Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2024, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Autism spectrum condition (ASC) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by a spectrum of neuropsychological and behavioral impairments ranging from mild to severe. Formal diagnostic assessments primarily rely on a comprehensive evaluation of behavioral and developmental factors. However, the self-report assessments currently used have limitations which threaten the scales' reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties of the Autism Spectrum Trait Scale (ASTS), a new self-report scale developed to detect ASC in adults. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 764) was conducted to develop the factor structure, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 754) was performed to determine model fit. The results indicated a stable six-factor model with good model fit, metric measurement invariance, and relatively high sensitivity and specificity. These findings provide evidence for the utilization of the ASTS as a component of assessment for ASC in adults.

Committee: Amir Poreh (Committee Chair); Kathleen Reardon (Committee Co-Chair); Elizabeth Goncy (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2021, Psychology-Counseling

There are several multidimensional scales that are proposed to measure the intersection between gender and racial identities with African American men. These measures have used total scale scores, or subscale scores based mostly on exploratory factor analysis. Few confirmatory factor analyses with priori structures have been performed on existing measures that would support the use of a scale score or a raw score. Moreover, they do not demonstrate a measurement model. This study assessed the dimensionality of the Rogers African American Masculinity Scale (RAAMS, Rogers, 2017). Through interpretation of several models (i.e., a bifactor model, correlated factors modela second order factor in a hierarchical model, or a unidimensional model) the RAAMS demonstrated strongest model fit using a bifactor model The RAAMS subscales raw scores were determined to be useful in measuring the latent subscale factors of Self-Definition, Discrimination, and Traditional Masculinity but not African American Values as it was determined that the construct does not contribute meaningfully from the general factor. There was also validity evidence of the RAAMS subscales through their correlations with similar scales (i.e., MIS and BMES). The RAAMS also demonstrated configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance for two age groups of African American Men. It was suggested that the RAAMS is approached in similar ways for the two different age groups. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Committee: Jonn Queener (Committee Chair); Ronald Levant (Advisor); Robert Peralta (Committee Member); Ingrid Weigold (Committee Member); Suzette Speight (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychological Tests; Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

Introduction: Social media has become a necessary form of communication for young adults in nearly all contexts of life. One such context is in higher education, specifically, university students who are connected and “online” nearly 24 hours a day. Not only are these young adults integrating social media into their collegiate academic experiences both formally and informally, university faculty are also using this form of communication to support their teaching. In recent years, a number of countries in the Middle East have started to use social-networking sites (SNSs) for communication with regularity. One country with a significant proportion of social media users is Saudi Arabia (SA), with Saudi university students being the largest group of active users. In the current study, two scales measuring social media use were translated into Arabic and used with a large sample of undergraduate students in SA. Purpose: Manuscript 1's objective was to examine the psychometric properties (i.e., content and construct validity; internal consistency reliability) of the Arabic version of the Social Networking Time Use Scale (SONTUS) among Saudi undergraduate students. Manuscript 2's purpose was to examine the same psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Social Media and Academic Performance of Students (SMAPOS) scale in a sample of Saudi undergraduate students. Additionally, the functioning of items in both scales was evaluated across male and female students. Methods: A total of 508 undergraduate students at one, large university in SA participated in this study and completed the Arabic versions of both scales (i.e., the SONTUS and the SMAPOS). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Internal Consistency Reliability, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) were used to analyze the data. Results: Manuscript 1 results showed that the Arabic version of the SONTUS contained three subscales and overall had good psychometric p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Aryn C. Karpinski (Advisor); Jason Schenker (Committee Member); Lee Seon Jeong (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Tests and Measurements

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the newly developed Twitter and Scholastic Synchronicity Scale (TSSS) and Twitter and Scholastic Apportionment Assessment (TSAA) items. The study also sought to understand if and how attitude and behavior positively and/or negatively related to undergraduate students' academic performance. The TSSS scale focused on measuring how undergraduate students use Twitter for academics while the TSAA scale focused on their attitudes toward using Twitter for academics. A comprehensive statistical analysis was conducted to explore both the validity and reliability aspects of these newly developed scales. An online survey collected research data from 327 undergraduate students at one institution. First, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to understand the underlying factor structure. Second, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to check the proximity of the conceptual model's results to the hypothesized model. Third, reliability and validity aspects of the measure were investigated using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Rasch Analysis (RA). Fourth, Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) was used to understand the relationship between students' academics and the newly developed scales. The results here provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the newly developed scales. CFA confirmed that research data support the hypothesized data, and RA indicated that the items featured in these newly developed scales are based on a single measure. The HMR results indicated that students' academic performance and Twitter scales (TSSS and TSAA) are strongly correlated. Both scales help to explain the variance in undergraduate students' academic performance.

