1,722,538 research outputs found
Covid-19 emergency: the influence of implicit attitudes, information sources, and individual characteristics on psychological distress, intentions to get vaccinated, and compliance with restrictive rules.
Full text linkBackground: To limit the spread of the COVID-19 emergency, a massive vaccination program was implemented and restrictive measures were imposed on the population. However, the propensity to adhere to the vaccination program has struggled to take off. Moreover, complying with the restrictive rules and maintaining social distancing have been highly distressing for many individuals.
Participants and procedure: Italian participants (N = 140, females = 65%, mean age = 29.50, SD = 10.80) were presented with an online survey consisting of multiple-choice questions and two single-category implicit association tests (SC-IATs). One SC-IAT evaluated the tendency of participants to automatically associate personal protective equipment (PPE) and vaccines with safety or danger; the other evaluated their tendency to automatically associate social situations with good or bad. Multiple-choice questions explored individual, social, and environmental factors that were expected to contribute to vaccine propensity, compliance with restrictive rules, and feelings of distress.
Results: Using scientific information sources was related to implicitly associating PPE and vaccines with safety, which in turn was associated with the propensity to get the vaccine. Moreover, being female, young, unsatisfied with social relationships, having suffered health and economic consequences due to the pandemic, and having negative implicit attitudes toward social situations contributed to increasing feelings of distress.
Conclusions: Communication may contribute to individuals' behavior and preferences and it can also be associated with implicit attitudes, becoming consequently one of the main leverages to reduce vaccine hesitancy. Recovery programs should prioritize the development of interventions aimed at fostering psychological well-being through the enhancement of social contacts
On the association between the use of digital devices and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown
No full textTo limit the spread of COVID-19, lockdown measures have been adopted and digital devices (DDs) have become crucial to interpersonal interaction. This work aimed to investigate whether the lockdown condition interacted with the use of DDs in predicting psychosocial well-being. A two-group cross-sectional design was employed: One sample was recruited before the emergency (n = 108), the other during the lockdown (n = 261). Hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate the moderating role of the lockdown condition on the association between the use of DDs and well-being, while controlling for off-line behaviors. The association between the number of social network sites (SNSs) used and depression was nonsignificant before the emergency, whereas a significant positive association was observed during the lockdown. The association between the number of SNSs used and satisfaction with social relationships was nonsignificant during the lockdown, although a significant positive association had been observed before the pandemic. The results indicate that the association of SNS use with depression and satisfaction with social relationships differed in the pre-pandemic and lockdown phases. Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, COVID-19, Digital devices, Social network site
Enhancing Computerized Adaptive Testing with Batteries of Unidimensional Tests
No full textThe article presents a new computerized adaptive testing (CAT) procedure for use with batteries of unidimensional tests. At each step of testing, the estimate of a certain ability is updated on the basis of the response to the latest administered item and the current estimates of all other abilities measured by the battery. The information deriving from these abilities is incorporated into an empirical prior that is updated each time that new estimates of the abilities are computed. In two simulation studies, the performance of the proposed procedure is compared with that of a standard procedure for CAT with batteries of unidimensional tests. The proposed procedure yields more accurate ability estimates in fixed-length CATs, and a reduction of test length in variable-length CATs. These gains in accuracy and efficiency increase with the correlation between the abilities measured by the batteries
Development of a scale for capturing psychological aspects of physical-digital integration: relationships with psychosocial functioning and facial emotion recognition
Full text linkThe present work aims at developing a scale for the assessment of a construct that we called "physical-digital integration", which refers to the tendency of some individuals not to perceive a clear differentiation between feelings and perceptions that pertain to the physical or digital environment. The construct is articulated in four facets: identity, social relationships, time-space perception, and sensory perception. Data from a sample of 369 participants were collected to evaluate factor structure (unidimensional model, bifactor model, correlated four-factor model), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega), and correlations of the physical-digital integration scale with other measures. Results showed that the scale is valid and internally consistent, and that both the total score and the scores at its four subscales are worthy of consideration. The physical-digital integration scores were found to be differently associated with digital and non-digital behaviors, individuals' ability to read emotions in the facial expressions of others, and indicators of psychosocial functioning (anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with social relationships). The paper proposes a new measure whose scores are associated with several variables that may have relevant consequences at both individual and social levels
Machine learning-decision tree classifiers in psychiatric assessment: An application to the diagnosis of major depressive disorder
