The value of item response theory in clinical assessment: A review

Assessment

Volumn 18, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 291-307

  Thomas, Michael L ^a  

^a ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

assessment; clinical; item response theory; latent variable model; measurement; psychometric theory

Indexed keywords

EPIDEMIOLOGY; HUMAN; INSTRUMENTATION; MENTAL STRESS; METHODOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGIC TEST; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL; PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY; PSYCHOMETRY; REVIEW; STATISTICAL MODEL;

BIAS (EPIDEMIOLOGY); HUMANS; LOGISTIC MODELS; MODELS, PSYCHOLOGICAL; PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS; PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY; PSYCHOMETRICS; STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL;

EID: 79952584745     PISSN: 10731911     EISSN: 15523489     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1073191110374797     Document Type: Review

References (123)

1. Aggen, S.H., Neale, M.C., & Kendler, K.S. (2005). DSM criteria for major depression: Evaluating symptom patterns using latent-trait item response models. Psychological Medicine, 35, 475-487.
2. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., Text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
3. American Psychological Association. (2002). American Psychological Association ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx.
4. Andrich, D. (1978). A rating formulation for ordered response categories. Psychometrika, 43, 561-573.
5. Baker, F. (2001). The basics of item response theory. College Park, MD: ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation.
6. Batchelder, W.H. (2010). Cognitive psychometrics: Using multinomial processing tree models as measurement tools. In S. E. Embretson (Ed.), Measuring psychological constructs: Advances in model-based approaches (pp. 71-93). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
7. Ben-Porath, Y.S., & Tellegen, A. (2008). MMPI-2-RF: Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
8. Bock, R.D. (1997). A brief history of item response theory. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 16, 21-33.
9. Bolt, D.M., & Johnson, T.R. (2009). Addressing score bias and differential item functioning due to individual differences in response style. Applied Psychological Measurement, 33, 335-352.
10. Bouman, T.K., & Kok, A.R. (1987). Homogeneity of Beck's depression inventory (BDI): Applying Rasch analysis in conceptual exploration. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 76, 568-573.
11. Butcher, J.N., Graham, J.R., Ben-Porath, Y.S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstrom, W.G., & Kaemmer, B. (2001). MMPI-2: Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation (Rev. ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
12. Caldwell, A.B. (2006). Maximal measurement or meaningful measurement: The interpretive challenges of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 193-201.
13. Carle, A.C., Millsap, R.E., & Cole, D.A. (2008). Measurement bias across gender on the Children's Depression Inventory: Evidence for invariance from two latent variable models. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 68, 281-303.
14. Carmody, T.J., Rush, A.J., Bernstein, I.H., Brannan, S., Husain, M.M., & Trivedi, M.H. (2006). Making clinicians lives easier: Guidance on use of the QIDS self-report in place of the MADRS. Journal of Affective Disorders, 95, 115-118.
15. Cella, D., Yount, S., Rothrock, N., Gershon, R., Cook, K., Reeve, B.,. PROMIS Cooperative Group. (2007). The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS): Progress of an NIH roadmap cooperative group during its first two years. Medical Care, 45, S3-S11.
16. Chang, C. (1996). Finding two dimensions in MMPI-2 depression. Structural Equation Modeling, 3, 41-49.
17. Chen, F.F., West, S.G., & Sousa, K.H. (2006). A comparison of bifactor and second-order models of quality of life. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41, 189-225.
18. Cole, J.C., Rabin, A.S., Smith, T.L., & Kaufman, A.S. (2004). Development and validation of a Rasch-derived CES-D short form. Psychological Assessment, 16, 360-372.
19. Cooke, D.J., & Michie, C. (1997). An item response theory analysis of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Psychological Assessment, 9, 3-14.
20. Cooke, D.J., Michie, C., Hart, S.D., & Hare, R.D. (1999). Evaluating the screening version of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL:SV): An item response theory analysis. Psychological Assessment, 11, 3-13.
21. Cooper, A., & Gomez, R. (2008). The development of a short form of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Journal of Individual Differences, 29, 90-104.
22. de Ayala, R.J. (2009). The theory and practice of item response theory. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
