Newbury Park, CA: Sage], where survey design was informed by results of focus groups with secondary and post-secondary physics students and the survey was iteratively revised after two cycles of administration and validation interviews. The final version of the "Social Media and Science Learning Survey" can be used by educators and researchers to understand how social media tools can be leveraged in order to allow learning to emerge and to use this knowledge to frame recommendations and methods for integrating these tools into classroom-based environments.

Few studies have explored the subjective mental health of adolescents with intellectual disabilities, while proxy ratings indicate an overrepresentation of mental health problems. The present study reports on the design and an initial empirical evaluation of the Well-being in Special Education Questionnaire (WellSEQ). Questions, response scales, and an application for tablet PCs were developed in cooperation with students and teachers in special education schools. One hundred and thirteen students (age 12-16) and their parents and teachers participated. Positive results in terms of test-retest reliability, internal consistency of scales, and response rates were obtained. Level of reading appeared to affect the students' understanding of items. Teachers' and parents' ratings on the WellSEQ correlated well with established measures. Correlations between proxy ratings and students' reports varied. The questionnaire and technology of WellSEQ may enable students with IDD to participate independently in research with good completion rates and reliable responding.

The diagnostic validity of the new research algorithms of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the revised algorithms of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule was examined in a clinical sample of children aged 18-47 months. Validity was determined for each instrument separately and their combination against a clinical consensus diagnosis. A total of N = 268 children (n = 171 with autism spectrum disorder) were assessed. The new Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised algorithms (research cutoff) gave excellent specificities (91%-96%) but low sensitivities (44%-52%). Applying adjusted cutoffs (lower than recommended based on receiver operating characteristics) yielded a better balance between sensitivity (77%-82%) and specificity (60%-62%). Findings for the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule were consistent with previous studies showing high sensitivity (94%-100%) and alongside lower specificity (52%-76%) when using the autism spectrum cutoff, but better balanced sensitivity (81%-94%) and specificity (81%-83%) when using the autism cutoff. A combination of both the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (with adjusted cutoff) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (autism spectrum cutoff) yielded balanced sensitivity (77%-80%) and specificity (87%-90%). Results favor a combined usage of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule in young children with unclear developmental problems, including suspicion of autism spectrum disorder. Evaluated separately, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (cutoff for autism) provides a better diagnostic accuracy than the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised.

This study presents the development process and initial validation of the NyTid test, a process-oriented movement assessment tool for compulsory school pupils. A sample of 1,260 (627 girls and 633 boys; mean age of 14.39) Swedish school children participated in the study. In the first step, exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were performed in Sample 1, consisting of one third of the participants. The EFA indicated that the 17 skills in the test could be reduced to 12 and divided into four factors. In the second step, the suggested factor structure was cross-validated with confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) in the larger Sample 2. The NyTid test adopts a holistic perspective in which qualitative criteria offer an alternative approach to product-oriented measurement. The study confirms that the NyTid test is a valid process-oriented assessment tool designed for typically developed children aged 12 and 16.

Introduction: Measures of parental self-efficacy (PSE) for healthy dietary or physical activity (PA) behaviors in children have been used in several studies; however, further psychometric validation of PSE for these behaviors is needed. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a new PSE instrument. Methods: Mothers (n = 162) of 6-year-old children in the Healthy School Start prevention trial of childhood obesity responded to the instrument and a parent-report questionnaire on diet and PA in children. In addition, PA was objectively assessed by accelerometry. Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a structure composed of three factors of PSE for dietary and PA behaviors in children, and PSE was associated with parent-report of these behaviors. Internal consistency was good. Discussion: Preliminary support of the validity and reliability of the PSE instrument was provided. The measure may be useful in prevention and treatment trials of childhood obesity.

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to explore psychometric properties of two versions of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory in a Swedish social service sample. Method: Social workers employed at 22 Swedish child protections agencies participated in the data collection. Both classic test theory approaches and Rasch analysis were used. Seventy-five (46 double) protocols of the Early Childhood version and 65 (43 double) protocols of the Middle Childhood version were obtained. Results: The interobserver reliability and Rasch reliability displayed acceptable results. Targeting was satisfying for the middle and more adequate home environments. However, there were mixed results concerning model fit. Conclusion: The scores may be used to identify families with inadequate home environments where children may be at risk.

