Frequency study of facial electromyography signals with respect to emotion recognition

Emotional intelligence is one of the key research areas in human-computer interaction. This paper reports the development of an emotion recognition system using facial electromyogram (EMG) signals focusing the ambiguity on the frequency ranges used by different research works. The six emotional states (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, and neutral) were elicited in 60 subjects using audio visual stimuli. Statistical features were extracted from the signals at high, medium, low, and very low frequency levels. They were then classified using four classifiers - naïve Bayes, regression tree, K-nearest neighbor, and fuzzy K-nearest neighbor, and the performance of the system at the different frequency levels were studied using three metrics, namely, % accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The post hoc tests in analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicate that the features contain significant emotional information at the very low-frequency range (<0.08 Hz). Similarly, the performance metrics of the classifiers also ensure better recognition rate at very low-frequency range. Though this range of frequency has not been used by researchers, the results of this work indicate that it should not be ignored. Further investigation of the very low frequency range to identify emotional information is still in progress.

Does standard deviation matter? Using "standard deviation" to quantify security of multistage testing

With the advent of web-based technology, online testing is becoming a mainstream mode in large-scale educational assessments. Most online tests are administered continuously in a testing window, which may post test security problems because examinees who take the test earlier may share information with those who take the test later. Researchers have proposed various statistical indices to assess the test security, and one most often used index is the average test-overlap rate, which was further generalized to the item pooling index (Chang & Zhang, 2002, 2003). These indices, however, are all defined as the means (that is, the expected proportion of common items among examinees) and they were originally proposed for computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Recently, multistage testing (MST) has become a popular alternative to CAT. The unique features of MST make it important to report not only the mean, but also the standard deviation (SD) of test overlap rate, as we advocate in this paper. The standard deviation of test overlap rate adds important information to the test security profile, because for the same mean, a large SD reflects that certain groups of examinees share more common items than other groups. In this study, we analytically derived the lower bounds of the SD under MST, with the results under CAT as a benchmark. It is shown that when the mean overlap rate is the same between MST and CAT, the SD of test overlap tends to be larger in MST. A simulation study was conducted to provide empirical evidence. We also compared the security of MST under the single-pool versus the multiple-pool designs; both analytical and simulation studies show that the non-overlapping multiple-pool design will slightly increase the security risk.

Measuring students' perceptions of plagiarism: modification and Rasch validation of a plagiarism attitude scale

Plagiarism is a significant area of concern in higher education, given university students' high self-reported rates of plagiarism. However, research remains inconsistent in prevalence estimates and suggested precursors of plagiarism. This may be a function of the unclear psychometric properties of the measurement tools adopted. To investigate this, we modified an existing plagiarism scale (to broaden its scope), established its psychometric properties using traditional (EFA, Cronbach's alpha) and modern (Rasch analysis) survey evaluation approaches, and examined results of well-functioning items. Results indicated that traditional and modern psychometric approaches differed in their recommendations. Further, responses indicated that although most respondents acknowledged the seriousness of plagiarism, these attitudes were neither unanimous nor consistent across the range of issues assessed. This study thus provides rigorous psychometric testing of a plagiarism attitude scale and baseline data from which to begin a discussion of contextual, personal, and external factors that influence students' plagiarism attitudes.

Model-implied instrumental variable-generalized method of moments (MIIV-GMM) estimators for latent variable models

The common maximum likelihood (ML) estimator for structural equation models (SEMs) has optimal asymptotic properties under ideal conditions (e.g., correct structure, no excess kurtosis, etc.) that are rarely met in practice. This paper proposes model-implied instrumental variable - generalized method of moments (MIIV-GMM) estimators for latent variable SEMs that are more robust than ML to violations of both the model structure and distributional assumptions. Under less demanding assumptions, the MIIV-GMM estimators are consistent, asymptotically unbiased, asymptotically normal, and have an asymptotic covariance matrix. They are "distribution-free," robust to heteroscedasticity, and have overidentification goodness-of-fit J-tests with asymptotic chi-square distributions. In addition, MIIV-GMM estimators are "scalable" in that they can estimate and test the full model or any subset of equations, and hence allow better pinpointing of those parts of the model that fit and do not fit the data. An empirical example illustrates MIIV-GMM estimators. Two simulation studies explore their finite sample properties and find that they perform well across a range of sample sizes.

