Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

Measurement of temperament is an important endeavor with international appeal; however, cross-national invariance (i.e., equivalence of test scores across countries as established by empirical comparisons) of temperament tests has not been established in published research. This study examines the cross-national invariance of school-aged children's temperament styles as measured by the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ). Development of the SSQ was based on Jung's theory of temperament as augmented by Myers and Briggs. A four bipolar dimension model provided an excellent fit for Australian, Chinese, Costa Rican, Philippine, United States, and Zimbabwean samples and modest fit for Gaza (Palestinian) and Nigerian samples. This study provides partial support for the conclusion that the structure of school-age children's temperament as measured by the SSQ transcends differences in languages and cultures.

The Young Adult Social Behavior Scale was developed for the purpose of measuring self-reported relational and social aggression and behaviors of interpersonal maturity in adolescents and young adults (the sample included 629 university students; 66% female; 91.6% White). Despite previous research suggesting that relational and social aggression comprise a single paradigm, there is emerging evidence that indirect, social, and relational aggression are, in fact, separate constructs. In accordance with this more recent research, in this study, confirmatory factor analysis supports that the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale measures three internally consistent constructs: relationally aggressive behaviors, socially aggressive behaviors, and interpersonally mature behaviors.

Reliable and valid assessment of individuals who are English language learners (ELL) has presented a dilemma to psychologists, and school psychologists in particular, as it is complicated by the small number of professionals qualified to serve as bilingual examiners. Some psychologists use ancillary examiners during testing when no bilingual psychologist is available to conduct the evaluation, and both the process and the impact of using ancillary examiners need further investigation. This study examined the performance of students under two testing conditions, one with a monolingual psychologist and an ancillary examiner, and another with a bilingual psychologist without an ancillary examiner. Students tested in English, with English as their dominant language, consistently performed better than those students tested in Spanish on sub-tests that required detailed verbal responses. Results also indicated that evaluation format may have an effect on student performance and can lead to different levels of performance.

Three studies examine the validity of the Preschool Form of the Cognitive Abilities Scale—Second Edition (CAS-2). Significant high concurrent criterion-related validity correlations, corrected for restricted range, are found between the CAS-2 and the Detroit Test of Learning Ability—Primary: Third Edition for 26 three-year-olds (r_c = .86) and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Second Edition for 20 two-year-olds (r_c = .63). Significant correlations also are evident for the CAS-2 and the Test of Early Language Development—Third Edition for 26 three-year-olds (r_c = .77) and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System—Second Edition for 20 two-year-olds ( r_c = .65). Predictive power is critical when making interpretations regarding future performance. A high, significant correlation (r _c = .72) is observed for the CAS-2 for 37 children at ages 2 and 3 and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition administered 6 years later. Results expand validity evidence for the CAS-2, increasing confidence in interpretations regarding young children's performance.

This study examined divergent thinking (DT) test scores of applicants taking part in a selection procedure for an undergraduate psychology degree (N = 370). Interviewers made six specific (creative intelligence, motivation, work habits, emotional stability, sociability, and social responsibility) and one overall recommendation rating on each candidate. Results show that trained interviewers could identify which applicants would receive greater scores for originality for DT test scores. The implications for the use of DT tests in selection are considered.