Committee: Tricia Niesz Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Karl Kosko Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Richard Ferdig Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Statistics

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Weatherhead School of Management

Over time enterprises have woven together a fabric of processes, information structures, and computer tools to conduct their day-to-day business. Many of the components of this patchwork of systems cannot work together effectively, as the underlying models are incompatible. There is however, a strong business case to be made for ensuring that end-to- end business processes are interoperable, both across the enterprise, and with other enterprises. Qualitative research demonstrates that distinct cultures and non-overlapping knowledge between IS development (ISD) team members impedes system development success. It also identifies Boundary Spanning mechanisms as a significant mitigator. We develop these ideas further by exploring the mechanisms of knowledge sharing in project teams covering overlapping competence, and the presence of knowledge integration mechanisms - acculturation, boundary spanning roles- in how they affect ISD success. We utilize survey data derived from 139 ISD projects in a global US automotive OEM, completed between 2006 and 2009. We show that boundary spanning roles, acculturative processes, and cross-domain knowledge affect in significant ways IS development success. In particular, we demonstrate that facilitative boundary spanning roles - ambassador, coordinator, and scout - moderate the relationship between accumulated IS business domain knowledge and ISD success, and that IS business competence is partially determined by acculturation among IS team members, and the technical competence of the IS team. Teams with low levels of business domain knowledge may be able to mitigate their business knowledge deficit by engaging in boundary spanning behaviors as to enhance the flow of information across the team's knowledge boundaries.

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. (Advisor); Nick Berente, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Information Systems

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for higher education administrators to assess their social media practices during the admissions cycle. The instrument collects data from students on their perceptions about the quality of the institution's social media activities. A review of relevant literature was completed, and experts were consulted to develop an instrument. The instrument was distributed to 2,000 students at three different four-year public institutions for a total of 6,000. Response rates differed by institution with the highest at 19% and the lowest 6.4%. Exploratory Factor Analyses were run on the data from two of the schools. Using a replication strategy, the final model was replicated between the two EFAs. Using that model, using the data from the third sample a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed, also confirming that the data supported the model from the EFA. The data showed that social media was not influential in the college choice process. The final 12-item model also had high internal consistency reliability. The final instrument is an effective tool for administrators to assess their social media practices.

Committee: Erica Eckert (Committee Co-Chair); Stephen Thomas (Committee Co-Chair); Aryn Karpinski (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Policy; Educational Technology; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Technology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2017, Leadership and Change

This study developed a teacher self-assessment instrument in the form of six factors across two overarching constructs, resulting in one Positive Relationships scale with three factors; and three related, but separate, scales measuring elements of the Classroom Environment. Many teacher skills and qualities are known to contribute to effectiveness in the classroom, such as teacher self-efficacy, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and instructional knowledge. The inclusion of affective dimensions of teacher effectiveness can complement the prevailing focus on other measures of teacher effectiveness, through the consideration of critically important, but relatively ignored, aspects of effective teaching. This study examined teacher attitudes toward building positive relationships with students and creating an empowering classroom environment, grounded in teacher effectiveness research. A survey was taken by 403 practicing elementary teachers in the United States. The results were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting factors were compared with a four-item classroom management subscale of the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) to determine convergent validity, measuring similar underlying constructs; and divergent validity, measuring attitudes versus efficacy. Participant demographic variables were compared using independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and tests for metric invariance to determine if the instrument performed similarly with all groups. Findings show good model fit, reliability, and validity for the factors related to each overarching construct, and most demographic variables showed no variance in the models. Significant differences were found for the Managing Conflict factor between teachers who taught grades K–2 and teachers who taught all elementary grades. Group differences on the Student-Centered and Positive Guidance factors were found between t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carol Baron Ph.D. (Committee Member); James McMillan Ph.D. (Committee Member); Thomas Good Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; School Administration; Teaching

