Multilevel Random Coefficient Research Articles

Multilevel Logistic Regression Analysis of Correlates of Graduate Employment by Fields of Specialization

A number of research settings involve data having a multilevel (hierarchical) structure. Failing to take into account such hierarchical structures may lead to wrong statistical inference. The objective of this study was to explore the correlates of employment status among graduates of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions nested within their fields of specialization using hierarchical two‐level logistic regression model. The study sample consisted of 2569 graduates nested within 20 fields of specialization. The impact of level-1 covariates and fields of specialization on employment outcome was explored using average marginal effects. The estimated variance of the random (field of specialization) effects was found to be significant – an indication that a multilevel model is appropriate. Likelihood ratio test confirmed that the multilevel random coefficients model was a better fit to the data. Besides demographic and socio-economic characteristics of graduates (and their households), the dimensions related to the skills and competences of graduates, namely perceived level of training of graduates on technical/practical skills and soft skills at their universities as well as cumulative grade point average, had significant influence on employment outcomes. The results also revealed that the effect of practical skills on graduate employment varied across fields of specialization. Average marginal effects analysis indicated that the probability of employment was lower for graduates who were unmarried, aged below 25, with disability, from a low income family and those graduates who perceived that their preparation for practical as well as soft skills required in the job market was less than expected/very poor. Moreover, practical and soft skills differentials in the probability of graduate employment were found to diminish with an increase in cumulative grade point average. To improve graduate employment, provision of adequate training in practical/technical and soft skills is recommended.

Daily state of motivation as the effect of appreciation in a diary study.

Grounded in self-determination theory, the present study aimed to investigate whether daily changes in employee motivation depend on whether employees receive appreciation from various sources at work, using a 7-day diary design. Beyond general knowledge about the effects of appreciation as an important source of motivation, there is still a lack of knowledge about the intrapersonal effect of appreciation on different types of regulation/motivation in terms of self-determination theory over time. The sample consisted of 104 employees in full-time employment. More than half were women (72%) and the mean age was 43.25 years (SD = 10.53). They completed trait-level measures and then daily records, in which they reported their motivation and whether they received appreciation. Sources of appreciation were leaders, followers, and clients. Multilevel random coefficient modeling showed that employees reported higher levels of motivation on days when they received appreciation from different sources, independent of gender, trait-level motivation, and the Big Five. Furthermore, introjected regulation moderated the positive association between daily motivation and daily appreciation by the client, and appreciation did not have a lagged effect for subsequent days. The current study has both practical and theoretical implications. The results show that employee motivation can be supported through simple but effective steps through appreciation regardless of the source, although appreciation may be more important for employees with introjected regulation than for others.

SEX AND RACE/ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN TERMINAL COGNITIVE DECLINE

Abstract Background Cognitive decline has been documented in older adults, but sex and racial/ethnic differences among decedents have not been studied. Here we investigate the relation of mortality to change in the cognitive function of older individuals by sex and race/ethnicity. Methods The study analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) between 1993 and 2018, which included information on total word recall, mental status, and total cognition of individuals aged 65 and older. The study estimated the loss of cognitive function using a multilevel random coefficient model, considering sex and racial/ethnic differences in the risk of death, age, and death status. The study also approximated terminal cognitive decline using cognitive scores reported within two years before death for decedents. Results On average, older women performed better than older men in word recall and overall cognition, while older White Americans performed better than African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos in overall cognition at all ages. Decedents had a similar cognitive function to survivors at age 65, but their cognition declined quickly with age, especially among older women and White Americans. Evidence of terminal cognitive decline within two years before death was significant regardless of age but less conclusive for African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos due to smaller sample sizes. Conclusions This paper indicated evidence of sex and race/ethnic differences in cognitive decline and terminal cognitive decline among older adults, which may have critical clinical implications directly linked to the onset and duration of dementia risk.

Explaining the urban-rural gradient in later fertility in Europe.