Dynamic and accretive composition of patient engagement instruments for personalized plan generation

Patient engagement is important to help patients become more informed and active in managing their health. Effective patient engagement demands short, yet valid instruments for measuring self-efficacy in various care dimensions. However, the static instruments are often too lengthy to be effective for assessment purposes. Furthermore, these tests could neither account for the dynamicity of measurements over time, nor differentiate care dimensions that are more critical to certain sub-populations. To remedy these disadvantages, we devise a dynamic instrument composition approach that can model the measurement of patient self-efficacy over time and iteratively select critical care dimensions and appropriate assessment questions based on dynamic user categorization. The dynamically composed instruments are expected to guide patients through self-management reinforcement cycles within or across care dimensions, while tightly integrated into clinical workflow and standard care processes.

Does the model of hierarchical complexity produce significant gaps between orders and are the orders equally spaced?

The model of hierarchical complexity (MHC) provides an analytic a priori measurement of the difficulty of tasks. As part of the theory of measurement in mathematical psychology, the model of hierarchical complexity (Commons and Pekker, 2008) defines a new kind of scale. It is important to note that the orders of hierarchical complexity of tasks are postulated to form an ordinal scale. A formal definition of the model of hierarchical complexity is presented along with the descriptions of its five axioms that help determine how the model of hierarchical complexity orders actions to form a hierarchy. The fourth and the fifth axioms are of particular importance in establishing that the orders of hierarchical complexity form an equally spaced ordinal scale. Previously, it was shown that Rasch-scaled items followed the same sequence as their orders of hierarchical complexity. Here, it is shown that the gaps between the highest Rasch scaled item scores at a lower order and the lowest scores at the next higher order exist. We found there was no overlap between the Rasch-scaled item scores at one order of complexity, and those of the adjoining orders. There are 'gaps' between the stages of performance on those items. Second, we tested for equal spacing between the orders of hierarchical complexity. We found that the orders of hierarchical complexity were equally spaced. To deviate significantly from the data, the orders had to deviate from linearity by over .25 of an order. This would appear to be an empirical and mathematical confirmation for the equally spaced stages of development.

Survey analysis with mixture Rasch models

This research provides a demonstration of the utility of mixture Rasch models (MRMs) for the analysis of survey data. Specifically, a framework based on a mixture partial credit model (MPCM) will be presented. MRMs are able to provide information regarding latent classes (subpopulations without manifest grouping variables) and separate item parameter estimates for each of these latent classes. Analyses can provide insight into how a survey scale is functioning and how survey respondents differ from one another. The paper provides a detailed example with real survey data from a higher education survey administered to college seniors through all stages of model estimation and selection, description of model results, and follow-up analyses using the MRM results. The results found three distinct classes and discussed each class in terms of the pattern of item parameter estimates within class. The paper also investigated differences of class assignment based on the college the student belongs to on campus.

Additive multilevel item structure models with random residuals: item modeling for explanation and item generation

An additive multilevel item structure (AMIS) model with random residuals is proposed. The model includes multilevel latent regressions of item discrimination and item difficulty parameters on covariates at both item and item category levels with random residuals at both levels. The AMIS model is useful for explanation purposes and also for prediction purposes as in an item generation context. The parameters can be estimated with an alternating imputation posterior algorithm that makes use of adaptive quadrature, and the performance of this algorithm is evaluated in a simulation study.

Measuring quality of life in people with intellectual and multiple disabilities: validation of the San Martín scale

Although there are numerous quality of life instruments in the, field of intellectual disability, most of them are addressed to those, people with the highest levels of functioning, while only a few are, suitable for people with the lowest levels (i.e., people with profound, and severe intellectual disabilities, or people with intellectual and, developmental disabilities and other significant medical conditions or, disabilities). This study provides reliability and validity evidence of, the San Martín Scale, a 95-item Likert scale questionnaire that is, completed by a third-party respondent. The validation sample was composed, of 1770 people from Spain with intellectual and developmental, disabilities that showed extensive or pervasive support needs (8.7% had, mild intellectual disability, 28.25% moderate, 41.6% severe, and 21.4%, profound). The age of the participants ranged between 16 and 77 years old, (M=7.78; SD=12.32). The results suggested that the eight quality of, life domains assessed on the scale are reliable (Cronbach's alpha ranging, from .821 to .933). Confirmatory Factor Analyses provided construct, validity evidences related to the internal structure of the San Martín, Scale, and indicated that the eight first-order factor solution provided, the best fit to the data over unidimensional and hierarchical solutions. Implications of these findings and guidelines for further research are, discussed.