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2016, Leadership and Change

This study developed a scale for teams to assess their behaviors related to creative synergy. Creative synergy is the interactions among team members where the collective creative results are greater than the sum of their individual efforts. When a team achieves creative synergy they have the potential to solve difficult problems with innovative solutions leading to positive impacts on our communities, societies, and even our world. This study looked at the internal-process variables of teams to determine what factors impact creative synergy. The research process involved two phases. In Phase 1, a survey was taken by 830 adults who were members of teams. The results were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A new scale was created that identified three factors teams need for creative synergy: team purpose, team dynamics, and team creative process. In Phase 2, the new scale was tested with three work teams to determine the perceived accuracy of the scale. The new Creative Synergy Scale will be a valuable tool for teams wanting to be more creative together. It will give them feedback on their level of team purpose, team dynamics, and team creative process. This dissertation is accompanied by two supplemental files: a video of the author's introduction (MP4) and a correlation table showing the original 75 items considered for the Creative Synergy Scale (PDF). This dissertation is available in open-access at OhioLink ETD Center, etd.ohiolink.edu and AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/

Committee: Mitchell Kusy Ph.D (Committee Chair); Carol Baron Ph.D (Committee Member); Susan Keller-Mathers Ed.D (Committee Member); James Kaufman Ph.D (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Business Administration; Business Community; Cognitive Psychology; Communication; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Psychological Tests; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Statistics

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, EDU Policy and Leadership

In education research, ordinal data is the norm but does not meet the assumptions of most statistical methods and thus is often analyzed inappropriately. Using a dataset typical of the field, this study compared four factor analytic methods: a traditional exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a full-information EFA, and two EFAs within the confirmatory factor analysis framework (E/CFA) conducted according to the Joreskog method and the Gugiu method. Because an approach for handling cross-loaded items in multifactor models has not been clearly defined within the Gugiu method, two approaches were compared. The fixed-loadings approach involves forcing cross-loaded items to load onto only one factor, chosen based on the strongest theoretical justification. The delete-items approach deletes all cross-loaded items from the model. Both approaches were used to arrive at a starting model that was then modified according to the Gugiu method. Methods were compared on initial model fit, replication in a confirmatory factor analysis, and the stability, interpretability, and reliability of the models. In terms of initial model fit, methods appropriate for ordinal data produced better models, the E/CFAs outperformed the EFAs, and the Gugiu method demonstrated greater model interpretability than the Joreskog method. Both approaches to the Gugiu method produced well-fitting models, but the delete-items approach outperformed the fixed-loadings approach. However, contrary to the findings of a previous study, these results did not hold for model validation. In CFAs conducted on posttest data, the model fit of the E/CFAs was on par with or worse than the model fit of the EFAs. Additionally, the two approaches to the Gugiu method performed the worst where before they had performed the best, with the fixed-loadings approach faring particularly poorly. In the case of this data, the full-information EFA produced the best fitting models. Examining characteristics of the data help to expl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: P. Cristian Gugiu (Advisor); Eric Anderman (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Tests and Measurements; Psychological Tests

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2021, Leadership and Change

A growing body of research has shown the benefits of optimism on health, socioeconomic status, and at work. This two-phase mixed-method study revised and validated an instrument to measure an employee's personal experience with optimism in their workplace. This study also developed two additional scales to measure the degree to which individuals engage in optimistic leadership skills, and an organization's readiness to cultivate optimism. In Phase 1, 697 responses from an online survey were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Regression analysis indicated that an employee's personal experience of factors associated with optimism at work influenced their perception of their workplace's readiness to cultivate optimism. Regression analysis also indicated that an individual's personal tendency toward optimism influenced their personal experience with optimism at work. The study also validated the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Life Orientation Test-Revised for this study's sample. In Phase 2, the measures developed in Phase 1 were piloted with the 30-person office staff of a midwestern paper manufacturing company to provide feedback on the accuracy of the scales. The findings help to advance research on optimism at work and support future studies to explore more deeply the impact of optimism at work. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/.

Committee: Mitchell Kusy Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carol Baron Ph.D. (Committee Member); Amy Climer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2012, Arts and Sciences: Political Science

