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Reliability and validity of the objective structured clinical examination in assessing surgical residents.

The purpose of this research was to assess reliability and construct validity of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for evaluating the clinical skills of surgical residents. Reliability refers to precision of the examination and construct validity to the degree to which the examination can discriminate between different levels of training. Twenty-seven second postgraduate year surgical residents took a 38-station OSCE representing seven surgical specialties and that tested history-taking, physical examination, problem-solving, technical skills, and attitudes. A couplet methodology was used wherein a patient encounter was followed by written questions aimed at testing problem-solving and patient management capabilities. Thirty-six standardized patients were trained and 36 surgeons served as examiners marking from structured checklists. Overall reliability, Cronbach's alpha, was 0.89. Construct validity was examined by comparing the scores of the residents with those of a group of graduates of foreign medical schools applying for a "pre-internship" program. For 17 of 19 stations that both groups took, the residents performed significantly better (p less than 0.01). Individual station validity was significant for 32 of 38 stations (r = 0.36 to 0.82, p less than 0.05). The examinations took 3.83 hours at a cost of $5,293 (Canadian dollars). The OSCE has been shown to be a reliable method of assessing clinical skills of surgical residents, construct validity has been established, and inter-item validity confirmed. Reliabilities achieved exceed those traditionally required for both acceptance and promotion decisions.

Analysis of Variance↗

Validity, reliability, and factor structure of the Anorectic Cognitions Questionnaire.

Several authors have hypothesized cognitive distortion as central to the psychopathology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there have been few investigations of these hypotheses. Equally as important, psychometrically sound devices for assessing these cognitions are notably lacking. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Anorectic Cognitions Questionnaire (MAC). This study reports on initial item development, initial concurrent validity, factor structure, initial item refinement, and internal consistency. Results indicated that the MAC has good concurrent validity, three theoretically defined factors were empirically supported, and the scale is internally consistent.

Adult↗

Reliability and validity of an objective structured clinical examination for physical therapy students.

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for students in the first year of a 2-year physical therapy program. Forty-eight students were examined at eight stations in one of two duplicate OSCE circuits. The stations evaluated skills required for the management of persons with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. At each station, students were required to interact with patients, demonstrate techniques, or interpret observations. Checklists were used to score all stations, which had equal values. The associations among stations were examined using Pearson's correlations and Cronbach's alpha. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used to determine differences among stations and between circuits. The validity of the OSCE was evaluated by determining the correlations between scores on the stations and performance in a subsequent clinical practicum. Correlations between stations were r = -0.14 to 0.33 and between stations and clinical performance were r = -0.28 to 0.27. Cronbach's alpha was 0.48. The ANOVA revealed significant differences among stations (F = 62.6, p = 0.000) but not between circuits (F = 1.8, p = 0.185). There was no significant interaction between circuit and station (F = 1.1, p = 0.356). There was poor internal consistency of the OSCE, and it did not predict clinical performance. Further research is required to determine if a larger number of stations can reliably and validly assess clinical skills of physical therapy students.

Canada↗

Reliability and validity of an objective structured clinical examination for assessing the clinical performance of residents.

Clinical performance of residents should be assessed as reliably and validly as possible. This study investigated the reliability and validity of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for assessing clinical performance of internal medicine residents. Residents were required to take a 17-patient OSCE in their first and second year. Reliability of the OSCE was 0.40. Validity studies indicated second-year students were significantly better than third-year students for five of six OSCE skill scores; first-year students were significantly better for three scores. Resident's scores for diagnosis, plan, and total significantly increased on their second OSCE. Generally faculty overall ratings of residents' clinical performance did not correlate with OSCE scores. American Board of Internal Medicine certifying examination scores were consistently positively correlated only with diagnosis. This 17-case OSCE is a feasible method for obtaining moderately reliable, valid data not available from other sources about the clinical performance of residents. More cases should be added to increase its reliability.

Clinical Competence↗

Standardization of the behavioral and emotional rating scale: factor structure, reliability, and criterion validity.

