On the sins of short-form development.

The empirical short-form literature has been characterized by overly optimistic views of the transfer of validity from parent form to short form and by the weak application of psychometric principles in validating short forms. Reviewers have thus opposed constructing short forms altogether, implying researchers are succumbing to an inappropriate temptation by trying to abbreviate measures. The authors disagree. The authors do not oppose the development of short forms, but they do assert that the validity standards for short forms should be quite high. The authors identify 2 general and 9 specific methodological sins characterizing short-form construction and offer methodological suggestions for the sound development of short forms. They recommend a set of 6 a priori steps researchers should consider and 9 methodological procedures researchers can use to develop valid abbreviated forms of clinical-assessment procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selecting a short form of the MMPI: Addendum to Faschingbauer.

T. R. Faschingbauer (1976) offered guidelines to clinicians in the selection of MMPI short forms as substitutes for the full MMPI. This comment offers an addendum to Faschingbauer in the form of a review of empirical studies of the clinical validity of MMPI short forms and a discussion of the MMPI-168, which was not considered in Faschingbauer's earlier article. For diagnostic and interpretive accuracy, the empirical evidence to date seems to favor 2 short forms—the Faschingbauer Abbreviated MMPI and the MMPI-168—over the other available short forms. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using WAIS—R short forms with clinical outpatients: A cautionary note.

To evaluate the validity of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) short forms with clinical outpatients, the test protocols of 90 people seen at a university-based psychology clinic were rescored for 1 selected-items and 10 selected-subtest combinations. Three criteria (high correlations, nonsignificant t tests, and limited percentage of classification changes), which have frequently been used in previous short-form studies, were used to evaluate the validity of the 11 WAIS-R short forms. None of the short forms was found satisfactorily to meet the three criteria. Cautions about using the evaluated short forms with clinical outpatients were provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A psychometric investigation of the standard and short form Beck Depression Inventory.

Administered the standard and short forms of the inventory to 163 participants in a methadone maintenance program. The internal consistency reliability was .85 for the standard and .83 for the short form. The correlation between the standard and short forms was .93. Both forms also correlated significantly with the Self-Rating Depression Scale and University of California–Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. Results support the use of the short form as a reliable and valid brief screening measure of depression. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of two- and four-subtest short forms of the WAIS-R in a psychiatric sample.

60 psychiatric patients (mean age 38.75 yrs) were administered the 2- and 4-subtest short forms of the WAIS-R. Both short forms correlated highly with the Full Scale IQ (.89 and .93). However, for each short form the rate of agreement with the Full Scale IQ, in terms of Wechsler's 7-category classification, was relatively low (63 and 72%). It is concluded that the 2- and 4-subtest short forms should be used with caution in situations where precise IQ measurements are required. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two-subtest estimations of WAIS-III factor index scores.

The reliability and validity of various short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997) were evaluated in a sample of 100 patients with traumatic brain injury and in a demographically matched subgroup from the standardization sample. All short forms were based on 2-subtest estimations of the respective factor indexes. Although acceptable estimates could be obtained from all short forms for Verbal Comprehension, none of the possible short forms for Perceptual Organization consistently met the minimum criterion regarding the percentage of cases that fell within the 90% confidence interval of the full-length index. It is concluded that short-form estimates of the WAIS-III are not appropriate for clinical use when the goal is to obtain factor indexes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and time savings in the selection of short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised.

Validity and reliability were calculated from data in the standardization sample of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R; D. Wechsler, 1981) for 565 short forms. Percentage of time savings in comparison to the full WAIS-R was estimated for each subtest combination from the data of J. J. Ryan and S. J. Rosenberg (1984), and short forms were rank-ordered, according to validity, within 5% intervals from 45% to 90% savings. The most efficient combinations for predicting total scores were generally those composed of subtests that are quick to administer, and short forms selected in previous research because of their brief administration times proved to be efficient in comparison to other subtest combinations. Several short forms from each time-savings category had acceptable validities and reliabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical limitations of three Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory short forms.

Compared 3 MMPI short forms, the Mini-Mult, T. Faschingbauer's 166, and the MMPI-168, which were constructed by different methodologies, using 1,028 male psychiatric patients as Ss. Although the short- to standard-form correlations for all 3 short forms were generally high (ranging from .74 to .96 for the MMPI scales), the success in accurately predicting the code type was quite low. The hit rates in predicting to the 58 code types used in the study were 36.7% for the Mini-Mult, 40.4% for the MMPI-168, and 49.4% for Faschingbauer's 166 form. An analysis of false positive and false negative test misses showed further weaknesses in MMPI short forms. Results question the use of MMPI short forms for clinical interpretation based on usual profile interpretation procedures (code-type analysis). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Smith, McCarthy, and Anderson (2000).

Reports an error in the original article by Gregory T. Smith, Denis M. McCarthy, and Kristen G. Anderson (Psychological Assessment, 2000, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 102-111). Specifically, several formulas throughout the article contained errors. The corrected formulas are presented here. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2000-07311-012.) The empirical short-form literature has been characterized by overly optimistic views of the transfer of validity from parent form to short form and by the weak application of psychometric principles in validating short forms. Reviewers have thus opposed constructing short forms altogether, implying researchers are succumbing to an inappropriate temptation by trying to abbreviate measures. The authors disagree. The authors do not oppose the development of short forms, but they do assert that the validity standards for short forms should be quite high. The authors identify 2 general and 9 specific methodological sins characterizing short-form construction and offer methodological suggestions for the sound development of short forms. They recommend a set of 6 a priori steps researchers should consider and 9 methodological procedures researchers can use to develop valid abbreviated forms of clinical-assessment procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short forms of individual intelligence tests.

