Absolute Difference Scores Research Articles

A family-specific use of the Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP)

Objective: To examine the validity and utility of the Dutch Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) as a family-specific measure. Design: A validation study. Setting: Five paediatric rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands. Main measures: The MPOC-SP was utilized in a general (reflecting on services provided for all clients and clients' families) and family-specific way (filled out in reference to a particular child and his or her family). Subjects: Professionals providing rehabilitation and educational services to children with cerebral palsy. Methods: For construct validity, Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients (r ) between the scales were calculated. The ability of service providers to discriminate between general and family-specific ratings was examined by exploration of absolute difference scores. Results: One hundred and sixteen service professionals filled out 240 family-specific MPOC-SPs. In addition, a subgroup of 81 professionals filled out a general MPOC-SP. For each professional, family-specific and general scores were paired, resulting in 151 general—family-specific MPOC-SP pairs. The construct validity analyses confirmed the scale structure: 21 items (77.8%) loaded highest in the original MPOC-SP factors, and all items correlated best and significantly with their own scale score (r 0.565 to 0.897; P<0.001). Intercorrelations between the scales ranged from r = 0.159 to r = 0.522. In total, 94.4% of the mean absolute difference scores between general and family-specific scale scores were larger than the expected difference. Conclusion: Service providers were able to discriminate between general and family-specific MPOC-SP item ratings. The family-specific MPOC-SP is a valid measure that can be used for individual evaluation of family-centred services and can be the impetus for family-related quality improvement.

Who knows more about the impact of malocclusion on children's quality of life, mothers or fathers?

Shared decision making between children and parents is required in orthodontics. This study compared agreement among mothers, fathers, and children regarding the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children. A sample of 71 child patients (41 girls and 30 boys) aged 12.6 years with an orthodontic treatment need, together with both their parents completed components of the child OHRQoL measure. Agreement among children, mothers, and fathers was derived from the 31 analogous questions and assessed using comparison and correlation analyses. Comparison analyses identified significant differences between mother's and children's reports and between father's and children's reports. The magnitude of the difference between mother's and children's reports, and between father's and children's reports could best be described as moderate (standard difference >0.2). In addition, absolute differences in scores constituted between 12 and 18 per cent of domain and overall scores for both mother's and children's, and father's and children's reports. Correlation analysis, at the individual family unit level, showed that agreement between mothers and children, and between fathers and children was fair [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) < 0.04]. Neither mothers nor fathers know their child's oral health status very well, as there was significant disagreement between mothers', fathers', and children's perceptions. The disagreement between mothers and children, and fathers and children was similar. While at the group level, mothers and fathers tended to agree on perception of their children's oral health status, at an individual family unit level they did not.

Treatment of low back pain by acupressure and physical therapy: randomised controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure in terms of disability, pain scores, and functional status.Design Randomised controlled trial.Setting Orthopaedic clinic in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.Participants 129 patients with chronic low back...

Familiarization to treadmill running in young unimpaired adults

This study investigated the time needed for familiarization to treadmill running. Seventeen young healthy adults, who were inexperienced on a treadmill, ran for 11min on a treadmill at their self-selected speed. Discrete sagittal-plane angular kinematic parameters of the pelvis, hip, knee and ankle, and cadence and stride time data were captured with a three-dimensional motion analysis system at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10min. Participants were considered familiarized to treadmill running by 6min, as there were no significant changes in any dependent variables from this time. Furthermore, mean absolute difference scores between consecutive times were minimal (1.3°) and the average intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC(2,1)=.95] was maximal and highly reliable by this time. Future studies comparing treadmill and overground running need to provide an adequate treadmill familiarization time of at least 6min prior to data capture of sagittal-plane kinematic events.

Assortative Mating and Marital Quality in Newlyweds: A Couple-Centered Approach.