Validating a developmental scale for young children using the Rasch model: applicability of the teaching strategies GOLD assessment system

This article reports the results of an application of the Rasch rating scale model to the Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment system in a norm sample of children aged birth to 71 months. The analyses focused on the examination of dimensionality, rating scale effectiveness, the hierarchy of item difficulties, and the relationship of developmental scale scores to child age. Results show that each subscale satisfies the Rasch model for unidimensionality. Ratings were found to be less reliable at the lowest and highest ends of the scale and less distinct at 'In-between' levels. Items appear to form theoretically expected hierarchies, supporting evidence for construct validity for the measures. Moderately high correlations of developmental scale scores with child age suggest that teachers are able to make valid ratings of the developmental progress of children across the intended age range.

The Nature of Science Instrument-Elementary (NOSI-E): the end of the road?

This research continues prior work published in this journal (Peoples, O'Dwyer, Shields and Wang, 2013). The first paper described the scale development, psychometric analyses and part-validation of a theoretically-grounded Rasch-based instrument, the Nature of Science Instrument-Elementary (NOSI-E). The NOSI-E was designed to measure elementary students' understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS). In the first paper, evidence was provided for three of the six validity aspects (content, substantive and generalizability) needed to support the construct validity of the NOSI-E. The research described in this paper examines two additional validity aspects (structural and external). The purpose of this study was to determine which of three competing internal models provides reliable, interpretable, and responsive measures of students' understanding of NOS. One postulate is that the NOS construct is unidimensional;. alternatively, the NOS construct is composed of five independent unidimensional constructs (the consecutive approach). Lastly, the NOS construct is multidimensional and composed of five inter-related but separate dimensions. The vast body of evidence supported the claim that the NOS construct is multidimensional. Measures from the multidimensional model were positively related to student science achievement and students' perceptions of their classroom environment; this provided supporting evidence for the external validity aspect of the NOS construct. As US science education moves toward students learning science through engaging in authentic scientific practices and building learning progressions (NRC, 2012), it will be important to assess whether this new approach to teaching science is effective, and the NOSI-E may be used as a measure of the impact of this reform.

Self-stigma in psychiatric patients--standardization of the ISMI scale

OBJECTIVE

Self-stigma in psychiatric patients is an issue deserving both research and therapeutic attention. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Czech version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale assessing the levels of self-stigma in individuals with mental disorders.

METHODS

It consists of 29 items classified into 5 subscales, namely alienation, stereotype endorsement, perceived discrimination, social withdrawal and stigma resistance. The study group comprised 369 patients with a mean age of 41.5±13.3 years, of whom 210 (56.6%) were females.

RESULTS

The most frequent diagnosis was neurotic disorders (46.1%), followed by affective disorders (18.4%), substance use disorders (13.3%), psychotic disorders (10.8%), personality disorders (9.5%) and organic disorders (1.6%). Reliability of the scale was evaluated by internal consistency analysis (α=0.91), the split-half method (Spearman-Brown coefficient: 0.93) and test-retest at 3 weeks from the first measurement (N=17; r=0.90, p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Exploratory factor analysis of the scale was performed, its validity was verified and norms were established that were based on T-scores and sten scores for the entire scale and individual subscales. The Czech translation of the ISMI has adequate psychometric properties.

[Treatment evaluation and clinical decision making using HKT-30-ROM]

BACKGROUND

By means of repeated, well-supported measurements of clinical dynamic indicators from the Historical, Clinical and Future - 30 (HKT-30) it is possible to monitor behavioural changes on the basis of risks and needs. The addition of extra score parameters allows us to distinguish client-specific risks and needs. In treatment evaluation it is important to visualise changes in these indicators of treatment evaluation because they are the key to the clinical decision-making process that determines further treatment and rehabilitation.

AIM

To investigate whether HKT-30 indicators can be used to measure and visualise behavioral changes for the purpose of treatment evaluation.

METHOD

A case study is used to illustrate how clinicians at the Forensic Psychiatric Clinic (FPK), De Woenselse Poort, ascertain risks, needs and changes and clarify these factors for the purpose of treatment evaluation and clinical decision-making.

RESULTS

Routine treatment evaluation aided by visualised clinical HKT-30 indicators give the treatment team and the client a clearer picture of the behavioral changes for which the forensic treatment was prescribed. This evaluation provides significant starting-points for clinical decision making.

