Construct validity and physical performance of older adults in different hierarchical physical-disability level

The purpose of this study was to test the construct validity of the hierarchical levels of self-reported physical disability using health-related variables and physical-performance tests as criteria. The study participants were a community-based sample of 368 adults age 60 years or older. These older adults were grouped into 4 levels according to their physical-disability status (able, mildly disabled, moderately disabled, and severely disabled groups) based on their self-reported measures on the mobility, instrumented activity of daily living (IADL), and activities of daily living (ADL) domains. Health-related variables (body-mass index, number of comorbidities, depression status, mental status, and self-perceived health status) and eight performance-based tests demonstrated significant group differences. Self-reported measures of physical disability can be used to categorize older adults into different stages of physical functional decline.     

Physical-performance tests to evaluate mobility disability in community-dwelling elders

The purposes of this study were to evaluate community-dwelling elderly adults with different levels of perceived mobility with 5 physical-performance tests, determine the cutoff values of the 5 tests, and identify the best tests for classifying mobility status. The community-mobility statuses of 203 community-dwelling elders were classified as able, decreased, or disabled based on their self-reported ability to walk several blocks and climb stairs. They also performed the functional reach, timed 50-ft walk, timed 5-step, timed floor transfer, and 5-min-walk endurance tests. We found in all tests that the "able" outperformed the "decreased" and that the "decreased" outperformed the "disabled," except on the floor-transfer task. The optimum cutoff values of the 5 performance tests were also reported. The 5-min walk and timed 5-step test could best separate the "able" from the "decreased," whereas the 50-ft-walk-test could best differentiate the "decreased" from the "disabled." The results suggest that community-mobility function of older adults can be captured by performance tests and that the cutoff values of the 5-min-walk, 5-step, and 50-ft-walk tests can be used in guiding intervention or prevention programs.     

Development of a lateral mobility task to identify individuals at risk for mobility disability and functional decline

Lateral mobility is integral to many activities of daily living involving transfer from one position to another. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the validity and test-retest reliability of a lateral-mobility (LATMOB) task for older adults. Measurements of lateral mobility, balance, and strength and self-reported and performance-based physical functioning were obtained in 63 women and 77 men > or = 50 years of age. The LATMOB task was significantly correlated with age, knee-extensor strength, grip strength, functional reach, and one-leg-stance time. Test-retest reliability of the task was excellent. The LATMOB task was highly correlated with the car task. Balance was significantly correlated with time to get into and out of a car and performance on the LATMOB task. The LATMOB task was significantly correlated with the Short Physical Performance Battery score. The LATMOB task is valid and reliable, but additional work is needed to assess its sensitivity to change and predictive validity.     

The utilization of prevailing evaluation policy in the selection of performance measures

This study considers the problem of inferring a functional evaluation criterion from existing performance measure policies. The objective is to develop a rational basis by which to adaptively evaluate a current best set of performance measures from alternative sets. The analysis is based on a matrix approach for relating system characteristics to performance measures across a set of activities. A procedure for ranking measure combinations which are candidate implementation alternatives is devised using this matrix representation and cost information. An example illustrating the procedure is presented.     

The AKKA-board – performing mobility,disability and innovation

This study involves a mobility device with relevance for health and well-being for severely disabled persons. The purpose of this study is to examine some of the geographical, innovative and existential implications of the performance of place through mobility that the AKKA-board produces for severely disabled people. What does mobility and place mean in terms of supporting human skills that are being performed with the help of the AKKA-board? It is concluded that mobility in terms of a self-controlled movement is connected to enabling individual decision-making, independence and well-being.     

Who Is a Part-Time Worker Around the World and Why Does It Matter? Examining the Quality of Employment Measures and Workers’ Perceived Job Quality

Theory and research do not fully account for the cross-national variation in part-time work definitions and measures, which may affect conclusions. Using the 2004 to 2009 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) as a special case, this study analyzes the reliability of different part-time work measures for 47 countries, finding high levels of consistency between what resembles a country-specific measure and measures based on 30- and 35-hr thresholds. Bivariate analyses reveal that sex is consistently related to—and suggestive of the construct validity of—part-time measures, except in some non–Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Analyses of selected countries in 1 year indicate that the choice of part-time work measure matters for understanding workers’ perceptions of their earnings, advancement opportunities, and job security in a few countries. Our results yield good news for ISSP users but highlight the need for the more exhaustive conceptualization of part-time work we offer, research outside of the OECD, and care in interpreting data in some countries.     