Using a couple-centered approach, the authors examined assortative mating on a broad range of variables in a large (N = 291) sample of newlyweds. Couples showed substantial similarity on attitude-related domains but little on personality-related domains. Similarity was not due to social homogamy or convergence. The authors examined linear and curvilinear effects of spouse similarity on self and observer indicators of marital quality. Results show (a) positive associations between similarity and marital quality for personality-related domains but not for attitude-related domains, (b) that similarity on attachment characteristics were most strongly predictive of satisfaction, (c) robust curvilinear effects for husbands but not for wives, (d) that profile similarity remained a significant predictor of marital quality even when spouses' self-ratings were controlled, and (e) that profile-based similarity indices were better predictors of marital quality than absolute difference scores.

Familiarisation to treadmill walking in unimpaired older people

We studied the amount of time required for treadmill familiarisation in older people and also whether familiarised treadmill walking could be generalised to overground walking. Sixteen healthy volunteers over 65 years of age walked on a level overground walkway and on a treadmill at the same speed for up to 15 min. A motion measurement system was used to measure the sagittal-plane kinematics of the knee and cadence during overground walking and after 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 min of treadmill walking. Older adults had not familiarised to the treadmill within 15 min as many participants continued to hold the treadmill's handrails and as reliability and absolute difference scores were still changing. Participants were most familiarised after 14 min on the treadmill. Furthermore, treadmill walking after 14 min was not closely related to overground walking in older adults, with measures on the treadmill only being able to predict knee angles during overground to within 8.0 degrees , or cadence to within 16.6 steps/min with 95% confidence. Treadmill walking in older adults after a single 15-min training session could not be generalised to overground walking.

Gender differences in memory test performance among children and adolescents

Gender differences among children and adolescents were examined on 14 separate measures of short-term memory. A nationally stratified sample of 1,279 children and adolescents, 637 males and 642 females, ranging in age between 5 and 19 years, were assessed on the 14 subtests of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Factor structure of the TOMAL was determined to be invariant as a function of gender. Using age-corrected deviation scaled scores calculated at 1-year intervals, results of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed only two significant differences in absolute scores across gender on the 14 memory subtests. A profile of normal variations in patterns of memory test performance across gender revealing relative strengths for females on verbal tasks and males on spatial tasks is presented for clinical use and future normative comparisons.

Preschool children with autism spectrum disorders in Taiwan: follow-up of cognitive assessment to early school age

In this study, we longitudinally followed into childhood a cohort of preschool children, initially diagnosed as autistic or non-autistic with developmental delay, to evaluate the stability of cognitive assessments performed during the preschool period. The consistency in group means and intra-individual stability of developmental quotients (DQ) and non-verbal intelligence quotients (IQs) were compared for these two groups, which were matched by chronological age, initial non-verbal IQ/DQs, initial test given, and length of follow-up interval. The case group comprised 16 autistic children with average age at initial assessment of 3 years 8 months. The control group comprised 16 non-autistic developmental delayed children with average age at initial assessment of 3 years 11 months. Mean DQ/non-verbal IQ at initial assessment was 73.9±23.9 for the case group and 80.3±23.2 for the control group. ANOVA yielded no significant effect of time or time×diagnosis interaction ( F=0.183, P=0.675). The absolute difference in scores and group means were equivalent for both groups of children, with no difference in patterns of change. Correlations between DQ/non-verbal IQs at initial assessment and follow-up were significant and high for the two groups (autistic group: r=0.87; control: r=0.77). Intellectual functioning can be a valid measure in Taiwanese preschool children with autism, and has an equivalent meaning for children with autism and for non-autistic children with developmental delay. Though the follow-up period is too short for definite prognostic conclusions to be drawn, we think that non-verbal intelligence should be an essential assessment for preschool oriental autistic children so that sound expectation and treatment plan can be made.