CONCLUSION

Routine treatment evaluation along with a suitably adjusted HKT-30 make behavioural changes visible, render clinical decisions more transparent and provide valuable starting-points for a dialogue with the client about his treatment.

School system evaluation by value added analysis under endogeneity

Value added is a common tool in educational research on effectiveness. It is often modeled as a (prediction of a) random effect in a specific hierarchical linear model. This paper shows that this modeling strategy is not valid when endogeneity is present. Endogeneity stems, for instance, from a correlation between the random effect in the hierarchical model and some of its covariates. This paper shows that this phenomenon is far from exceptional and can even be a generic problem when the covariates contain the prior score attainments, a typical situation in value added modeling. Starting from a general, model-free definition of value added, the paper derives an explicit expression of the value added in an endogeneous hierarchical linear Gaussian model. Inference on value added is proposed using an instrumental variable approach. The impact of endogeneity on the value added and the estimated value added is calculated accurately. This is also illustrated on a large data set of individual scores of about 200,000 students in Chile.

Evaluating the equal-interval hypothesis with test score scales

The axioms of additive conjoint measurement provide a means of testing the hypothesis that testing data can be placed onto a scale with equal-interval properties. However, the axioms are difficult to verify given that item responses may be subject to measurement error. A Bayesian method exists for imposing order restrictions from additive conjoint measurement while estimating the probability of a correct response. In this study an improved version of that methodology is evaluated via simulation. The approach is then applied to data from a reading assessment intentionally designed to support an equal-interval scaling.

Nonlinear random-effects mixture models for repeated measures

A mixture model for repeated measures based on nonlinear functions with random effects is reviewed. The model can include individual schedules of measurement, data missing at random, nonlinear functions of the random effects, of covariates and of residuals. Individual group membership probabilities and individual random effects are obtained as empirical Bayes predictions. Although this is a complicated model that combines a mixture of populations, nonlinear regression, and hierarchical models, it is straightforward to estimate by maximum likelihood using SAS PROC NLMIXED. Many different models can be studied with this procedure. The model is more general than those that can be estimated with most special purpose computer programs currently available because the response function is essentially any form of nonlinear regression. Examples and sample code are included to illustrate the method.

Matched and mismatched appraisals of the effectiveness of communication strategies by family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease

BACKGROUND

Communication problems stemming from Alzheimer's disease (AD) often result in misunderstandings that can be linked with problem behaviours and increased caregiver stress. Moreover, these communication breakdowns also can result either from caregivers' use of ineffective communication strategies, which paradoxically are perceived as helpful, or can occur as a result of not using effective communication strategies that are perceived as unhelpful.

AIMS

The two primary aims were to determine the effectiveness of strategies used to resolve communication breakdowns and to examine whether caregivers' ratings of strategy effectiveness were consistent with evidence from video-recorded conversations and with effective communication strategies documented in the literature.

METHODS & PROCEDURES

Twenty-eight mealtime conversations were recorded using a sample of 15 dyads consisting of individuals with early, middle and late clinical-stage AD and their family caregivers. Conversations were analysed using the trouble-source repair paradigm to identify the communication strategies used by caregivers to resolve breakdowns. Family caregivers also rated the helpfulness of communication strategies used to resolve breakdowns. Analyses were conducted to assess the overlap or match between the use and appraisals of the helpfulness of communication strategies.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS

Matched and mismatched appraisals of communication strategies varied across stages of AD. Matched appraisals by caregivers of persons with early-stage AD were observed for 68% of 22 communication strategies, whereas caregivers of persons with middle- and late-stage AD had matched appraisals for 45% and 55% of the strategies, respectively. Moreover, caregivers of persons with early-stage AD had matched appraisals over and above making matched appraisals by chance alone, compared with caregivers of persons in middle- and late-stage AD.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS

Mismatches illustrate the need for communication education and training, particularly to establish empirically derived evidence-based communication strategies over the clinical course of AD.