The purpose of the study was to measure students' reported test-taking effort and the relationship between reported effort and performance on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Advanced mathematics test. This was done in three countries participating in TIMSS Advanced 2008 (Sweden, Norway, and Slovenia), and the present study is the first to make a cross-national comparison of reported effort in the TIMSS context. Students in all three samples on average reported a rather low level of motivation to spend effort on the low-stakes TIMSS test and in all nations, there was a statistically significant relationship between reported effort and test performance. These patterns of results were similar for the three nations, although there were also differences. The Swedish students reported the lowest level of invested effort, and the relationship between reported effort and test performance was strongest for Sweden. Although the study has limitations, findings are potentially important and suggest that student effort and motivation needs continued monitoring in low-stakes assessment contexts such as TIMSS, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), or National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Research and scholarship into educational effectiveness research (EER) is comprehensively reviewed from the UK, The Netherlands, the US, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and other societies, dating from the field's origins in the 1970s. Issues include its history, methodological and theoretical advances, scientific properties of school effects, processes at school and classroom level behind these effects, the somewhat limited translation of findings into policy and practice across the world, and future directions for research and practice in EER and for all of the discipline more generally. Future research needs are argued to be a further concentration upon teaching/teachers, more longitudinal studies, more work on possible context specificity, exploration of the cross-level transactions between schools and their teachers/classrooms, the adoption of "efficiency" as well as "effectiveness" as outcome measures, and a renewed focus upon the education of the disadvantaged, the original focus of our discipline when it began.

Previous studies indicate that a worldwide measurement tool may be developed based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for chronic conditions. The aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of constructing a cross-cultural measurement of functioning for patients with low back pain (LBP) on the basis of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for LBP and to evaluate the properties of the ICF Core Set. The Comprehensive ICF Core Set for LBP was scored by health professionals for 972 patients with LBP from 17 countries. Qualifier levels of the categories, invariance across age, sex and countries, construct validity and the ordering of the categories in the components of body function, body structure, activities and participation were explored by Rasch analysis. The item-trait chi[superscript 2]-statistics showed that the 53 categories in the ICF Core Set for LBP did not fit the Rasch model ("P" less than 0.001). The main challenge was the invariance in the responses according to country. Analysis of the four countries with the largest sample sizes indicated that the data from Germany fit the Rasch model, and the data from Norway, Serbia and Kuwait in terms of the components of body functions and activities and participation also fit the model. The component of body functions and activity and participation had a negative mean location, -2.19 (SD 1.19) and -2.98 (SD 1.07), respectively. The negative location indicates that the ICF Core Set reflects patients with a lower level of function than the present patient sample. The present results indicate that it may be possible to construct a clinical measure of function on the basis of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for LBP by calculating country-specific scores before pooling the data.

Criterion-referenced measures, such as those used in the assessment of crime and violence, prioritize predictive accuracy (discrimination) at the expense of construct validity. In this article, we compared the discrimination and incremental validity of three commonly used criterion-referenced measures for sex offenders (Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offence Recidivism [RRASOR], Static-99R, and Static-2002R). In a meta-analysis of 20 samples (n = 7,491), Static-99R and Static-2002R provided similar discrimination but outperformed the RRASOR in the prediction of sexual, violent, and any recidivism. Remarkably, despite large correlations between them (rs ranging from 0.70 to 0.92), these risk scales consistently added incremental validity to one another. The direction of the incremental effects, however, was not consistently positive. When controlling for the other measures, high scores on the RRASOR were associated with lower risk for violent and any recidivism. We also examined different methods of combining risk scales and found that the averaging approach produced better discrimination than choosing the highest score and produced better calibration than either choosing the lowest or highest risk score. The findings reinforce the importance of understanding the psychological content of criterion-referenced measures, even when the sole purpose is to predict a particular outcome and provide some direction concerning the best methods for combining risk scales. (Contains 1 note, 12 tables and 1 figure.)