Cognitive Function in People With Chronic Illness: Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Recent research has shown that people with chronic illnesses often experience cognitive deficits, such deficits may be specific to a particular type of illness, reflecting the disease process itself, or they may be deficits that are common across a number of chronic illnesses. Our study investigated whether people with an organic disease (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) show cognitive dysfunction relative to the control group and people with a functional illness (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and if so, to elucidate the mechanisms by which such dysfunction occurs. A quasi-experimental design using three groups of participants provided scores on IQ, memory, and cognitive flexibility. Differences in absolute scores were slight. However, a noticeable interaction effect was found between group and IQ: The illness groups showed a deficit in verbal IQ relative to both their own performance IQ and to that of the control group's verbal IQ. This verbal deficit cannot be explained by depression, cognitive load, or medication.

NUMBER OF TRIALS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE PERFORMANCE STABILITY DURING LANDING

Due to inherent variability, one trial of a complex movement pattern is not necessarily representative of an individual's performance over time. The trials obtained from a subject in an experiment should be representative of the individual's more general performance. The experimental trials obtained are more likely to be representative when variability is low or enough trials are sampled to represent a long term stable performance. PURPOSE To determine the number of trials necessary to achieve performance stability during landing. METHODS Five subjects each completed 100 vertical landings from a height of 60 cm onto a force plate (right foot; 1000 Hz). Five ground reaction force (GRF) variables during the initial 100 ms post-contact were quantified. For each subject, variable, and trial, cumulative mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) values were computed using the average of each trial with all preceding trials. An absolute difference score was obtained for each trial by subtracting its M from the 100 trial M. Performance stability was defined to occur when the difference score dropped and stayed below 1.00 SD of the 100 trial M for the remainder of the trials. The number of trials determined necessary to reach stability were then averaged across subjects and variables. This process was repeated for subsets of 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 trials and SD criterion values of 0.75, 0.50, and 0.25. ANOVA was used to examine differences among trial subsets and SD criterion values. RESULTS ANOVA revealed an interaction (p < 0.05) between trial subsets and SD criterion values. Follow-up analysis revealed that as the number of trials used to compute M increased and the SD criterion value decreased, more trials were needed to reach stability. On average, 12.9 trials were needed for performance stability. CONCLUSION Subjects in landing experiments should perform more than a few and possibly a minimum of 13 trials to achieve a stable performance on GRF variables.

Gender differences in memory test performance among children and adolescents

Gender differences among children and adolescents were examined on 14 separate measures of short-term memory. A nationally stratified sample of 1,279 children and adolescents, 637 males and 642 females, ranging in age between 5 and 19 years, were assessed on the 14 subtests of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Factor structure of the TOMAL was determined to be invariant as a function of gender. Using age-corrected deviation scaled scores calculated at 1-year intervals, results of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed only two significant differences in absolute scores across gender on the 14 memory subtests. A profile of normal variations in patterns of memory test performance across gender revealing relative strengths for females on verbal tasks and males on spatial tasks is presented for clinical use and future normative comparisons.

Relationships Between Differences in Mother-Father Perceptions and Self-Concept and Depression in Children With Epilepsy

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between differences in perceptions of mothers and fathers and self-concept and symptoms of depression, respectively, in 69 youth with epilepsy. Multiple regression was used to test whether the absolute difference scores between mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of family adaptive resources, stigma, their children’s negative coping behaviors, and their attitudes toward epilepsy were predictors of child self-concept and depression after adjusting for epilepsy severity, children’s attitudes toward epilepsy, and children’s ratings of family adaptation. Only the mother-father differences related to children’s negative coping behaviors significantly predicted children’s self-concept and depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that differences in perceptions related to children may be more highly associated with the children’s outcomes than differences related to family characteristics or the children’s illness.

Comparison of Mother and Father Report on the Personality Inventory for Children in a Non Referred Canadian Sample

Examined interparental agreement for the four broadband factor scales, three validity scales, one general screening scale, and twelve substantive scales of the Personality Inventory for Children-Revised (PIC-R; Lachar, 1982). Cohabitating mothers and fathers of 47 non-referred children and adolescents in Ontario and Newfoundland independently completed the PIC-R. The 24 male and 23 female children ranged in age from 9 to 16. Results indicated high cross-informant consistency with respect to correlations, means comparisons, and absolute difference scores. Parental agreement was similar whether rating male or female children. The pattern of scores obtained also suggests a cultural drift toward increased levels of pathology, as well as greater heterogeneity of reports obtained from modern fathers. Implications for assessment practices and future research are discussed.