The present study reports on the standardization of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale and examines its factor structure, reliability, and criterion validity. Data on a national sample of children without disabilities (n = 2,176) and children with emotional and behavioral disorders (n = 861) were collected. Analysis of the data from the first sample identified five factors: interpersonal strengths, family involvement, intrapersonal strength, school functioning, and affective development. The factors appeared to be highly stable and reliable (.79 to .99). No statistically significant age or gender differences were noted, although females were rated higher on each factor and the overall score. The second sample was rated significantly lower than the first across the factors and total score. The article discusses future research issues and practical implications.

Adolescent↗

On the validity of an Augmented Structured Interview for measuring subcomponents of the Type A behavior pattern.

This study was designed to provide validity data for the Augmented Structured Interview (ASI), which has been developed to measure subcomponents (as opposed to the global) Type A behavior pattern (TABP). Eighty subjects from a large private southwestern medical center were administered a self-report measure of the TABP (the Jenkins Activity Survey--JAS) and the ASI. Forty of the subjects were being treated for post-infarction coronary heart disease (CHD). The remaining forty subjects did not possess documented CHD. The obtained ratings for all the six ASI-measured Type A subcomponents were significantly higher for the CHD than for the non-CHD group. A discriminant functions analysis revealed that the ASI was superior to the JAS in correctly classifying CHD and non-CHD subjects. These outcomes are interpreted as providing initial support for the validity of the ASI.

Adult↗

Cross-cultural validity of the Miami Structured Interview--1 for type A in children: the American-Hellenic Heart Study.

The Miami Structured Interview--1 was developed (1) to assess Type A behaviour in a broader age range of children than tested with previous interviews, and (2) for cross-cultural studies. This study examined the validity of the Miami Structured Interview--1 for assessing Type A behavior in 507 American and Greek preadolescent (ages 7-11) and adolescent (ages 12-16) boys. The interview was scored on voice stylistics such as speed of speech, word emphasis, and latency of response. Validity was tested using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH), a teacher rating scale of Type A behaviors. Interview determined Type A's received significantly higher MYTH scores than non Type A's for American adolescents (p less than 0.05), Greek preadolescents (p less than 0.01), and Greek adolescents (p less than 0.05). The interview also identified extreme groups of Type A's and Type B's for American adolescents (p less than 0.01) and Greek preadolescents (p less than 0.05). The findings support the cross-cultural validity of the Miami Structured Interview--1 and the Type A construct for children. Limitations of the Miami Structured Interview--1 are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Institution and validation of an observed structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) for obstetrics and gynecology residents and faculty.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to further evaluate the construct validity of the observed structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) by comparing resident scores to faculty scores. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a prospective blinded observational study. Four residents from each year (1-4) and 5 faculty members were examined. The OSATS examination was in the form of a dry laboratory with 10 stations: 4 laparoscopic and 6 open surgical skills. The sessions were videotaped and graded by the senior authors who used a task-specific checklist. The scoring of the videos was performed by the 2 senior authors blinded to the other examiners results. The examinations were videotaped, and the identity of the participants was blinded. The scores for each station were determined by adding all the numbers from the skills rating with a time score. Higher scores denote superior performance. Statistical analysis was performed with a nonparametric test (Kruskal-Wallis) for a total score with resident years divided into junior residents (first and second year), senior residents (third and fourth year), and faculty status as the independent variable. To determine the interrelater reliability between the 2 scores, the Kendall tau beta statistic was used. RESULTS: The results show definite trends for 7 stations, with junior residents performing the worst and faculty performing the best. This trend was statistically significant for 6 of the 10 stations. CONCLUSION: The OSATS examination has good construct validity that extends beyond residency to faculty.

Clinical Competence↗

Development and validation of a Rasch-derived CES-D short form.

The current study presents a Rasch-derived short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) for use as a depression screening tool in the general population. In contrast to short forms developed with reliance on classical measurement techniques, those developed using techniques based on item response theory produce a measure that offers true interval scaling, provide enhanced information about responders with extreme scores, and expand understanding of the underlying latent structure. Cross-validation of the Rasch-derived CES-D short form supported its utility and structural validity across samples. Tests of structural validity using latent variable modeling methodology indicated that a hierarchical, single-factor model of depression had the best fit for the original full form and the Rasch-derived short form of the CES-D. This finding challenges depression researchers and theorists to reconsider the interfactor relationships in the study and assessment of depression.

Adult↗

[The validity, reliability and factor structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)].