The focus of this study is gendered differences and similarities in the distribution of individual education plan (IEP) targets given to pupils in Swedish schools. IEP writing is seen as part of teachers' formal assessment practice. Through qualitative content analysis of data, two main target types emerged: "learning targets," related to school subject learning; and "being targets," related to personality, behaviour and attitude. Whilst the distribution of learning targets in the different sub-categories was similar for boys and girls, clear differences were found in the distribution of different types of being targets. Possible reasons for the gendered distribution of being targets are discussed from a "doing-gender" perspective. In addition, the paper discusses what is actually assessed in IEPs, whether there is a relation between the "ideal pupil" and gender and whether the strong focus on being aspects detracts from focus on learning aspects. (Contains 8 figures and 4 tables.)

An achievement test score can be viewed as a joint function of skill and will, of knowledge and motivation. However, when interpreting and using test scores, the "will" part is not always acknowledged and scores are mostly interpreted and used as pure measures of student knowledge. This paper argues that students' motivation to do their best on the assessment--their test-taking motivation--is important to consider from an assessment validity perspective. This is true not least in assessment contexts where the assessment outcome has no consequences for the test-taker. The paper further argues that the quality of assessment of test-taking motivation also needs attention. Theoretical and methodological issues related to the assessment of test-taking motivation are presented from a validity perspective, and findings from empirical studies on the relation between test stakes, test-taking motivation and test performance are presented. (Contains 1 figure.)

Aim: To study the value and reliability of an examination of neurological soft-signs, often used in Sweden, in the assessment of children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), by examining children with and without ADHD, as diagnosed by an experienced clinician using the DSM-III-R. Method: We have examined interrater reliability (26 males, nine females; age range 5y 6mo-11y), internal consistency (94 males, 43 females; age range 5y 6mo-11y), test-retest reliability (12 males, eight females; age range 6-9y), and validity (79 males, 33 females; age range 5y 6mo-9y). Results: The sum of the scores for the items on the examination had good interrater reliability (intraclass correlation [ICC] 0.95) and acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.76). The test-retest study also showed good reliability (ICC 0.91). There were modest associations between the examination and the assessment of motor function made by the physical education teacher (ICC 0.37) as well as from the parents' description (ICC 0.39). The examination of neurological soft-signs had a sensitivity of 0.80 and a specificity of 0.76 in predicting motor problems as evaluated by the physical education teacher. Interpretation: The reliability and validity of this examination seem to be good and can be recommended for clinical practice and research.

Psychometric properties of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders schedule (DISCO) have only been studied in the UK. The authorised Swedish translation of the tenth version of the DISCO (DISCO-10) was used in interviews with close relatives of 91 Swedish patients referred for neuropsychiatrical assessment. Validity analysis compared DISCO-10-algorithm diagnoses with clinical diagnoses and with Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R) algorithm diagnoses in 57 cases. Good-excellent inter-rater reliability was demonstrated in 40 cases of children and adults. The criterion validity was excellent when compared with clinical diagnoses and an investigator-based diagnostic interview. The DISCO-10 has good psychometric properties. Advantages over the ADI-R include valuable information of the broader autism phenotype and co-existing problems for clinical practice and research.

The Goals, Attitudes and Values in School (GAVIS) questionnaire was developed on the basis of theoretical frameworks concerning learning environments, universal human values and studies of students' experience of learning environments. The theory hypothesises that learning environments can be described and structured in a circumplex model using the factors of creativity, stimulation, achievement, efficacy, safety, control, helpfulness, participation, responsibility and influence. The answers from a group of Swedish students in compulsory schooling and optional secondary schooling were analysed with confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis showed that a model with 10 latent variables corresponding to the model fitted the data well. A perfect circumplex structure of the covariance matrix between the latent variables, however, was not confirmed with structural equation modelling (SEM).

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a screening instrument (the Swedish Communication Screening at 18 months of age; SCS18), derived from the Swedish MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, in identification of 18-month-old children who will be severely language disabled by 3 years of age, the authors (a) analyzed which SCS18's component yielded the best prediction, (b) compared the productivity figures of the SCS18 with those of the traditional method of identification, and (c) tried different cutoff criteria of the SCS18. Method: Half of the child health care (CHC) centers in a Swedish county were randomly selected to use the SCS18 (e.g., a checklist supporting parents in assessing their child's word production, word comprehension, and communicative gestures). Remaining CHC centers used an informal assessment. Expressive and receptive language was subsequently judged with an observation for 3-year-olds that is routine in the county. An unselected population of 2,080 children participated at 18 months of age and again at 3 years of age. Result: Number of spoken words yielded the best prediction, and SCS18 was superior to the traditional method. A sensitivity of 50%, however, was not enough, and a stricter criterion resulted in too many false positives to be acceptable as routine. Conclusion: Although the SCS18 has strength, the age of 18 months seems to be too early for identification of severe language disability. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