Developmental and individual differences in fluid intelligence: Evidence against the unidimensional hypothesis

The Brinley plot and partial correlation methods are used to investigate conjointly the theories that increasing speed of processing is responsible for changes in mental age (MA) and that speed of processing gives rise to within‐age differences in fluid intelligence (IQ). A group of 107 children ranging in age from 4 to 9 years completed three reaction time (RT) tasks (spatial, verbal and selective attention). Children were grouped first by chronological age then by fluid IQ, and Brinley plots of RT and RT difference scores (argued to give a purer measure of cognitive speed) were produced for each grouping. Two Brinley methods were compared: fixing the intercept of the line of best fit at the origin, and allowing it to vary. These produced quite different functions with correspondingly different implications for the speed theory. It is argued that previous findings of developmental speed increases (as measured by Brinley slope) may be an artifact of the fixed‐intercept method. When intercept was allowed to vary, findings indicated that speed did not change developmentally. Furthermore, when absolute RT and RT difference score findings were compared, partial correlations indicated that RT was related primarily to age rather than MA or IQ, whereas RT difference scores were related directly to IQ, but not to age or MA. We argue that the results are best accommodated by the theory that speed underlies stable IQ differences but not increases in MA. Instead, we argue that MA change may be better accounted for by children's increasing attentional ability.

Comparison of spiral and electron beam tomography in the evaluation of coronary calcification in asymptomatic persons

Recently, investigators have begun evaluating the ability of spiral computed tomography (sequence scan mode–SEQ) to measure coronary calcium. Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) and SEQ studies were performed in 10 women and 23 men, with a mean age of 54±9 years. The EBT study was performed within 4 weeks (mean 11±4 days) of the SEQ with no clinical interval event (MI, revascularization). The mean EBT calcium score (Agatston method) was 52.1±58.6, with a range of 0 to 175. The SEQ mean score was 60.1±71.1 (range 0 to 253). There were 7 persons with scores of 0 on both scans, and 9 persons with scores of zero on either EBT or spiral CT, but not both. Three persons had negative EBT studies where SEQ detected calcium, and 6 persons had EBT detected calcium and negative SEQ studies. The six patients with negative SEQ and positive EBT studies had a mean score of 47±25.7 (range 9 to 99). The remaining sixteen persons had coronary calcium detected on both studies. As compared to EBT, spiral CT had a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 70%, for an overall diagnostic accuracy of 73%. The positive and negative predictive values were 85 and 54%, respectively for SEQ in this study. The absolute difference in scores between the two tests was 29.1±28.5 (mean±S.D.). The inter-test variability, defined as the mean values of the differences between the calcium scores in the two scans on the same subjects divided by the mean of the two scores (Absolute Difference between tests/mean), was 84.5% in this study. In asymptomatic persons, spiral CT (using SEQ) provides a limited sensitivity (74%) and specificity (70%) for coronary calcium when compared to EBT. Caution should be used when evaluating the results of spiral CT coronary calcium especially in patients with relatively low calcium scores (<200).

Diagnostic accuracy of four approaches to interpreting neuropsychological test data.

The diagnostic accuracy of 4 approaches to interpreting neuropsychological test results are evaluated in 672 cognitively normal and 407 cognitively impaired persons using the Mayo Cognitive Factor Scales (G. E. Smith et al., 1994). The interpretation approaches studied are absolute scores, difference scores, profile variability, and change scores at 1- to 2-year test-retest intervals. All dependent measures were "highly significant" when diagnostic groups were compared on null hypothesis significance testing analyses. In contrast, varied accuracy rates were obtained when each measure's ability to correctly classify individuals was evaluated relative to overall diagnostic accuracy. Odds ratios were also highly varied and ranged from < or = 1.0 (i.e., chance) to 34.9. The clinical usefulness of absolute scores and difference scores in data interpretation is supported. Neither profile variability measures nor measures of change over time were diagnostically useful.

Diagnostic accuracy of four approaches to interpreting neuropsychological test data.

The diagnostic accuracy of 4 approaches to interpreting neuropsychological test results are evaluated in 672 cognitively normal and 407 cognitively impaired persons using the Mayo Cognitive Factor Scales (G. E. Smith et al., 1994). The interpretation approaches studied are absolute scores, difference scores, profile variability, and change scores at 1- to 2-year test-retest intervals. All dependent measures were significant when diagnostic groups were compared on null hypothesis significance testing analyses. In contrast, varied accuracy rates were obtained when each measure's ability to correctly classify individuals was evaluated relative to overall diagnostic accuracy. Odds ratios were also highly varied and ranged from < or = 1.0 (i.e., chance) to 34.9. The clinical usefulness of absolute scores and difference scores in data interpretation is supported. Neither profile variability measures nor measures of change over time were diagnostically useful.

Physical similarity and twin resemblance for eating attitudes and behaviors: a test of the equal environments assumption.

The Equal Environments Assumption (EEA) in twin studies of eating pathology was investigated by examining the hypothesis that twin resemblance for eating attitudes and behaviors is affected by their degree of physical similarity. Eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed in 338 female adolescent twin pairs with a revised version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). General physical similarity as well as body size/shape similarity were assessed using ratings of color photographs, ratings of body shape, and body mass index. All physical similarity assessments were conducted blind to twin zygosity. Significant associations between physical similarity and twin similarity for eating attitudes and behaviors were not found. Mean EDI within-twin pair absolute difference scores did not differ significantly among more versus less physically-similar groups. Additionally, correlation and regression analyses failed to find a significant association between EDI absolute difference scores and physical similarity indices. The current findings provide support for the EEA in twin studies of eating attitudes and behaviors.

The Effect of Item Observability, Clarity and Wording on Patient/Nurse Ratings when using the ASA Scale

Many studies show discrepancies between patients' and professionals' ratings on the same questionnaire regarding the patient's health. A relevant question is whether the differences in ratings reflect real differences between patients and professionals or whether they are caused by characteristics of the instrument. In this study, we address the latter option by examining the effects of 3 item characteristics (item wording, observability and clarity) on the degree of patient/nurse discrepancies in ratings of the items of the Appraisal of Self-care Agency (ASA) scale. Secondary analysis on 252 patient/nurse ratings showed that item wording (positively and negatively formulated items), and the observability of the items have a significant effect on the mean absolute difference score. No effect was found for clarity. These results were generally confirmed by subgroup analyses.

Angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis can be reliably measured after 4 minutes of treadmill walking

Objective. To determine the familiarization period required to obtain consistent measurements of the angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis during treadmill walking. Design. An in vivo study with repeated measures every 2 min over 10 min. Background. Walking on a treadmill can initially be an unfamiliar experience. No data were available to indicate the length of time required for treadmill familiarization prior to taking measurements of the angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis. The familiarization period has implications for the use of this technique in clinical testing. Methods. The angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis were examined by the peak 3 d motion measurement system in 16 untrained, normal subjects walking for 10 min on a treadmill at either self-selected or 60% of self-selected speed. Results. The reliability of the angular measurements of the spine and pelvis were all greater than 0.83 ( icc) after 4 min of treadmill walking and did not appear to increase after 4 min. No changes in the amplitudes of the angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis could be detected after 4 min of treadmill walking, or of the absolute difference scores beyond 2 min of treadmill walking, in either normal or slow-speed walking groups. Conclusions. Angular movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis were consistent after 4 min of treadmill walking by normal subjects, both at self-selected and slow walking speeds, indicating that reliable measurements of these parameters could be taken at that time.