Age Management and Sustainable Careers for the Improvement of the Quality of Ageing at Work

Prolonging working careers by increasing the statutory age for retirement has become compulsory in most Western societies in order to tackle the shrinking of the labour force, preserve economic productivity, foster knowledge transfer and reduce the risks of financial imbalances in social security systems. This imperative currently results in working careers that already exceed 40 years and come to an end after the age of 65 (e.g. in Italy). Over the next few decades, both career length and retirement age are expected to rise. Thus, creating more inclusive workplaces by increasing their quality is the precondition of a win-win situation for both employers and employees, regardless of age. A request for support in the development of sustainable careers from both private and public labour organisations has led to innovating the mainstream methodologies and research tools in the field of age management. Based on the key elements of the mainstream "work ability concept" - i.e. health, competencies, motivation and work organisation - the Quality of Ageing at Work questionnaire (QAW-q), developed by a team from the WWELL Research Centre, broadens its perspective by surveying elements bridging intra-organisational dimensions and which affect employees' conditions and external socio-institutional constraints: i.e. work-life balance, economic stability, professional identity and relationships in the workplace. The QAW-q is designed to analyse the influence of the different meanings of age (chronological age, seniority within the company and in the labour market) and correlate them with the different dimensions at individual and organisational levels; all these dimensions are weighted by the effect exerted by the passage of time. The results of the QAW-q survey, taken by employees of both private and public companies, serve as a basis for the implementation of measures addressing all the relevant dimensions of the human resource management cycle.

An attempt to lower sources of systematic measurement error using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling (HGLM)

The purpose of the present studies was to test the effects of systematic sources of measurement error on the parameter estimates of scales using the Rasch model. Studies 1 and 2 tested the effects of mood and affectivity. Study 3 evaluated the effects of fatigue. Last, studies 4 and 5 tested the effects of motivation on a number of parameters of the Rasch model (e.g., ability estimates). Results indicated that (a) the parameters of interest and the psychometric properties of the scales were substantially distorted in the presence of all systematic sources of error, and, (b) the use of HGLM provides a way of adjusting the parameter estimates in the presence of these sources of error. It is concluded that validity in measurement requires a thorough evaluation of potential sources of error and appropriate adjustments based on each occasion.

[Prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among the nurses of Sousse Farhat Hached hospital: assessment by the Tunisian version of CIDI]

BACKGROUND

Stress is a part of the nursing profession and it is reflected in higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders. aim : This study aimed to determine the prevalence of major depression episodes (MDE), Dysthymia and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), as well as their associated factors, in a representative sample of nurses in Sousse Farhat Hached teaching hospital, using the Tunisian version of CIDI.

METHODS

It's a descriptive study, carried out among a representative sample of the nursing staff of Sousse Farhat Hached teaching hospital (N=228). The data obtained was the result of an interview using the CIDI sections related to MDD, dysthymia and GAD. Sociodemographic, medical and professional data were also collected.

RESULTS

The MDE prevalence was estimated at 7.5% and was associated with the female gender, the remoteness of the workplace, the number of persons on the participant's charge, the personal antecedents of mental and organic pathologies, the job satisfaction related to internal relationships and security as well as with the wish to change position. The prevalence of Dysthymia was 5.7% and was associated with family antecedents of mental pathologies. The prevalence of TAG (4.4%) was associated with remoteness of the workplace, personal antecedents of mental pathologies and with satisfaction related to material conditions.

CONCLUSION

The important issues of human and financial consequences of stress at work require the use of large-scale measures that should be incorporated into a strategy covering all factors and involving both health authorities and administrative occupational medicine.

Toward a theory relating text complexity, reader ability, and reading comprehension

Validity of specification equations used by auto-text processors to estimate theoretical text complexity have increased importance because of the Common Core State Standards. Theoretical estimates of text complexity will inform (a) setting standards for college and career readiness, (b) grade-level standards, matching readers to text, and (d) creating a daily diet of stretch and targeted text designed to grow reading ability and content knowledge. The purpose of this research was to investigate the specification equation used in the Lexile Framework for Reading to measure text complexity. The Lexile Reading Analyzer contains a specification equation that uses proxies for the semantic difficulty and syntactic complexity to estimate the theoretical complexity of professionally-edited text. Differences between theoretical and empirical estimates of text complexity were examined for a set of 446 professionally authored, previously published passages. Students in grades 2-12 read these passages using A Learning Oasis, a web-based technology, to ensure that most of the articles read were well-targeted to student ability (+100L). Each article was response illustrated using an auto-generated semantic cloze item type embedded into passages. Observed student performance on this item type was used to derive an empirical estimate of text complexity for each passage. Theoretical estimates of text complexity accounted for approximately 90 percent of the variance in empirical estimates of text complexity. These findings suggest that the specification equation contains powerful predictors of empirical text complexity, speculation remains on what additional variables might account for the 10 percent of unexplained variation.