Pedestrianisation and Disabled People: a study of personal mobility in Kingston town centre

In the post-war years in Britain pedestrianisation schemes have been widely introduced to provide traffic-free, safe, accessible and visitor-friendly shopping environments. The claims made for pedestrianisation as an 'enabling environment', however, need to be verified. This study addresses that issue. It draws on monitoring surveys of the phased pedestrianisation of the town centre in Kingston upon Thames to examine the mobility characteristics and movement patterns of disabled orange-badge holders, elderly disabled and elderly people, and evaluates group levels of satisfaction with changes in the urban environment and accessibility to premises. Important contrasts in mobility experience are identified. These relate, in measure, to health circumstances and degree of mobility impairment. Town centre redesign has clearly benefited the majority of users, although the needs of orange-badge holders for toilet facilities and seating were not fully met. Access to certain public and commercial buildings, however, still presents a problem for the mobility impaired. The study concludes that pedestrianisation represents a significant achievement in urban design: not just for those with special mobility needs, but also for society at large.     

Reliability and validity of the Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale-2

Development of a reliable and valid measure of outcome expectations for exercise for older adults will help establish the relationship between outcome expectations and exercise and facilitate the development of interventions to increase physical activity in older adults. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Outcome Expectations for Exercise-2 Scale (OEE-2), a 13-item measure with two subscales: positive OEE (POEE) and negative OEE (NOEE). The OEE-2 scale was given to 161 residents in a continuing-care retirement community. There was some evidence of validity based on confirmatory factor analysis, Rasch-analysis INFIT and OUTFIT statistics, and convergent validity and test criterion relationships. There was some evidence for reliability of the OEE-2 based on alpha coefficients, person- and item-separation reliability indexes, and R(2)values. Based on analyses, suggested revisions are provided for future use of the OEE-2. Although ongoing reliability and validity testing are needed, the OEE-2 scale can be used to identify older adults with low outcome expectations for exercise, and interventions can then be implemented to strengthen these expectations and improve exercise behavior.     

Reliability and reactivity of three new functional assessment measures

This study of the reliability of three new tests of work performance considered the effect of test reactivity on measured performance. The tests are components of an employment screening battery designed for placement of applicants in automotive assembly jobs. Statistical measures of reliability were compared with a simple measure of test reactivity in a sample of 51 healthy adults. The effect of test reactivity on employment selection decisions using various cut scores was studied. Test reactivity is found to be a significant threat to reliability that must be considered when skill-based performance tests are used on a serial basis. When intended for use on a serial basis, such tests should be studied for both reliability and reactivity. In addition to reporting traditional statistical indices of reliability, an index of the reactivity should be reported.     

Are Religious People Nice People? Religiosity,Race, Interview Dynamics,and Perceived Cooperativeness

Prior research has shown consistently that religiosity, as indexed by self-reported frequency of prayer, is associated positively with "niceness," measured by interviewers'ratings of respondents'cooperativeness. We used data pooled from the 1983, 1988, and 1993 General Social Surveys to further examine the association between religiosity and niceness, and to raise questions about the adequacy of this currently preferred operationalization of niceness. We used three different measures of religiosity and directly examined racial differences in perceived cooperativeness. Our results indicate that each self-reported indicator of religiosity was associated positively with perceived cooperativeness (in separate models), while race was associated negatively. We found no evidence of mediating or moderating relationships. Overall, our results provide additional evidence that persons who are more religious are perceived by others to be more cooperative and that this effect operates net of more readily observable characteristics that might influence interview dynamics and interviewers'evaluations of respondents'cooperativeness. However, our results also suggest that new, more specific measures of niceness are needed to improve our ability to fully measure this sociologically important concept and to refine our understanding of the relationship between religiosity and niceness.     

A new criterion function for exploratory blockmodeling for structural and regular equivalence

We present a new criterion function for blockmodeling two-way two-mode relation matrices when the number of blocks as well as the equivalence relation are unknown. For this, we specify a measure of fit based on data compression theory, which allows for the comparison of blockmodels of different sizes and block types from different equivalence relations. We arm an alternating optimization algorithm with this criterion and demonstrate that the method reproduces consensual blockings of three datasets without any pre-specification. We perform a simulation study where we compare our compression-based criterion to the commonly used criterion that measures the number of inconsistencies with an ideal blockmodel.     

