Radboud University Nijmegen

About: Radboud University Nijmegen is a education organization based out in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 35417 authors who have published 83035 publications receiving 3285064 citations. The organization is also known as: Catholic University of Nijmegen & Radboud University.

Psychometric Properties of the Parent and Teacher Versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 4- to 12-Year-Olds: A Review

Abstract: Since its development, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been widely used in both research and practice. The SDQ screens for positive and negative psychological attributes. This review aims to provide an overview of the psychometric properties of the SDQ for 4- to 12-year-olds. Results from 48 studies (N = 131,223) on reliability and validity of the parent and teacher SDQ are summarized quantitatively and descriptively. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater agreement are satisfactory for the parent and teacher versions. At subscale level, the reliability of the teacher version seemed stronger compared to that of the parent version. Concerning validity, 15 out of 18 studies confirmed the five-factor structure. Correlations with other measures of psychopathology as well as the screening ability of the SDQ are sufficient. This review shows that the psychometric properties of the SDQ are strong, particularly for the teacher version. For practice, this implies that the use of the SDQ as a screening instrument should be continued. Longitudinal research studies should investigate predictive validity. For both practice and research, we emphasize the use of a multi-informant approach.

Hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior: a meta-analysis.

Abstract: A meta-analytic review was conducted to explain divergent findings on the relation between children's aggressive behavior and hostile attribution of intent to peers. Forty-one studies with 6,017 participants were included in the analysis. Ten studies concerned representative samples from the general population, 24 studies compared nonaggressive to extremely aggressive nonreferred samples, and 7 studies compared nonreferred samples with children referred for aggressive behavior problems. A robust significant association between hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior was found. Effect sizes differed considerably between studies. Larger effects were associated with more severe aggressive behavior, rejection by peers as one of the selection criteria, inclusion of 8- to-12-year-old participants, and absence of control for intelligence. Video and picture presentation of stimuli were associated with smaller effect sizes than was audio presentation. Staging of actual social interactions was associated with the largest effects. The importance of understanding moderators of effect size for theory development is stressed.

A Comparison of Approaches for the Analysis of Interaction Effects Between Latent Variables Using Partial Least Squares Path Modeling

Abstract: In social and business sciences, the importance of the analysis of interaction effects between manifest as well as latent variables steadily increases. Researchers using partial least squares (PLS) to analyze interaction effects between latent variables need an overview of the available approaches as well as their suitability. This article presents 4 PLS-based approaches: a product indicator approach (Chin, Marcolin, & Newsted, 2003), a 2-stage approach (Chin et al., 2003; Henseler & Fassott, in press), a hybrid approach (Wold, 1982), and an orthogonalizing approach (Little, Bovaird, & Widaman, 2006), and contrasts them using data related to a technology acceptance model. By means of a more extensive Monte Carlo experiment, the different approaches are compared in terms of their point estimate accuracy, their statistical power, and their prediction accuracy. Based on the results of the experiment, the use of the orthogonalizing approach is recommendable under most circumstances. Only if the orthogonalizing approach does not find a significant interaction effect, the 2-stage approach should be additionally used for significance test, because it has a higher statistical power. For prediction accuracy, the orthogonalizing and the product indicator approach provide a significantly and substantially more accurate prediction than the other two approaches. Among these two, the orthogonalizing approach should be used in case of small sample size and few indicators per construct. If the sample size or the number of indicators per construct is medium to large, the product indicator approach should be used.

Personal paper: Beliefs and evidence in changing clinical practice

Abstract: That improvements are possible in many areas of clinical care has become increasingly clear. The different players within health care, however—clinicians, epidemiologists, health services researchers, educationalists, social scientists, economists, health authorities—often have different ideas on the best strategies to improve practice and the best way of making changes. Let us assume that aggregated data, collected by health authorities, disclose that the rate of caesarean section in a specific district is exceptionally high. A committee is formed with experts and representatives of various interests to develop plans for improving obstetric care. Hearing the problem, all are worried. The clinician either denies there is a problem or proposes setting up a well designed course to increase clinicians' knowledge and skills. “OK,” says the clinical epidemiologist, “but we first need to know what the evidence is on the indications for a caesarean section. We should perform a meta-analysis and come up with evidence based guidelines to disseminate among the obstetricians.” “No,” says the educational expert: “that is a top down approach and such strategies will usually fail. Form small groups of doctors and let them discuss the problem, using cases and experiences from their own practices as the basis for local arrangements on new routines.” “We should take a look at the facts first,” says the health services researcher. “Let us set up a multicentre audit first and collect data on actual variation between hospitals and include data on casemix. Feeding this information back to the hospitals will probably stimulate improvement.” “You are all focusing too much on the individual doctor,” says the management expert. “The problem is not the doctor, but the system. We should analyse the process of decision making and performing the caesarean sections and see what structures determine the process. Next we need a quality improvement team.” “This is …