PURPOSE: The Brief Symptom Inventory is an instrument used in psychopathological evaluations. The standardization study of the instrument was carried out previously in a sample of university students (mean age=21.02) by the authors (Sahin & Durak, 1994). The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the psychometric characteristics obtained for that sample were also valid for adolescents. METHOD: The sample consisted of a total of 559 adolescents (287 female and 272 male), randomly chosen from different socio-economic backgrounds, living in different neighbourhoods in Ankara. The other instruments used for validation were the Social Comparison Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Trait Anxiety Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. RESULT: The factor analyses revealed five factors whose item distribution matched very closely that of the previous study on university students. The alpha coefficients of the factor subscale ranged between .70 (for depression) and .88 (for somatization). The correlation coefficients of the factor subscale with the other instruments ranged between -.45 (p<.001) and .71 (p<.001). The current study also contains the results of the analyses in terms of the demographic variables and the three index scores that can be obtained from the inventory. DISCUSSION: The findings concerning the factorial structure and concurrent validity of the BSI with the criterion measures show that the instrument can be used with adolescents as well. The factorial structure obtained with the current adolescent sample is very similar to the one obtained with the university sample (Sahin & Durak, 1994). The researchers think that the same factor subscale can be used with adolescent samples as well.

English Abstract↗

Validation of protein crystal structures.

Since the process of building and refining a model of a biomacromolecule based on crystallographic data is subjective, quality-control techniques are required to assess the validity of such models. During the 1990s, much experience was gained; the methods used and some of the lessons learned are reviewed here. In addition, an extensive compendium of quality criteria and quality-control methods that are or have been used to validate models of biomacromolecules has been compiled. The emphasis in this compendium is on the validation of protein crystal structures.

Biochemistry↗

Constructing an Index for the Subjective Well-being Under Neuroleptics scale (SWN), short form: applying structural equation modeling for testing reliability and validity of the index.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been widely used in psychology and sociology for testing validity of measurement instruments. However, this statistical technique has so far played minor role in quality-of-life research. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of SEM for constructing and testing the validity of a Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptics (SWN) index for patients with schizophrenia. For these purposes, data from the GEO study (Gesundheitsökonomische Evaluation von Olanzapin in Deutschland; Health economics study of olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia in Germany) were used. The GEO is a prospective, comparative, noninterventional, observational study. A total of 646 participants treated with either olanzapine (n = 416) or haloperidol (n = 230) were enrolled in the study; 360 patients were available for factor analyses. The short (20-item) form of the SWN scale was administered to assess patients' perspectives on their quality of life. The structural equation models (SEMs) were then applied to construct 5- and 10-item indexes based on SWN. The data indicate that the 5-item index is the most time-saving approach for evaluating perceptions of well-being (and thus, quality of life) among patients with schizophrenia. The application of SEM showed no appreciable loss of validity of this index.

Adult↗

Cross-validation of the factor structure of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist for persons with mental retardation.

The original factor structure of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist was cross-validated with an American sample of 470 persons with moderate to profound mental retardation, including nonambulatory individuals. The results of the factor analysis with varimax rotation essentially replicated previous findings, suggesting that the original five factors (Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypic Behavior, Hyperactivity, and Inappropriate Speech) could be cross-validated by factor loadings of individual items. The original five scales continue to show high internal consistency. These factors are easily interpretable and should continue to provide valuable research and clinical information.

Adult↗

A validational study of the Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated with Sexual Abuse (SASA) using three samples of sexually abused, allegedly abused, and nonabused boys.

OBJECTIVE: With the rapid rise of sexual abuse allegations, there is a growing need to develop instruments to help clinicians determine the likelihood that sexual abuse has occurred. METHOD: This study evaluated the discriminant validity of a structured parent interview regarding emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms by comparing results among three subsamples of age matched boys: 22 sexually abused boys whose perpetrator confessed, 47 boys evaluated in a sexual abuse clinic but without a history of perpetrator confession and 52 nonabused boys selected after rigorous screening. RESULTS: In comparison with the nonabused (NA) boys, the sexually abused boys were significantly more likely to demonstrate sudden emotional and behavioral changes, frequent stomach aches, more knowledge about sex and sexual activities than expected for age, unusual aggressiveness toward playmate or toy's private parts, crying easily, difficulty getting to sleep, and a change to poor school performance. The internal reliability of the SASA was determined to be .83 and scoring of an abbreviated 12-item scale demonstrated a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 88.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated with Sexual Abuse (SASA) is an effective tool which may help in the comprehensive assessment of boys who may have been sexually abused.