[The Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) to assess distress, depression, anxiety and somatization in autonomic and borderline psychosomatic disorders]

OBJECTIVE

Autonomic nervous system disorders are a frequent reason that makes patients to seek medical advice from general physicians and neurologists in outpatient clinics. The Dutch Four-Dimensional Symptoms Questionnaire (4DSQ) used for measuring distress, depression, anxiety and somatization is an adequate tool for identifying psychogenic factors for the development of autonomic disorders. An aim of the study was to localize the questionnaire to the Russian population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The questionnaire was translated and the Russian version was subsequently psychometrically validated. The statistical analysis conducted for the verification of compatibility of the Russian version with the Dutch version was based on the survey of 243 patients.

RESULTS

All elements of the Russian version measured the same parameters of the Dutch 4DSQ. Some differences were identified.

CONCLUSION

The analysis has confirmed the possibility of using the questionnaire in the Russian-speaking population using higher threshold values: +2 points for distress and anxiety, +4 points for somatization.

The quality of life of men who have sex with men in China: reliability and validity testing of the SF-36 questionnaire

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in the men who have sex with men (MSM) population in China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 373 MSM from September to December, 2012, in Zhengzhou and Huludao City, China. Internal reliability of the questionnaire was calculated by Cronbach's α coefficient. Validity was analyzed through construct validity, divisional validity, and collective validity testing.

RESULTS

The overall Cronbach's α coefficient of the SF-36 questionnaire was 0.943, while the Cronbach's α coefficients for each of the dimensions were all > 0.70. Results showed that the SF-36 questionnaire was reliable and valid.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided evidence that the SF-36 is an acceptable, valid and reliable instrument in evaluating the quality of life of MSM in Mainland China.

A qualitative assessment of the content validity of the ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-5L and their appropriateness for use in health research

Purpose

The ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-5L are two index measures appropriate for use in health research. Assessment of content validity allows understanding of whether a measure captures the most relevant and important aspects of a concept. This paper reports a qualitative assessment of the content validity and appropriateness for use of the eq-5D-5L and ICECAP-A measures, using novel methodology.

Methods

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with research professionals in the UK and Australia. Informants were purposively sampled based on their professional role. Data were analysed in an iterative, thematic and constant comparative manner. A two stage investigation - thecomparativedirectapproach - was developed to address the methodological challenges of the content validity research and allow rigorous assessment.

Results

Informants viewed the ICECAP-A as an assessment of the broader determinants of quality of life, but lacking in assessment of health-related determinants. The eq-5D-5L was viewed as offering good coverage of health determinants, but as lacking in assessment of these broader determinants. Informants held some concerns about the content or wording of the Self-care, Pain/Discomfort and Anxiety/Depression items (EQ-5D-5L) and the Enjoyment, Achievement and attachment items (ICECAP-A).

Conclusion

Using rigorous qualitative methodology the results suggest that the ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-5L hold acceptable levels of content validity and are appropriate for use in health research. This work adds expert opinion to the emerging body of research using patients and public to validate these measures.

Adapting the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire for Japanese pregnant women

OBJECTIVE

To assess the psychometric properties of the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) for women who read and speak Japanese.

DESIGN

This longitudinal study used a self-report questionnaire and quantitative biometric and instrumental measurements (actigraph) to assess the reliability and criterion validity.

SETTING

A university hospital in Tokyo, Japan.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixty-nine pregnant women living in Tokyo and its suburbs were recruited.

METHODS

The test-retest reliability of the Japanese version of the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ-J) was evaluated through intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between PPAQ-J results administered three times (at recruitment, 7 and 14 days later). Criterion validity was assessed by comparing results to actigraph measures using Spearman's correlation coefficients. Participants wore the actigraph over the 2-week research period. Data from 58 participants were analyzed for test-retest reliability. The data of 54 participants were used to analyze criterion validity.

RESULTS

The ICCs for the first and second and for the first and third PPAQ-J questionnaires were ≥0.56 for total activity and activities broken down by intensity and type (in metabolic equivalents [METs] × hours/day). To evaluate criterion validity, Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated between the first measurement of the PPAQ-J and three published cut-points used to classify actigraph data (minutes/day); correlations ranged from .02 to .35 for total activity, -.21 to -.25 for vigorous activity, -.09 to .38 for moderate activity, and .01 to .28 for light activity.

CONCLUSION

The PPAQ-J is a psychometrically sound and comprehensive measure of physical activity in pregnant Japanese women.