Demographic research shows that, in Europe, fertility takes place later and is lower in cities than in rural areas. One might expect fertility to be delayed in urban areas because of longer periods in education and enhanced career opportunities. We, therefore, examine how prevalent later fertility (35+ and 40+) is along the urban-rural axis, and whether differences can be explained by economic, cultural and compositional factors. We estimate multilevel random coefficient models, employing aggregated Eurostat data of 1328 Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques (NUTS) 3 and 270 NUTS 2 regions from 28 European countries. The urban-rural gradient in later fertility considerably diminishes once factors describing the economic environment, family and gender norms as well as population composition are accounted for. The higher prevalence of later fertility in cities is particularly associated with higher female education, greater wealth and a higher share of employment in high-technology sectors.

The role of perceived autonomy support and fear of failure: A weekly diary study on work-related rumination.

Grounded in self-determination theory, the present study examined the weekly fluctuations in different forms of work-related rumination depending on perceived autonomy support and fear of failure at the workplace. Work-related rumination has three dimensions, affective rumination (negative emotions or affect), problem-solving pondering (thinking over the actions to handle the problems), and psychological detachment (mentally distancing oneself from work during nonwork time). In total, 111 employees (Mage = 34.88, SD = 10.43) from various occupations were followed over the course of three weeks via weekly measurements, resulting in 333 matched observations. Multilevel random coefficient modeling showed that on the weeks when employees reported higher levels of perceived autonomy support from the leader, they engaged in affective rumination and problem-solving pondering less. However, weekly fluctuations in psychological detachment from work was not associated with perceived autonomy support. Moreover, on the weeks when employees experienced high fear of failure, they reported less psychological detachment from work during nonwork time. Lastly, within-and and between-person fear of failure moderated the negative link between perceived autonomy support and affective rumination. Findings showed that perceived autonomy support is a protective factor for employees high in both state and trait fear of failure in decreasing affective rumination. Directions for future research and implication for practice were discussed.

Determinants of the food insecurity at household level in Pakistan: A multilevel model approach.

Food insecurity is a major concern for the developing world and around 37% of the population of Pakistan is food insecure. This paper utilizes the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to assess the population prevalence of food insecurity and to identify their risk factors and determinants at the household level in Pakistan. This study employs a multi-level random coefficient model, using the Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS-2010) dataset; representative data from 4,130 households. Factors like; income of the household, gender, education, household size, land ownership, and shocks of food insecurity allow the incidence of idiosyncratic shocks (injuries and/or casualties) at the community level, which affects the food insecurity situation of the community, rather differently were included. The study confirms a statistically significant inverse relationship between household income, household size, and household head education with food insecurity and a positive association of shocks and inflation with food insecurity at the household level. Specifically, with increasing per capita income of the household, food insecurity declines (coefficient: -0.083, statistically significant at 1%) and food insecurity increases with shocks (coefficient: 0.058, statistically significant at 1% significance level). The study also reveals a significant heterogeneity at a one percent significance level in the determinants of food insecurity at the district, community, and household levels. The income of the household, household head gender and education level, household size, household assets, shocks, injuries, and inflationary pressure are important determinants of food insecurity in Pakistan.

The co-evolution of friend and help relationships and their different relationship formation and social influence

This study examined adolescents’ friend and help relationships to better understand their interrelated nature and the different characteristics of relationship formation and social influence in the behavioral and emotional dimensions of academic engagement. Multiplex networks of friends and helpers were collected (N = 542; Mage = 11.46; 20 classrooms) and analyzed using a multilevel Bayesian social network analysis (multilevel random-coefficients SAOM). The results showed that exchanging help played a role in the formation of friendships, and that friendships provided a relational context wherein help can be exchanged. Observable behavioral academic engagement played a more salient role in the formation of friend and help relationships, and highly engaged (in behavioral) adolescents were more often nominated as helpers. Both the behavioral and emotional dimensions of friends’ and helper’ academic engagement contributed to adolescents’ own behavioral and emotional engagement over time, but the social influence was more salient among friends compared to helpers. These results underscore that examining the dependencies among multiple networks and distinguishing between different dimensions of behavior and emotion are critical to elucidate the complex processes of relationship formation and social influence.