‘Risky’ representation: the portrayal of women with mobility impairment in twenty-first-century advertising

Representations of disability and gender in advertising have been traditionally confined by narrow ideals surrounding body image. Recently, portrayals of disabled women in advertising have substantially grown in volume and variety. This research applies a feminist disability studies critique to the exploration of women with mobility impairments as ‘risky’ in twenty-first-century advertising. Feminist disability studies recognises culture as a key site in which disabled women have been historically misrepresented. While existing research dominantly focuses on textual analyses of advertisements, this study presents empirical data collected via semi-structured interviews with disabled women. Some women believe that the link between disabled women and riskiness sustains stereotypical attitudes and suggest that women with mobility impairments are included in advertisements as a form of ‘safe quirkiness’. However, others welcome provocative portrayals of women with mobility impairment and suggest that such representations challenge presumptions of disabled women as passive. The results of this research show how disabled women use their life experiences and personal beliefs to explore advertisements that supposedly represent them.     

Tagging and redistributive taxation with imperfect disability monitoring

This paper studies the optimal income redistribution and optimal monitoring when disability benefits are intended for disabled people but some of the disabled do not claim disability benefits and enter the labor force. Classification errors also occur. Some able applicants with high distaste for work are falsely granted disability benefits (type II errors) and some disabled applicants are denied disability benefits (type I errors). The accuracy of monitoring depends on the resources devoted to it. Labor supply responses are at the extensive margin. The paper derives the optimal income tax-transfer schedule that incorporates welfare and disability benefits and takes into account monitoring costs. The cost of monitoring and the co-existence of welfare and disability benefits play in favor of Earned Income Tax Credits for disabled workers who forgo disability benefits as well as for disabled workers who forgo welfare assistance.     

Reliability,Validity, and Classification Accuracy of the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Gambling Disorder and Comparison to DSM-IV

The DSM-5 was published in 2013 and it included two substantive revisions for gambling disorder (GD). These changes are the reduction in the threshold from five to four criteria and elimination of the illegal activities criterion. The purpose of this study was to twofold. First, to assess the reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for GD. Second, to compare the DSM-5–DSM-IV on reliability, validity, and classification accuracy, including an examination of the effect of the elimination of the illegal acts criterion on diagnostic accuracy. To compare DSM-5 and DSM-IV, eight datasets from three different countries (Canada, USA, and Spain; total N = 3247) were used. All datasets were based on similar research methods. Participants were recruited from outpatient gambling treatment services to represent the group with a GD and from the community to represent the group without a GD. All participants were administered a standardized measure of diagnostic criteria. The DSM-5 yielded satisfactory reliability, validity and classification accuracy. In comparing the DSM-5 to the DSM-IV, most comparisons of reliability, validity and classification accuracy showed more similarities than differences. There was evidence of modest improvements in classification accuracy for DSM-5 over DSM-IV, particularly in reduction of false negative errors. This reduction in false negative errors was largely a function of lowering the cut score from five to four and this revision is an improvement over DSM-IV. From a statistical standpoint, eliminating the illegal acts criterion did not make a significant impact on diagnostic accuracy. From a clinical standpoint, illegal acts can still be addressed in the context of the DSM-5 criterion of lying to others.     

Financial strain and health among elderly Mexican-origin individuals

In this paper we examine the associations among perceived financial strain and various health measures--including self-rated health, self-reported functional capacity, performance-based mobility, and mortality--in a sample of older Mexican-origin individuals. We employ the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly, an eight-year longitudinal survey of over 3,000 Mexican-origin individuals in five southwestern states who were initially interviewed in 1993 and 1994. Although financial strain is associated with actual income and poverty, it is also associated with cognitive capacity, depression, and self-esteem, and while it is strongly associated with subjective measures, it has a weaker association with more objective measures, such as performance-based mobility and mortality. Financial strain appears to be part of a package of cognitions and emotions indicative of low morale or demoralization that has adverse effects on subjective health.     