The authors investigated the predictive and incremental validity of the Early Assessment Risk List for boys (EARL-20B; Augimeri, Koegl, Webster, & Levene, 2001), a structured clinical checklist designed for the professional judgment of risk for aggressive and disruptive behaviors and risk/needs factor-based management of this risk. Seventy-six boys consecutively referred to child psychiatric outpatient clinics in mid-Sweden were evaluated according to the EARL-20B and with independent (not EARL-20B-based) clinical evaluations. The participants were prospectively followed after 6 and 30 months. EARL-20B-based assessments were positively and moderately associated with aggressive (reactive and proactive aggression) and disruptive behavior (conduct problems and DSM-IV Conduct Disorder) at both subsequent evaluations. Clinical evaluations made without the instrument were not as consistently associated with outcome. Incremental predictive validity over unstructured clinical evaluations and Conduct Disorder at baseline suggested promising clinical utility. The checklist might be used to support clinical decision making for referred boys at risk for continued antisocial behavior. (Contains 6 tables.)

Given the difficulties with symptom identification and the assessment of mental health problems in persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) there has been a focus on the development of relevant assessment schedules for persons with ID. A Swedish version of the psychopathology inventory for mentally retarded adults (PIMRA, informant version), an instrument designed for identification of specific mental health problems in persons with ID, was evaluated in terms of inter-rater reliability, internal consistency, item grouping, criterion and concurrent validity based on a sample of 101 adults with different levels of ID. The Swedish version of the PIMRA had low inter-rater agreement on specific items but good agreement on low or high total score. In order to investigate internal validity, principal component analyses (PCA) were conducted in steps. Consequently, the majority of the 26 items, which remained after three PCA analyses, were grouped in a pattern approximating five of the original PIMRA subscales. The present analysis identified no item grouping matching the original Affective disorder subscale. Based on these results a revised Swedish version was developed. The concurrent validity analysis yielded a strong association between the total scores of the PIMRA and Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behaviour (RSMB), between subscales on both instruments describing psychotic symptoms and between the RSMB subscale Aggressive behaviour and the PIMRA subscale Adjustment problems. The outcome of the criterion validity analysis indicated that individuals with a clinical diagnosis obtained higher total PIMRA scores than individuals without a clinical diagnosis and a comparison between the PIMRA subscale Psychosis and the clinical diagnosis indicating psychoses according to DSM-III-R or DSM-IV yielded a higher specificity than sensitivity measure. The results indicate that the PIMRA had a potential to identify individuals with mental health problems in persons with different levels (mild, moderate and severe) of ID and identify individuals with a specific mental disorder. Thus, professionals might use the PIMRA as a complement in the diagnostic process.

The aim of this study was to examine ego identity status among Swedish adolescents using the EOM-EIS-II. Identity status scores and distributions were examined for 222 (108 female, 114 male) Swedish high school students. Identity status differences were found between genders. There was a greater likelihood of female adolescents being categorized as moratoriums than were males, and there was a greater likelihood of males being categorized as diffusions than were females. Statistically significant differences were found between genders on the following subscales: moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. No statistically significant differences were found between females and males on the identity achievement subscale. To achieve a preliminary construct validation of the results from the EOM-EIS-II, four of the 222 participants were also assessed using Marcia's identity status interview. A fairly good accordance between the interview assessment of identity status and the EOM-EIS-II assessment were found. Interview results showed differences between the interviewers on each subscale (IA, M, F, and D). The same differences were detected on three of four subscales when assessing these individuals' identity statuses using the EOM-EIS-II.

This study assessed the interrater reliability of a Swedish version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), an instrument for screening and diagnosis of autism. The CARS was used for rating autistic behavior by two investigators in 25 children. Results indicated fair to excellent agreement. Aspects of validity and reliability are discussed. (DB)