For over fifty years the American National Election Studies (ANES) program has been measuring citizens' evaluations of the trustworthiness of the “government in Washington.” The longitudinal dynamic of political trust attitude, suggests that in the last fifty years, Americans have generally become less positive and more critical towards the national government. This dissertation empirically explores the causes and consequences of changes in the level and components of political trust attitude over time. This research challenges the prevalent idea that public trust in government shifts in response to the changes in government performance. Building on the scholarship of cognitively oriented public opinion scholars, I instead advocate the view that people judge about the trustworthiness of the “government in Washington” based on the problems they consider important at any given point in time—a process defined as cognitive priming. The change in political trust is modeled using the ANES cross-sectional time-series (1964-2000) dataset augmented by the context level data, replicating the state of the national- and media agendas at the time of survey response. These contextual data include the macro-level measures of unemployment, inflation, consumer confidence, and the measures of media attention to the national economy and defense. Results from the multilevel structural equation models (SEM) with Bayesian MCMC estimation method suggest that issue priming plays a key role in the longitudinal dynamic of trust. First, I establish that priming occurs through the change in respondents' national importance judgments and economic evaluations. These mediators significantly carry the priming effect of mass media and real-world cues on political trust. Second, I demonstrate that change in the volume of media attention to economic and international affairs and national defense issue domains increases the weight people place on these issues when making judgments about the trustw (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Stephen Mockabee PhD (Committee Chair); Marc Hetherington PhD (Committee Member); Patrick Miller PhD (Committee Member); Barbara Bardes PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

This project explores the relationship between freedom and well being. Through reviewing the literature of positive psychology and existential psychology, clearer pictures of well being and freedom emerge, allowing for statistical analysis. By adopting Seligman's well being theory as a model that incorporates hedonic and eudaimonic elements of well being and self determination theory's conceptualization of autonomy as a proxy for freedom in existential psychology, this study explores the relationship between these constructs and their theorized factors through correlational analysis. A potential measurement model for an overall well being measure incorporating freedom as a factor is proposed and tested using confirmatory factor analyses. The effects of demographic factors on well being and freedom are also explored through analyses of variance. The results of this project suggest a moderate positive correlation between well being and freedom, although the hypothesized measurement model fails to achieve good fit when tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Through model modifications, an acceptable fitting model emerges that reflects the relationship between freedom and well being described in the literature review and bolstered by the data. This model, however, requires further study and verification due to the nature of its emergence. Certain identity and demographic factors are also identified as having effects on well being and autonomy. These results are discussed, along with the limitations of this study. Future directions for research and theoretical investigation are highlighted, including revisiting the measures used in this study through exploratory factor analyses or exploratory structural equation modeling. Clinical implications are identified and discussed, with suggestions for clinical practice also included, such as the need for clinicians to assess a person's level freedom and well being as an element of motivation to change. This dissertation is a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Martha Straus PhD (Committee Chair); Barbara Belcher-Timme PsyD (Committee Member); Vincent Pignatiello PsyD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology; Psychotherapy

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2023, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

Existing frameworks of psychopathology have received criticism from evolutionary researchers. It is argued that mental health research lacks theoretical unity and that there is no comprehensive understanding of psychiatric disorders. Evolutionary researchers have posited that a paradigm of psychopathology informed by evolution could accomplish this aim. Drawing from evolutionary biology, life history theory provides such a framework. Life history theory is a subfield of evolutionary biology that examines how organisms allocate limited environmental resources over their lifespan in order to maximize their fitness. The strategies that organisms adopt in response to their environment are referred to as life history strategies. These strategies are graphed on a spectrum between two poles, fast and slow. The fast and slow life history classifications form the basis of the fast-slow-defense activation model of psychopathology which describes causal pathways for mental disorder. Within this framework, sex is a moderating factor between life history strategy and psychopathology. At present, there is little empirical research evaluating the fast-slow-defense activation model. The current research seeks to provide an analysis of the fast-slow-defense activation framework by exploring the relationship between life history strategy, sex, and defense activation disorders particularly, depression. It is expected that there will be a causal relationship between life history strategy and depression. Specifically, a fast life history strategy will predict for increased symptoms of depression. In addition to this, it is expected that women with fast life histories experience greater symptoms of depression. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu.

Committee: Sandra Kenny Ph.D, M.B.A. (Committee Chair); Stephen Southern Ed.D. (Committee Member); Chris Howard Psy.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology; Psychotherapy

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

The Workplace Social Courage Scale (Howard et al., 2017) was designed to measure ways in which people take interpersonal risks within the work context. Though the measure has been subjected to rigorous development and initial validation studies, there have been few attempts to evaluate how it performs across cultures. This study evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Workplace Social Courage Scale across U.S. and Indian samples. A secondary goal of this study was to expand the nomological network of the WSCS by investigating the relationships between workplace social courage and Hofstede's cultural dimensions (2001), and how these relationships differ between the two cultural groups. The WSCS was found to be fully (conceptually) invariant at the configural level across Indian and U.S. samples, and to be partially invariant at the metric and scalar levels all levels using the CFA-based and IRT-based methods. Zero-order correlations between WSCS scores and cultural dimension scores largely followed theoretical rationale. Future directions are discussed.