Predicting academic achievement and student absences in high school: The roles of student and school attributes.

The present study aims at examining predictors of high school students' academic achievement from student-level and school-level predictors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially in light of policy mandates on educational reform in accordance with Vision 2030. Participants were 528,854 individuals who took on the Standard Achievement Admission Test (SAAT), along with other demographic variables. The mean age of participants was 19.7 years with an SD = 1.87. There were 234,813 males and 294,041 females. A Multilevel Random Coefficient Modeling (MRCM) model was engaged to identify predictors of academic achievement. Results indicated the positive roles of being a female, having educational parents, being educated in religious schools or large schools, and having small student-to-teacher ratios and the negative roles of student absences, student age, and being educated in new schools. Results are viewed under the lenses of new policy mandates on educational reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Dynamic Interplay of Objective and Subjective Balance and Subsequent Task Performance: Implications for Fall Risk in Older Adults

Introduction: Falls occur in daily life when an activity results in a loss of balance that is too great to recover from. Our purpose in this study was to examine how fall risk differentiates the dynamic interplay of objective and subjective balance on a given day and subsequent task performance on that day. Methods: For 30 consecutive days, following a baseline fall risk assessment, 41 older adults (56% female, Age M = 75.22, SD = 6.75) self-assessed balance and task performance using a smartphone. The Activity-specific Balance Confidence scale measured subjective balance. Postural sway and chair-stand performance were measured within a smartphone using accelerometry. Data were analyzed using multilevel random coefficient models. Results: Tests of heterogeneity in level one residuals showed day-to-day variability in balance confidence and postural sway to be greater in individuals with higher fall risk at baseline. Baseline fall risk differentiated how the interplay of balance confidence and postural sway on a given day related to chair-stand performance on that day. For those with higher fall risk, on days that balance confidence was higher, greater postural sway was followed by greater chair-stand performance. Conclusion: Findings indicate that older adults, especially those with higher fall risk, may be unaware of subtle fluctuations in balance, which could lead to engaging in activities that exceed the capacity to maintain balance at that moment. Fall prevention efforts should address older adults’ understanding of and responses to fluctuations of physical function in daily life.

SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF AGING, SUPPORT FROM CLOSE SOCIAL TIES, AND HEALTH GOAL PROGRESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Abstract Subjective aging is interpersonal, it embodies processes of thinking about the self in relationship to others. We utilize data from the 100-day microlongitudinal Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences Project (N = 99; observations = 7,049; Mage = 63, range = 52-88) to explore how self-perceptions of aging differentiate the processes by which older adults shape interactions with close social ties to support progress toward a meaningful health goal in everyday life. Those with more positive self-perceptions of aging identified more friends among their closest social ties and reported a higher levels of goal progress and support toward that goal during the study period. Further, multilevel random coefficient models showed that goal progress on a given day was more sensitive to received support on that day among those with more positive self-perceptions of aging. The implications for adult development and shared experiences of aging within friendship networks is discussed.

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) at middle management level in the healthcare sector: A contribution to the Italian validation of psychosocial safety climate-4.