No full textThis work illustrates the advantages of using machine learning classifiers in psychiatric assessment. Machine learning-decision trees (ML-DTs) represent a new approach to scoring and interpreting psychodiagnostic test data that allows for increasing assessment accuracy and efficiency. The approach is outlined in an easy yet detailed way, and its application is illustrated on real psychodiagnostic test data. Specifically, cross-sectional data concerning nonclinical and clinical Japanese populations were taken from a panel registered with an internet survey company. Responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) underwent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, DSM algorithm, and ML-DT analyses. The results showed greater diagnostic accuracy for ML-DT (0.71–0.75) compared with the DSM algorithm (0.69) and ROC curves (0.70–0.71). Moreover, ML-DT enabled classifying participants as having or not having a diagnosis of depression using, on average, the information from 2.99 out of 9 items (SD = 1.35). The application showed that ML-DTs can provide information of high clinical value to integrate traditional psychometric methods. The resulting assessments are informative, accurate, and efficient
Using item response theory for the development of a new short form of the Eysenck personality questionnaire-revised
No full textThe present work aims at developing a new version of the short form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, which includes Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scales (48 items, 12 per scale). The work consists of two studies. In the first one, an item response theory model was estimated on the responses of 590 individuals to the full-length version of the questionnaire (100 items). The analyses allowed the selection of 48 items well discriminating and distributed along the latent continuum of each trait, and without misfit and differential item functioning. In the second study, the functioning of the new form of the questionnaire was evaluated in a different sample of 300 individuals. Results of the two studies show that reliability of the four scales is better than, or equal to that of the original forms. The new version outperforms the original one in approximating scores of the full-length questionnaire. Moreover, convergent validity coefficients and relations with clinical constructs were consistent with literature
Cross-cultural validation of a new abbreviated version of the EPQ-R.
No full textThe present work aims at providing evidence concerning the psychometric properties of a new abbreviated version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) in a cross-cultural sample of native English speakers (recruited in three geographical areas: North America, Europe, and Oceania. The four-factor structure of the questionnaire was confirmed, as well as the satisfactory reliability and convergent validity of its scales. Moreover, item-level analyses showed that the items of the scales were simple structured, without misfit, and without cultural, age, and gender biases. On the whole, the results suggest the suitability of the new abbreviated version of the EPQ-R in English contexts
Rasch Models in the Analysis of Repgrid Data
No full textThe present work shows how useful clinical insights can derive from a Rasch analysis of repgrids. Rasch models allow meaningful comparisons not only within elements and within constructs, but also between them. In addition, they allow the identification of unexpected evaluations that should be further explored with the respondent. Large values of infit or outfit may suggest a lack of attention in completing the grid, uncertainties in the evaluation of elements on constructs, or critical issues regarding certain elements or constructs. Classical analysis procedures and a Rasch model are applied on real repgrid data. The results indicate that the Rasch model provides additional information beyond that resulting from classical analysis procedures
Development of a new abbreviated form of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised
No full textThis work aims to develop a new version of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised-Abbreviated (JEPQR-A) with improved measurement properties. Two studies were carried out and various analyses performed. In the first study, the 89 items of the full version of the questionnaire were administered to a sample of participants (N = 549) and the data analysed in order to select the 24 items with the best metric properties. An investigation of the parameters of the 2PL model, DIF statistics and item fit measures allowed the selection of 24 items that were unbiased, well discriminating and well fitting. In the second study, the reliability, factor structure and convergent validity of the new abbreviated questionnaire were evaluated on a different sample of participants (N = 234). The results suggest that the new version of the JEPQR-A outperforms the previous form
Using multidimensional item response theory to develop an abbreviated form of the Italian version of Eysenck's IVE questionnaire
No full textThis work aims at developing an abbreviated form of the Italian version of Eysenck's Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy (IVE) questionnaire. The work consists of two studies that were conducted on two different data samples (N = 200, 314, respectively). In the first one, a multidimensional item response theory model was used to identify, among the 54 items of the IVE, 18 items (six for each of the three scales) with simple structure, absence of misfit and gender DIF, good discrimination and coverage of the latent trait continua. Reliabilities and latent trait estimates obtained through the three abbreviated scales largely resembled those of the corresponding full-length scales. The second study supported the validity of the abbreviated questionnaire: The three-factor structure was confirmed, and correlations between the abbreviated scales, other Eysenck's personality traits, and risk-taking behaviors were consistent with previous findings
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