Committee: Michael Zickar Ph.D (Committee Chair); Samuel McAbee Ph.D (Committee Member); Meagan Docherty Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Occupational Psychology; Psychology; Statistics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Educational Studies

There is consensus around the fact that quality of teaching is one of the most important school-level factors to influence student achievement at school. Evidence from research suggests that better-qualified teachers can be the determining factor for student achievement and development (Jordan et al., 1997; Sanders & Rivers, 1996; Wright et al., 1997). Therefore, policy makers advocate for ongoing improvements in teacher quality variables, in which the implementation of a well-designed teacher evaluation system has been found to be one of the most effective ways to improve teacher quality (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Looney, 2011; Rockoff & Speroni, 2011). The case of Chile is a particularly interesting example of a teacher evaluation system since its implementation, a validation process that has included not only the experience and documentation regarding the process, but also a comprehensive agenda regarding the validity and reliability of the instrument and evaluation consequences (Taut & Sun, 2014). The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the body of research on the evidence of the validity of Chilean teacher evaluation. Specifically, I focus on one of the teacher evaluation instruments: the portfolio. Through the portfolio, teachers provide evidence of their best practices in three modules: a set of pedagogical materials, video recording class, and collaborative work (not mandatory). In order to accomplish this goal, I use the data from the portfolio results of the 2017 Chilean National Teacher Evaluation (N = 21,982). I use descriptive statistics, exploratory confirmatory factor analysis (ECFA), and factorial invariance to assess the structure of the portfolio across different teacher subgroups: teachers with and without the collaborative work module score, rural/urban teachers, and six different teaching levels. I also compare the theoretical weight assigned to each one of the portfolio indicators with the empirical data. Finally, I evaluate if the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jerome D’Agostino (Advisor); Jessica Logan (Committee Member); Shayne Piasta (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Tests and Measurements

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a set of confirmatory factor analyses of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R; Andrews & Bonta, 1995). The LSI-R is a widely used offender risk/needs assessment with 54 dichotomous items broken down into 10 subscales. The LSI-R is a “dual purpose” “risk/needs” offender assessment instrument that is designed to assess 1) recidivism risk and 2) treatment needs. The first purpose of the LSI-R, assessment of recidivism risk, is achieved by examining the total LSI-R score, which is the sum of the 54 dichotomous item scores. Higher scores are correlated with higher recidivism levels. The second purpose of the LSI-R, assessment of treatment needs, is achieved by the examination of the ten LSI-R subscale scores. A high score on a subscale indicates that the offender may need treatment related to that particular domain (employment, attitude, drug use, etc.). Previous analyses suggest that the subscale structure of the LSI-R is not an accurate representation of how the items are grouping into factors. The results from three previous item level exploratory factor analyses of the LSI-R suggest that the factor structure of the LSI-R does not match the subscale structure. This dissertation provides a set of confirmatory factor analyses of the LSI-R using 3,493 LSI-R assessments collected from male offenders while they were on probation in a Midwestern county from 2002 to 2006. The initial confirmatory factor analysis of the LSI-R using the subscales as factors produced a Comparative Fit Index (CFI) of only .760, which suggests that the subscale structure does not provide a good fit to the item covariance structure of the LSI-R. After 29 modifications, a confirmatory factor analysis model was produced with a CFI of .950, which indicates a good fitting model. The 29th model had 19 factors and 11 items that loaded onto multiple factors. These results suggest that further analyses and discussions of the LSI-R item c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Edward Latessa Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Paula Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Keith Warren Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Wooldredge Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychological Tests