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to workers' shared perceptions of organizational policies, practices and procedures for the protection of psychological health and safety. PSC offers a multilevel organizational approach that expands traditional models of workplace stress, giving a more comprehensive understanding of occupational health and safety issues. Although considerable research on psychosocial risks in the healthcare sector has been conducted, few studies have explored the role of PSC among healthcare workers at middle management level. Additionally, no validated version of PSC is available in Italian language. The aim of this study is to contribute to the validation of the Italian 4-item version of the PSC and to explore this theory within the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) among a sample of Italian healthcare workers by testing PSC at the middle management level. We used cross-sectional data from 276 employees working in 17 different wards in a large Italian hospital. Intra-class coefficient (ICC) coefficient and agreement index were used to test PSC as a climate construct (data nested to hospital ward level). We performed hierarchical linear models to test mediation and moderation effects. The Italian version of PSC-4 proved to have good psychometric properties and confirmed its role as a group-level construct (α = 0.84; ICC = 0.16). Multilevel random coefficient models showed PSC was associated with Job demands (Effort: B = -0.36, SE = 0.07; Emotional demands: B = -0.03, SE = 0.01) and Job resources (Reward: B = 1.16, SE = 0.01; Physical work environment: B = 0.06, SE = 0.01). Results confirmed the indirect effect of PSC on Psychological (Burnout) and Occupational health (Job satisfaction) outcomes supporting the role of Job resources and Job demands as mediators. The multilevel analysis did not find a significant interaction terms between PSC and Job demands on Burnout therefore the moderation hypothesis was not supported. The Italian version of PSC-4 is a valid tool to evaluate PSC. These findings sustain the multilevel framework of PSC and the significant role played by mid-leaders in both the health impairment and motivational path. Further studies should explore the buffering effect of PSC at higher baseline levels as well as the adoption of PSC as a target for occupational health intervention the Italian context.

Individual, Maternal, Household, and Community Level Variability in Determining Inequalities in Childhood Anaemia within Ethiopia: Four-Level Multilevel Analysis Approach

Background: Childhood anaemia is a major public health issue necessitating rapid attention due to its debilitating consequences on the child, family, and society. Previous studies have assessed the prevalence and contributing factors to childhood anaemia in many developing countries. Yet, little is known about the factors that contribute to childhood anaemia in Ethiopia. The study examined the factors associated with inequalities of childhood anaemia in Ethiopia. Methods: Data for the study were extracted from the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey of Ethiopia. A total of 7960 children were considered in the final study. Bivariate and multilevel ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to estimate determinants of inequalities of childhood anaemia status. Results: Overall, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe anaemia among the children were 24.5%, 28.4%, and 2.2%, respectively. The child’s age (in months), sex of the child, preceding birth interval (in months), mother’s educational level, antenatal care visit, wealth index of mothers, source of drinking water, type of toilet facility, place of residence, and region were significantly associated with childhood anaemia. The multilevel random coefficient model found that there is a variation of childhood anaemia among women (intra-cluster correlation [ICC] = 15.06%), households (ICC = 15.6%), and communities (ICC = 14.22%) in Ethiopia. Conclusions: This study showed that anaemia is common among Ethiopian children. Factors found to be associated with childhood anaemia were the sociodemographic characteristics of the child and their mothers. We recommend that existing programs and interventions to prevent and reduce childhood anaemia be strengthened. Moreover, a targeted intervention includes deworming, intensified year-round behavior change communication campaigns and testing using digital methods, and point-of-care treatment.

The Association Between Toddlers' Temperament and Well-Being in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care, and the Moderating Effect of Center-Based Daycare Process Quality.

Children who experience well-being are engaging more confidently and positively with their caregiver(s) and peers, which helps them to profit more from available learning opportunities and support current and later life outcomes. The goodness-of-fit theory suggests that children’s well-being might be a result of the interplay between their temperament and the environment. However, there is a lack of studies that examined the association between children’s temperament and well-being in early childhood education and care (ECEC), and whether this association is affected by ECEC process quality. Using a multilevel random coefficient approach, this study examines the association between toddlers’ (N = 1,561) temperament (shyness, emotionality, sociability, and activity) and well-being in Norwegian ECEC and investigates whether process quality moderates this association. Results reveal an association between temperament and well-being. Staff-child conflict moderates the association between shyness and well-being, and between activity and well-being. Moreover, high emotional behavioral support moderates the association between activity and well-being. Extra attention should be paid by the staff to these children’s needs.