Adolescent↗

Construct validity of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in psychiatry: associations with the clinical skills examination and other indicators.

OBJECTIVE: The construct validity of checklist and global process scores for an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in psychiatry was assessed. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict psychiatry OSCE scores from the clinical skills examination, an obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) OSCE, and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) psychiatry subject examination. METHODS: Archival data from two successive classes of third-year medical students (1999-2000, N=142; 2000-2001, N=144) were aggregated and analyzed. RESULTS: The pattern and magnitude of convergence and discrimination were indicative of adequate construct validity for both the psychiatry checklist scores and the global process score. Clinical skills examination scores for history taking, interpersonal skills, and physical examination were related to psychiatry OSCE scores that reflected the same skill set. Construct validity was fairly higher for the global process rating. CONCLUSION: Evidence of construct validity of a psychiatry OSCE was obtained from multiple measures of performance, including the clinical skills examination. Findings lend support to the continued use of checklist and global process evaluations as part of OSCEs in psychiatry.

Adult↗

A self-validation technique for protein structure refinement: the extended Hamilton test.

An extension is proposed for the self-validation Hamilton test [Hamilton (1965). Acta Cryst. 18, 502-510] for crystallographic refinement. The method is based on the statistical F test and evaluates the significance of the R-factor ratio between two refinement protocols. The general case of two refinements carried out with different numbers and types of non-linear restraints is examined. The restraints are considered as extra observations weighted by a coefficient expressing their effective number. There exists a restriction on the weighting coefficients between the two refinements. An empirical method to evaluate the effective number of restraints is provided. The method may allow the detection of unreasonably tight restraints. The expectation value for r.m.s. R(free), given the r.m.s. R, can be estimated. Thus, the significance of the observed drop in R(free) can be assessed. Compared to cross-validation using R(free) [Brünger (1992). Nature (London), 355, 472-474] self-validation has the advantage that it does not require omission of any experimental data. The significance of the improvement obtained by moving from isotropic to anisotropic description of thermal parameters in the refinement of a protein at 1.5 A, resolution is used as an example.

Journal Article↗

Complete cross-validation and R-factor calculation of a solid-state NMR derived structure.

Cross-validation of a solid-state NMR-derived membrane polypeptide structure is demonstrated. An initial structure has been achieved directly from solid-state NMR derived orientational restraints based on a variety of anisotropic nuclear spin interactions. Refining the molecular structure involves setting up a penalty function that incorporates all available solid-state NMR experimental data and an energy function. A validation method is required to choose the optimal weighting factor for the total penalty function to balance the contribution from the experimental restraints and the energy function. Complete cross-validation has been used to avoid over-fitting the orientational restraints. Such cross-validation involves partitioning of the experimental data into a test set and a working set followed by checking the free R-value during the refinement process. This approach is similar to the method used in crystallography and solution NMR. Optimizing the weighting factor on the penalty function by cross-validation will increase the quality of the refined structure from solid-state NMR data. The complete cross-validation and R-factor calculation is demonstrated using experimental solid-state NMR data from gramicidin A, a monovalent cation channel in lipid bilayers.

Journal Article↗

Comparison of DSM-III and DSM-III-R diagnoses for prepubertal children: changes in prevalence and validity.

A structured and reliable diagnostic procedure based on a revised version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children for children, parents, and teachers was used to assign both DSM-III and DSM-III-R diagnoses to 177 outpatient boys aged 7 to 12 years. Compared to their DSM-III counterparts, DSM-III-R oppositional defiant disorder was 25.5% less prevalent, DSM-III-R dysthymia was 37.8% less prevalent, and DSM-III-R conduct disorder (CD) was 44.3% less prevalent. However, DSM-III-R attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was 14.4% more prevalent than DSM-III attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. The two definitions of CD were compared to exemplify an empirical approach to diagnostic validation. The DSM-III-R diagnosis of CD appears to be more valid as it is more strongly associated with police contacts, school suspensions, and history of antisocial personality disorder in the biological father, but both CD diagnoses are associated with family histories of criminal convictions.

Child↗