Showing papers by "Stephen G. West published in 1998"

Temperament as a predictor of symptomatology in children: addressing contamination of measures.

Abstract: Temperament has been conceptualized as an important predictor of children's psychological adjustment. However, even with reliable and valid measures, there is the additional problem of overlapping item content across measures of temperament and symptoms that threatens the interpretability of such associations. This study assessed this possible confounding using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and expert ratings. A number of items from temperament measures of negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity, and attention focusing were shown to overlap with items measuring depressive and conduct problem symptoms. CFAs demonstrated that temperament could be reliably measured after eliminating overlapping items. Negative emotionality and impulsivity showed a positive relation to symptom measures, whereas positive emotionality and attention showed a negative relation to symptom measures. The pattern of associations indicated consistent relations between negative emotionality and depression and between impulsivity and conduct problems. The results show that even after removal of the threat to validity presented by overlap in measures, there continue to be significant, interpretable relations between temperament and symptoms.

Comparison of a Randomized and Two Quasi-Experimental Designs in a Single Outcome Evaluation Efficacy of a University-Level Remedial Writing Program

Abstract: The authors assessed the impact of three designs (randomized experiment, nonequivalent control group design, regression discontinuity design) on estimates of effect size of a university-level freshman remedial writing program. Designs were implemented within the same context, same time frame, and with the same population. The 375 freshman participants were either randomly assigned or self-selected into specific evaluation groups, according to design protocols. The three designs led to highly similar effect size estimates of the impact of a semester of remedial writing on writing outcomes following standard freshman composition. Specific design features contributed to the convergence of effect size estimates across designs.

Moderators of self-other agreement: reconsidering temporal stability in personality.

Abstract: Accurate prediction requires information not only about central tendencies but also about variability. In personality prediction, however, most research has focused on trait-level central tendencies. Previously proposed moderators of personality prediction are all conceptually similar in comparing an individual's central tendency in response patterns with that of the normative person. This article proposes an alternative: Trait-level prediction is enhanced by measuring the temporal stability of response patterns within persons. Across 2 studies, individuals with temporally stable response patterns had higher self-other agreement on conscientiousness and extraversion than did individuals with less temporally stable patterns. By comparison, normatively based variables (interitem variability, scalability, or construct similarity) did not moderate self-other agreement. The implications for personality structure, assessment, and prediction are discussed.