Bayesian multilevel model on maternal mortality in Ethiopia

Maternal mortality is one of the socio-economic problems and widely considered a serious indicator of the quality of a health. Ethiopia is considered to be one of the top six sub-Saharan countries with severe maternal mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the Demographic and Socio-economic determinant factors of maternal mortality in Ethiopia. Data from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey indicated that the sample of women (15–49) was (n = 10,103). The Bayesian multilevel we were used to explore the major risk factors and regional variations in maternal mortality in Ethiopia. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods with non-informative priors have been applied. The Deviance Information Criterion model selection criteria were used to select the appropriate model. The analysis result, 145 (1.43%) mothers were died due to pregnancy. Using model selection criteria Bayesian multilevel random coefficient was found to be appropriate. With this model, Age of mother, marital status, number of living children, wealth index and Education are found to be the significant determinants of maternal mortality in Ethiopia. The study indicated that there was within and between regional variations in maternal mortality. Inference is the fully Bayesian multilevel model based on recent Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. The socioeconomic, demographic and environmental determinants included in the study were found to be statistically significant. The result of the Bayesian multilevel model in this study has shown that educational attainment, wealth index, an age of mother, status and number of living children was a significant factor of maternal mortality.

Why Do Friends Have Similar Educational Expectations? Separating Influence and Selection Effects

AbstractThe influence of friends in shaping students’ educational expectations has received considerable theoretical and empirical attention in past research. However, few studies have directly tackled the methodological problems associated with estimating such influence effects. In particular, the separation of selection effects—with students selecting friends with similar educational expectations—from influence effects has remained elusive. In this study, we therefore investigate whether friend influence persists once we account for selection effects and other confounding network-related processes. In addition, we quantify the contribution of selection and influence to the similarity of educational expectations among friends. We rely on two-wave longitudinal data on 1,821 German secondary school students in 77 classrooms and multilevel random-coefficients stochastic actor-oriented models for the coevolution of networks and behaviour. Our results demonstrate that both selection and influence contribute to expectation-based similarity and that selection effects are substantial. This shows that without explicitly accounting for selection, estimates of friend influence effects are likely to be biased.

Acute Bidirectional Relations Between Affect, Physical Feeling States, and Activity-Related Behaviors Among Older Adults: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

The majority of older adults are physically inactive; therefore, strategies are needed to effectively promote sustained engagement in physical activity. This study was designed to investigate acute bidirectional relationships between affective and physical feeling states and activity-related behaviors among older adults in the context of everyday life using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). Older adults (n = 103, Mage = 72, Range: 60-98) participated in a 10-day study where they completed up to 6 smartphone-based EMA prompts/day. At each EMA prompt, participants reported their current positive and negative affect and physical feeling states. Participants wore an activPAL accelerometer to measure time spent standing and time spent stepping before and after the prompt. Separate multilevel random coefficient linear and logistic regression models examined these bidirectional relationships. On occasions when older adults engaged in more standing and more stepping than was typical for them in the 15 and 30 min prior to the EMA prompt, they tended to report greater feelings of energy at the prompt. On occasions when older adults reported greater feelings of energy than was typical for them, they engaged in more standing and more stepping in the 15 and 30 min following the EMA prompt. Positive and negative affect was unrelated to activity-related behaviors. Feelings of energy appear to be strongly linked to activity-related behaviors in older adults; however, this was not the case for positive or negative affect. These findings may have implications for optimal delivery of just-in-time intervention context based on affective states or current behaviors.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL SOCIAL INTERACTIONS FOR OLDER ADULTS’ EXPERIENCES OF WELL-BEING IN DAILY LIFE

Digital communication technologies expand opportunities for social interactions and as a result have the potential to either amplify or dampen the coupling of social interactions with well-being in daily life. We use data from the 100-day Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences project (n = 99, age = 50 – 88) to examine variation in the sensitivity of older adults’ daily reports of well-being to the quality of social interactions with their five closest social partners across digital (email/social media) and analogue (in person/by phone) interactions. Digital interactions were more common among less-close social partners. Multilevel random coefficient models showed days with more digital interactions than normal to be characterized by a) lower well-being and b) less sensitivity in well-being to the quality of social interactions with close social partners on that day. The implications of our findings are discussed within a life-span perspective of social relationships and well-being.