Assessment of Distraction From Erotic Stimuli by Nonerotic Interference

Distraction from erotic cues during sexual encounters is a major contributor to sexual difficulties in men and women. Being able to assess distraction in studies of sexual arousal will help clarify underlying contributions to sexual problems. The current study aimed to identify the most accurate assessment of distraction from erotic cues in healthy men (n = 29) and women (n = 38). Participants were assigned to a no distraction, low distraction, or high distraction condition. Distraction was induced using an auditory distraction task presented during the viewing of an erotic video. Attention to erotic cues was assessed using three methods: a written quiz, a visual quiz, and a self-reported distraction measure. Genital and psychological sexual responses were also measured. Self-reported distraction and written quiz scores most accurately represented the level of distraction present, while self-reported distraction also corresponded with a decrease in genital arousal. Findings support the usefulness of self-report measures in conjunction with a brief quiz on the erotic material as the most accurate and sensitive ways to simply measure experimentally-induced distraction. Insight into distraction assessment techniques will enable evaluation of naturally occurring distraction in patients suffering from sexual problems.     

Aging, disability, and disabled older people in India

India is witnessing a demographic revolution, leading to a considerable increase in the proportion of older people in the population. Similarly, life expectancy of both the mentally and physically disabled has improved considerably. About 5% of Indian older people have problems with physical mobility. Aging has become a gender issue in India not only because more women are surviving into old age; they are also vulnerable and disadvantaged in many ways. In most cases they are the only caregivers available for the old and disabled. Older Indians are considered a high-risk group for multiple morbidity. It is estimated that nearly four million Indians suffer from mental problems. India has around 12 million people designated as "handicapped." However, little information is available about disabled people who grow older. The National Policy on Older Persons, which has been recently formulated, aims at providing an improved quality of life for millions of older Indians. However, the concerns of older disabled and of the disabled who grow old are still treated separately in both policy and practice.     

The Class-Delinquency Hypothesis and Juvenile Justice System Bias

This paper addresses the issue of the relationship between social class and delinquency to determine if the discrepancy between findings with official versus selfreport data can he resolved. Methodological suggestions which numerous researchers have suggested might explicate the discrepancy were incorporated. These include the use of a disproportionatc stratified sample to facilitate focus on relativcly serious self-reported delinquent behavior, separate analyses of subscales representing different domains of delinquency, and operationalization of social class by multiple indicators, including some consistent with the concept of an underclass. It was found that only offenses against persons consistently correlate negatively with measures of social class. However, analysis of self-reported contacts with police and courts suggests the presence of social class biases in the juvenile justice process and raises questions concerning the appropriateness of using disproportionate stratified samples in this context.     

Preenrollment Immunization Policies of American Colleges: An Assessment of the Need for Policy Implementation

Abstract

Alcohol abuse among college students is prevalent, yet few instruments with sound reliability and validity are available to assess these problems in this population. As part of a large, baseline assessment battery for a prospective study of offspring of alcoholics, the 27-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) was given to 490 freshmen at a large mid western university; approximately 9 months later, 482 subjects completed the scale again. In addition to asking about such traditional problems as experiencing blackouts and driving while intoxicated, the YAAPST included specific items relating to college experiences (eg, getting into sexual situations that were later regretted, missing classes, and receiving lower grades than usual). The YAAPST was designed to assess these drinking consequences over two different time frames, lifetime and past year, and also to indicate the frequency of occurrence during the past year. Results indicated that the YAAPST is a unidimensional scale with good psychometric properties (good internal consistency and test-retest reliability). Three different approaches were used to demonstrate the validity of the YAAPST. Findings supported criterion validity (with interview-based alcohol abuse/dependence diagnoses as the criterion), concurrent validity (comparing the YAAPST with other drinking measures), and construct validity (correlating the YAAPST with etiologically relevant personality, motivational, and peer influence variables). The YAAPST is a promising screening instrument for alcohol problems in college students. It has excellent psychometric properties and the potential to provide a range of useful information to the clinician or researcher.     

Development and validation of a condom self-efficacy scale for college students.

This study proposed to develop and validate a scale for the college population that measures self-efficacy in using condoms. The Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale (CUSES) was derived from several sources and consisted of 28 items describing an individual's feelings of confidence about being able to purchase condoms, put them on and take them off, and negotiate their use with a new sexual partner. This scale was administered to a sample of 768 college students. It was found to possess adequate reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .91; test-retest correlation = .81) and correlated well with the Attitude Toward the Condom Scale (r = .51) and the Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Scale for women (r = .55). Our scale also correlated with a measure of intention to use condoms (r = .40) but was unrelated to a measure of social desirability. Students who differed on measures of previous condom use as well as on sexual intercourse experience also showed significant differences on this scale in the expected direction, indicating evidence of this scale's discriminant validity. The potential uses of this scale in a college population are discussed, along with the issues underlying condom usage self-efficacy.