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Educational Studies

Model fit indices within the framework of structural equation models are crucial in evaluating and selecting the most appropriate model to fit data. The performance of fit indices under varying suboptimal conditions requires further investigation. Moreover, with the increasing interest in applying Bayesian method to social sciences data, the comparison of Bayesian estimation and robust maximum likelihood (MLR) estimation methods in evaluating models and estimating parameters is of vital importance. This study aims 1 ) to investigate the performance of MLR associated model fit indices under various conditions of model misfit, data distribution, and sample sizes; 2) to compare the performance of Bayesian and MLR methods in model fit and parameter estimation based on a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model. Data were simulated based on a population CFA model consistent with Curran, West and Finch's (1996) study using R 3.4.0. Simulation conditions include 3 sample sizes (N = 200, 500, 1000), 3 degrees of model misfit (none: RMSEA = 0; mild: RMSEA = .05; moderate: RMSEA = .10), and 3 degrees of data nonnormality (normal: skewness = 0, kurtosis = 0; mild: skewness = 1, kurtosis = 3; moderate: skewness = 2, kurtosis = 7). Model misfit was introduced using Cudeck and Browne's (1992) method through the R package MBESS. Data were fit using the R package lavaan for MLR method and blavaan for Bayesian method. Results show that scaled CFI and scaled TLI are the most robust model fit indices to variousiii suboptimal conditions; compared to p values associated with MLR, PP p values associated with the Bayesian method are robust to small sample size and data nonnormality under correctly specified models, less sensitive to models with ignorable degree of misfit, and have sufficient statistical power to reject moderately misspecified models; Bayesian and MLR methods have similar performance in point estimation; MLR method produces more robust standard error (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ann O'Connell (Advisor); Richard Lomax (Committee Co-Chair); Paul De Boeck (Committee Member); Andrew Hayes (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Tests and Measurements; Quantitative Psychology; Statistics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Public Health

Background: Gender-based violence exposure is associated with smoking. Both gender-based violence and smoking are independent risk factors in the development of cervical cancer. Women living in Ohio Appalachia experience cervical cancer at disproportionately high rates and smoke at higher rates than women living in other regions of Ohio. However, little is known about 1) women's exposure to gender-based violence, throughout the life course, in Ohio Appalachia, or 2) the association between gender-based violence exposures, contextual factors, and smoking behaviors among women in the region. Objective: This dissertation examined the relationship between sexual and intimate partner gender-based violence exposures and smoking, among women in Ohio Appalachia, within a socio-contextual health disparities framework. The goal of this investigation was: 1) to understand if disparate smoking rates of women in Ohio Appalachia, compared to other parts of Ohio, are associated with gender-based violence in the region, and 2) to examine the context of smoking behavior among women exposed to intimate partner and/or sexual gender-based violence in Ohio Appalachia. In addition, a set of gender-based violence constructs for use in effective abuse assessment among this underserved population were identified. Method: A two-phase address-based sampling approach was used to recruit a random sample of women, 18 years of age or older, from 1 of 3 selected Ohio Appalachian counties, to participate in an observational, interview administered, cross-sectional survey from August 2012 through October 2013. The analytic sample for this analysis comprised 398 participants, of the 408 women completing interviews, who provided complete gender-based violence exposure histories. All analyses were conducted in SAS or LISREL, including correlation, regression, and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Intimate partner and sexual gender-based violence is a notable public health c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Ellen Wewers PhD, MPH (Committee Chair); Amy Bonomi PhD, MPH (Committee Member); Richard Lomax PhD (Committee Member); Bo Lu PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Public Health; Womens Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

This study investigated potential causes of extant group mean differences of self-reported levels of burnout across sex. Based on the origins of burnout as an interpersonal construct, combined with research showing differences in how men and women perceive and resolve interpersonal conflict and stress, it was hypothesized that statistical artifacts, namely violations of the measurement invariance assumption, were present. It was further hypothesized that these artifacts were causing differences in the prevalence of self-reported burnout and that removing them would reduce the size of such differences. Participants (n = 579) completed three separate measures of burnout: the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, as well as several measures of nomological correlates of burnout. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory approaches to measurement invariance. Results indicated that no violations of measurement invariance were present. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Committee: Michael Zickar (Committee Chair); Steve Jex (Committee Member); William O'Brien (Committee Member) Subjects: Occupational Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Psychological Tests; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, EDU Policy and Leadership

This study first develops the conceptual and theoretical justifications for investigating whether professional learning community (PLC) may serve as an organizational and cultural mechanism for explaining academic optimism (AO). Using school as the unit of study, this study explores extant data from 105 “high-need” elementary, middle, and high schools (and 2,020 teachers) who used Title 1 School Improvement funds to participate in Ohio's now-defunct literacy project across the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. Principal Axis Factoring, Pearson Product Correlation, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to explore associations between PLC, AO, and their respective sub-scales. Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to explore relationships with school-level student achievement and other school-level demographics. Analysis identified many medium to strong positive correlations with subscales among themselves and across constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis models suggested a mixed result for the two latent constructs of PLC and AO. The combined effect of all five PLC sub-scales explained a moderate amount of variance in school-level AO. There was no statistically significant effect for either PLC, its subscales, or AO on school-level academic achievement; only prior achievement had such an effect.

Committee: Ann Allen Ph.D. (Advisor); Ann O'Connell Ed.D. (Committee Member); Scott Sweetland Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership