Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Structural equation modeling
- Creators: Green, Samuel
- Creators: Desfosses, Danielle
Description
Lexical diversity (LD) has been used in a wide range of applications, producing a rich history in the field of speech-language pathology. However, for clinicians and researchers identifying a robust measure to quantify LD has been challenging. Recently, sophisticated techniques have been developed that assert to measure LD. Each one is based on its own theoretical assumptions and employs different computational machineries. Therefore, it is not clear to what extent these techniques produce valid scores and how they relate to each other. Further, in the field of speech-language pathology, researchers and clinicians often use different methods to elicit various types of discourse and it is an empirical question whether the inferences drawn from analyzing one type of discourse relate and generalize to other types. The current study examined a corpus of four types of discourse (procedures, eventcasts, storytelling, recounts) from 442 adults. Using four techniques (D; Maas; Measure of textual lexical diversity, MTLD; Moving average type token ratio, MATTR), LD scores were estimated for each type. Subsequently, data were modeled using structural equation modeling to uncover their latent structure. Results indicated that two estimation techniques (MATTR and MTLD) generated scores that were stronger indicators of the LD of the language samples. For the other two techniques, results were consistent with the presence of method factors that represented construct-irrelevant sources. A hierarchical factor analytic model indicated that a common factor underlay all combinations of types of discourse and estimation techniques and was interpreted as a general construct of LD. Two discourse types (storytelling and eventcasts) were significantly stronger indicators of the underlying trait. These findings supplement our understanding regarding the validity of scores generated by different estimation techniques. Further, they enhance our knowledge about how productive vocabulary manifests itself across different types of discourse that impose different cognitive and linguistic demands. They also offer clinicians and researchers a point of reference in terms of techniques that measure the LD of a language sample and little of anything else and also types of discourse that might be the most informative for measuring the LD of individuals.
ContributorsFergadiotis, Gerasimos (Author) / Wright, Heather H (Thesis advisor) / Katz, Richard (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study presents a structural model of coping with dating violence. The model integrates abuse frequency and solution attribution to determine a college woman's choice of coping strategy. Three hundred, twenty-four undergraduate women reported being targets of some physical abuse from a boyfriend and responded to questions regarding the abuse, their gender role beliefs, their solution attribution and the coping behaviors they executed. Though gender role beliefs and abuse severity were not significant predictors, solution attribution mediated between frequency of the abuse and coping. Abuse frequency had a positive effect on external solution attribution and external solution attribution had a positive effect on the level of use of active coping, utilization of social support, denial and acceptance.
ContributorsBapat, Mona (Author) / Tracey, Terence J.G. (Thesis advisor) / Bernstein, Bianca (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Investigation of measurement invariance (MI) commonly assumes correct specification of dimensionality across multiple groups. Although research shows that violation of the dimensionality assumption can cause bias in model parameter estimation for single-group analyses, little research on this issue has been conducted for multiple-group analyses. This study explored the effects of mismatch in dimensionality between data and analysis models with multiple-group analyses at the population and sample levels. Datasets were generated using a bifactor model with different factor structures and were analyzed with bifactor and single-factor models to assess misspecification effects on assessments of MI and latent mean differences. As baseline models, the bifactor models fit data well and had minimal bias in latent mean estimation. However, the low convergence rates of fitting bifactor models to data with complex structures and small sample sizes caused concern. On the other hand, effects of fitting the misspecified single-factor models on the assessments of MI and latent means differed by the bifactor structures underlying data. For data following one general factor and one group factor affecting a small set of indicators, the effects of ignoring the group factor in analysis models on the tests of MI and latent mean differences were mild. In contrast, for data following one general factor and several group factors, oversimplifications of analysis models can lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding MI assessment and latent mean estimation.
ContributorsXu, Yuning (Author) / Green, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / Levy, Roy (Committee member) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs abound in schools worldwide, adopted in large part on limited and varied evidence that the social/SEL skills acquired in these programs contribute to academic achievement. However, large-scale studies with the most common SEL program in the United States (Second Step®) have yielded no evidence of academic benefits, despite revisions to the Second Step® measure (i.e., DESSA – SSE) to include “skills for learning” (i.e., executive functioning skills). The dearth of academic effects could reflect programmatic or measurement flaws. The purpose of this paper is to explore the latter and unpack the core “inputs” of Second Step® to determine whether the social-emotional or executive functioning components may be differently related to academic achievement. Such questions have important implications for evaluating program theory/logic and for the SEL field more broadly. The current study addresses this broader aim by assessing the longitudinal, bi-directional relationship among Executive Functioning, Prosocial Skills (as a proxy for SEL skills), and academic achievement in Kindergarten and Grade 1 students (N = 3,029) from rural and urban schools (N = 61). Widely utilized curriculum-based measures of reading and math tests were administered directly to students to assess academic achievement, while teachers reported on students’ Prosocial Skills using an established measure. A bi-factorial measure of executive functioning was derived from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses from teacher-reported rating scale data. Results based on autoregressive cross-lagged panel model using accelerated longitudinal design lend some support for a longitudinal bidirectional relationship between the executive functioning components of shifting and emotional regulation (EF 2) and Prosocial Skills. Furthermore, while results support extant research that the executive functioning components of working memory, planning, and problem solving (EF 1) positively predict academic achievement, the executive functioning components of shifting and emotional regulation (EF 2) and Prosocial Skills are not meaningful nor consistent predictors of academic achievement. Implications and limitations are discussed.
ContributorsDesfosses, Danielle (Author) / Low, Sabina (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin (Committee member) / Swanson, Jodi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021