Clinical Psychometrics

Clinical Psychometrics is an introduction to the long-term attempt to measure the psychiatric dimension of dementia, schizophrenia, mania, depression, anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion/introversion and health-related quality of life. The two psychometric procedures, classical factor analysis and modern item-response models, are presented for readers without any requirement for particular mathematical or statistical knowledge. The book is unique in this attempt and provides helpful background information for the dimensional approach that is being used in the forthcoming updates to the diagnostic classification systems, ICD-11 and DSM-5. The book is written for everyone who is interested in the origins and development of modern psychiatry, and who wants to be familiar with its practical possibilities; how it is possible to compare different individuals with each other, how one may determine the boundary between what is normal and what is disease, or how one may assess the clinical effect of the various forms of treatment, available to present day psychiatry.

Clinical Psychometrics can be defined as a discipline that deals with the definition and measurement of clinical constructs. Among its interests, it includes dimensions, such as skills, behavior, psychopathology, quality of life, and personality. Indeed, this discipline focuses on individual differences, the theory of measurement, the construction of measure instruments and their application in an international context. Clinical Psychometrics can be considered as an essential tool in many fields of research related to psychological and psychiatric interventions: for example, it is useful for diagnostic assessment (in various fields, including clinical and forensic areas), for the design and evaluation of specific psychological and pharmacological treatments. Therefore, Clinical Psychometrics is an applied discipline using psychometric tools to develop evidence-based type procedures relating to the understanding and improvement of the psychological conditions of individuals. This Research Topic on “Clinical Psychometrics” is interested in several aspects of measurement of psychological variables, focusing on the two fundamental paradigmatic aspects of the discipline, the Classical Test Theory and the Item Response Theory. This Research Topic seeks to stimulate a scientific debate between psychotherapists and psychometricians in this area. It could have applicative fallouts, such as designing trans-cultural studies in order to: 1) investigate the invariance of new instruments for measuring clinical variables; 2) test the invariance of existing instruments used in clinical research; 3) develop more refined measure instruments for the evaluation of clinical dimensions, similarly to work conducted by the Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group in identifying domains considered central to OCD and developing the 87-item Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire; 4) evaluate therapeutic outcomes and processes (such as, states stress, psychological distress, psychological adjustment to illness, health-related quality of life, mood disorders, sexual functioning, etc.). The goal of this Research Topic is to disseminate a culture of integration between “psychometric model” and “clinical model”, promoting the scientific debate about the deepening of the existing methods and/or the proposal of new methods capable of combining clinical significance with quantitative rigor. This Research Topic welcomed all types of articles, with the exception of case reports. We were particularly interested in: 1. Systematic reviews shedding new lights on the psychometric properties of the most used psychological measures in clinical psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychosomatics, etc.; 2. Guidelines and suggestions on the correct use and gold standards in psychological assessment in the form of research studies and brief reports on the development of new measures and adaptation of existing ones.

Psychometrics and Psychological Assessment: Principles and Applications reports on contemporary perspectives and models on psychological assessment and their corresponding measures. It highlights topics relevant to clinical and neuropsychological domains, including cognitive abilities, adaptive behavior, temperament, and psychopathology.Moreover, the book examines a series of standard as well as novel methods and instruments, along with their psychometric properties, recent meta-analytic studies, and their cross-cultural applications. Discusses psychometric issues and empirical studies that speak to same Explores the family context in relation to children’s behavioral outcomes Features major personality measures as well as their cross cultural variations Identifies the importance of coping and resilience in assessing personality and psychopathology Examines precursors of aggression and violence for prediction and prevention

In An Introduction to Psychological Assessment and Psychometrics, Keith Coaley outlines the key ingredients of psychological assessment, providing case studies to illustrate their application, making it an ideal textbook for courses on psychometrics or psychological assessment. New to the Second Edition: Includes occupational and educational settings Covers ethical and professional issues with a strong practical focus Case study material related to work selection settings End of chapter self-assessments to facilitate students’ progress Compliant with the latest BPS Certificate of Testing curriculum

Psychometric Testing offers an in-depth examination of the strengths and limitations psychometric testing, with coverage of diverse methods of test development and application. A state-of-the-art exploration of the contemporary field of psychometric testing, bringing together the latest theory and evidence-based practice from 21 global experts Explores a variety of topics related to the field, including test construction, use and applications in human resources and training, assessment and verification of training courses, and consulting Includes applications for clinical psychology, performance psychology, and sport and exercise psychology across a range of professions (research, teaching, coaching, consulting, and advising) Acknowledges the dynamic nature of the field and identifies future directions in need of more research, including Internet and smart phone testing

This innovative monograph introduces a measurement-based framework for effective treatment of patients with mood disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. Rooted firmly in principles of pharmacotherapy and clinical psychometrics, the book’s signature diagram balances rating scale results and patient self-reported progress along three angles: therapeutic effects, adverse effects, and quality of life. The author’s choices of measures are brief, valid, widely used, and easy for clinicians to administer and patients to understand. But rather than being a mechanistic or an impersonal formula, this system is shown as a science-based means of fostering constructive collaboration between patient and therapist, leading to greater patient well-being. Included in the coverage: · Negative mental health: the ordinary symptom-orientated mental disorders. · The basic diagram of personality dimensions. · Self-reported symptom scales within the basic diagram. · Clinician-administered symptom scales within the basic diagram. · The pharmacopsychometric triangle in measurement-based care. · Diagnostic rating scales. · A practical outcome evaluation plan. Offering a medical level of precision to mental health, Measurement-Based Care in Mental Disorders should interest health care providers at all levels, particularly physicians and staff in primary care settings, and in psychiatric in- and outpatient clinics, including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and social workers.

Psychological testing has grown exponentially as technological advances have permitted it to and societal complexities have necessitated its growth. Psychological testing or psychological assessment is a field characterised by the use of samples of behaviour in order to infer generalisations about a given individual. By samples of behaviour, one means observations over time of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. These responses are often compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behaviour of the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group. The broad categories of psychological evaluation tests include: Norm-referenced, IQ/achievement tests, Neuropsychological tests, Personality tests, Objective tests (Rating scale), Direct observation tests, Psychological evaluations using data mining. New and important research is presented in this book.