Interdependent Self-Construal Moderates Relationships Between Positive Emotion and Quality in Social Interactions: A Case of Person to Culture Fit.

How emotion is experienced and expressed in social encounters can very much depend on a person’s cultural orientation and the two can affect the quality of social relationships. The present research examined how an interaction between cultural orientation (person) and emotion in social encounters (situation) can influence social interaction outcomes and by extent, cultural fit. For a period of seven days, participants (N = 164) reported eight positive and eight negative emotions they experienced in naturally occurring social encounters together with indicators of quality of social interaction (satisfaction, attending to the other, perceiving others as emotionally more positive). Results from multilevel random coefficient analyses found that self-construal, interdependence in particular, moderated relationships between positive emotion and social interaction quality. At high levels of positive emotion, higher, compared to lower, interdependence was associated with lower attention to other and lower satisfaction with the encounter. At low levels of positive emotion, higher interdependence was associated with higher social interaction quality than persons lower in interdependence. These effects were more robust when social anxiety was controlled, and social anxiety was highly correlated with participants’ interdependent orientation. The results support socially situated accounts to emotion and cultural constructions of the self, and depict emotion in social interaction as an important indicator of cultural fit.

Validity evidence for programmatic assessment in competency-based education.

IntroductionCompetency-based education (CBE) is now pervasive in health professions education. A foundational principle of CBE is to assess and identify the progression of competency development in students over time. It has been argued that a programmatic approach to assessment in CBE maximizes student learning. The aim of this study is to investigate if programmatic assessment, i. e., a system of assessment, can be used within a CBE framework to track progression of student learning within and across competencies over time.MethodsThree workplace-based assessment methods were used to measure the same seven competency domains. We performed a retrospective quantitative analysis of 327,974 assessment data points from 16,575 completed assessment forms from 962 students over 124 weeks using both descriptive (visualization) and modelling (inferential) analyses. This included multilevel random coefficient modelling and generalizability theory.ResultsRandom coefficient modelling indicated that variance due to differences in inter-student performance was highest (40%). The reliability coefficients of scores from assessment methods ranged from 0.86 to 0.90. Method and competency variance components were in the small-to-moderate range.DiscussionThe current validation evidence provides cause for optimism regarding the explicit development and implementation of a program of assessment within CBE. The majority of the variance in scores appears to be student-related and reliable, supporting the psychometric properties as well as both formative and summative score applications.

Observations on the Medicare Value-Based Ranking of Hospitals During Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016.

Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBPP) compensates hospitals based on value of care provided. VBPP's total performance score (TPS) components data were evaluated by hospital groups: physician-owned surgical hospitals (POSH), Kaiser Hospitals, University HealthSystem Consortium Hospitals, Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Hospitals, US News and World Report Honor Roll Hospitals, and other hospitals. Multilevel random coefficient models estimated mean and significance of TPS differences from fiscal year (FY) 2015 and FY 2016, by hospital type. Overall mean TPS for 2985 hospitals decreased from 41.65 to 40.25. POSH and Kaiser Hospitals had significantly higher TPS in FY 2015 and FY 2016. POSH Patient Experience Domain scores exceeded all other Patient Experience Domain scores. The Efficiency Domain scores of Kaiser greatly exceeded the scores of all groups. Results suggest that POSH and Kaiser Hospitals provide significantly greater value of care with consistency from year to year when compared with other groups studied.