The literature on short forms of individual intelligence tests—Wechsler's scales in particular—is critically reviewed. The review is structured around four choice-points faced by those who study short forms: how to abbreviate the original scale, what kind of subject sample to use, how to estimate IQs on the original scale, and what criteria to apply in evaluating a short form. The review concludes with some reflections based on more than 20 years of research on short forms and the posing of two questions about which little is yet known. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Important contribution of lipoprotein particle number to plasma triglyceride concentration in type 2 diabetes

A total of 187 elderly Chinese from the community were interviewed with the Chinese versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale-the long form and the short form. The scores on a proposed new version of the short form were also calculated. Cronbach alpha for the Geriatric Depression Scale-long form was .86. The correlations were significant between scores on the long and short forms (r = .94, p < .05) and between these on the long and new short forms (r = .91, p < .05). Cronbach coefficient alpha for the short form was .77 and for the new short form .81. Results of our study indicated that responding by these elderly persons on both short forms is acceptably internally consistent in comparison with those on the original Geriatric Depression Scale.     

WAIS short forms with hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Compared IQs of 100 patients in a state hospital derived from short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) with those derived from the standard form. Results raise serious doubts about the usefulness of existing short forms of the WAIS with hospitalized patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative efficacy of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale short forms with outpatients.

Rescored 115 WAIS protocols of psychological service outpatients for 7 selected subtest and 2 selected items short forms. Results favor the use of J. D. Pauker's (1963) short form, although research has shown a decrease in correspondence between short-form and Full Scale scores when the short forms are administered separately; also, the 27% misclassification rate for females would probably prohibit its use with this group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validities of short WAIS batteries.

Several short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale based upon several different rationales have been developed in recent years. The present study presents results of a cross-validation of 49 different short forms. Unlike previous studies, the short forms are cross-validated on both a psychiatric and on a nonpsychiatric population. Results revealed that for both the psychiatric and the nonpsychiatric populations (a) the mean estimated and the mean Full Scale scores were significantly different in only 3 of 98 comparisons; (6) correlations between estimated and obtained Full Scale scores were in the high .80's or .90's; (c) in the great majority of instances subjects were placed within one classification of their intelligence classification as revealed by scores on the total test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Thought Disorder Index: Short-form assessments.

Investigated whether short forms of the Rorschach Test are as effective as the standard 10-card administration in eliciting thought disorder as measured by the Thought Disorder Index. Results showed the short 4-card forms yield excellent composite indexes of total thought disorder, severity levels, and the more frequently occurring qualitative scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Composite reliability and standard errors of measurement for a seven-subtest short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised.

The composite reliability and standard errors of measurement were computed for prorated Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores derived from a 7-subtest short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) proposed by L. C. Ward (see record 1991-00137-001). The results indicate that this short form provides IQ scores that are as reliable as the complete WAIS—R. Together with previous findings that this short form has better concurrent validity than other short forms, the present findings justify substituting it for the complete WAIS—R in most clinical and research applications. The advantages of and objections to using short forms of the WAIS—R are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal and external validity of seven Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition short forms in a sample of psychiatric inpatients.

This study examined the validity of 7 short forms of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition (WISC—III; Wechsler, 1991) in a heterogeneous sample of 212 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Short-form scores were transformed into deviation IQs (DIQ) through linear scaling techniques and then compared to (a) WISC—III Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores through paired-sample t tests and Pearson correlations to examine internal validity and (b) standardized academic achievement scores through Pearson correlations to examine external validity. A 2 (race)?×?2 (gender)?×?2 (age) multivariate analysis of variance, with FSIQ minus DIQ scores as dependent variables, revealed that several short forms yield different FSIQ estimates between race, gender, and age groups. Two short forms are recommended for use with child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimating full scale IQs from short forms of Wechsler's scales: Linear scaling versus linear regression.

Offers a new formula for estimating Full Scale IQs from short forms of Wechsler scales, involving the use of deviation quotients (linear scaling) rather than linear regression. This practice necessarily results in an increase in error, which is shown to be negligible for short forms with typical validities. It is concluded that linear scaling is an acceptable alternative to linear regression. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Satz-Mogel short form of the WAIS—R in an elderly, demented population.

Full administration of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) was compared to a rescored Satz-Mogel short form of the WAIS—R (P. Satz and S. Mogel, 1962) in 51 elderly, demented individuals. The comparison revealed a high degree of association between these two forms. A smaller subset of 15 Ss was administered the Satz-Mogel short form and the full WAIS—R. Correlations between the two forms were significant for approximately half of the subtests and all of the subscales. No significant differences in means were found between forms. These findings are considered to represent some initial, positive support for the use of the Satz-Mogel short form of the WAIS—R in an elderly, demented population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brief Intelligence Testing in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Do you use brief measures of intelligence? There is available an increasing variety of short forms and new and revised quick tests of intelligence. However, little is known about clinical practice using these abbreviated instruments. The authors report the results of a 4-country exploratory survey of the extent and circumstances of the use of short forms and quick tests. Such measures are commonly used, and practitioners generally followed literature-based advice about the role of brief measures. However, idiosyncratic subtest combinations and inappropriate prorating were also prevalent with short forms. Frequently used quick tests were identified, as were the reasons for using brief measures. The authors offer specific recommendations for the appropriate use of brief measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)