23. DeMars, C.E. (2006). Application of the bi-factor multidimensional item response theory model to testlet-based tests. Journal of Educational Measurement, 43, 145-168.
24. DiBello, L.V., Roussos, L.A., & Stout, W. (2007). Review of cognitively diagnostic assessment and a summary of psychometric models. In C. R. Rao & S. Sinharay (Eds.), Handbook of statistics 26: Psychometrics (pp. 979-1030). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier North-Holland.
25. Drasgow, F., Levine, M.V., & Williams, E.A. (1985). Appropriateness measurement with polychotomous item response models and standardized indices. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 38, 67-86.
26. Dumenci, L., & Achenbach, T.M. (2008). Effects of estimation methods on making trait-level inferences from ordered categorical items for assessing psychopathology. Psychological Assessment, 20, 55-62.
27. Duncan-Jones, P., Grayson, D.A., & Moran, P.A. (1986). The utility of latent trait models in psychiatric epidemiology. Psychological Medicine, 16, 391-405.
28. Educational Testing Service. (2010). About the GRE general test. Retrieved from http://www.ets.org/gre/general/about.
29. Embretson, S.E. (1984). A general latent trait model for response processes. Psychometrika, 49, 175-186.
30. Embretson, S.E. (2010). Measuring psychological constructs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
31. Embretson, S.E., & Reise, S.P. (2000). Item response theory for psychologists. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
32. Fava, G.A., Ruini, C., & Rafanelli, C. (2004). Psychometric theory is an obstacle to the progress of clinical research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 73, 145-148.
33. Ferrando, P.J. (1994). Fitting item response models to the EPI-A Impulsivity subscale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 118-127.
34. Ferrando, P.J., & Chico, E. (2001). Detecting dissimulation in personality test scores: A comparison between person-fit indices and detection scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 61, 997-1012.
35. Feske, U., Kirisci, L., Tarter, R.E., & Pilkonis, P.A. (2007). An application of item response theory to the DSM-III-R criteria for borderline personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders, 21, 418-433.
36. Frazier, T.W., Naugle, R.I., & Haggerty, K.A. (2006). Psychometric adequacy and comparability of the short and full forms of the Personality Assessment Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 18, 324-333.
37. Frost, A.G., & Orban, J.A. (1990). An examination of an appropriateness index and its effect on validity coefficients. Journal of Business and Psychology, 5, 23-36.
38. Galton, F. (1971). The measurement of character. In L. D. Goodstein & R. I. Lanyon (Eds.), Readings in personality assessment (pp. 4-10). New York, NY: Wiley. (Reprinted from Fortnightly Review (of London), 1884, 42, 179-185).
39. Gardner, W., Kelleher, K.J., & Pajer, K.A. (2002). Multidimensional adaptive testing for mental health problems in primary care. Medical Care, 40, 812-823.
40. Gibbons, R.D., Bock, R.D., Hedeker, D., Weiss, D.J., Segawa, E., Bhaumik, D.K.,. Stover, A. (2007). Full-information item bifactor analysis of graded response data. Applied Psychological Measurement, 31, 4-19.
41. Gibbons, R.D., Clarke, D.C., VonAmmon Cavanaugh, S., & Davis, J.M. (1985). Application of modern psychometric theory in psychiatric research. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 19, 43-55.
42. Gibbons, R.D., & Hedeker, D.R. (1992). Full-information item bi-factor analysis. Psychometrika, 57, 423-436.
43. Gibbons, R.D., Rush, A.J., & Immekus, J.C. (2009). On the psychometric validity of the domains of the PDSQ: An illustration of the bi-factor item response theory model. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43, 401-410.
44. Gibbons, R.D., Weiss, D.J., Kupfer, D.J.,Frank, E., Fagiolini, A., Grochocinski, V.J.,. Immekus, J.C. (2008). Using computerized adaptive testing to reduce the burden of mental health assessment. Psychiatric Services, 59, 361-368.
45. Gordon, R.M. (2006). False assumptions about psychopathology, hysteria and the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical scales. Psychological Reports, 98, 870-872.
46. Gray-Little, B., Williams, V.S.L., & Hancock, T.D. (1997). An item response theory analysis of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 443-451.
47. Grayson, D.A. (1986). Latent trait analysis of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 20, 217-235.
48. Hambleton, R.K., & de Gruijter, D.N. (1983). Application of item response models to criterion-referenced test item selection. Journal of Educational Measurement, 20, 355-367.
49. Heinen, T. (1996). Latent class and discrete latent trait models: Similarities and differences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
50. Hendrawan, I., Glas, C.A.W., & Meijer, R.R. (2005). The effect of person misfit on classification decisions. Applied Psychological Measurement, 29, 26-44.
51. Horn, J.L., & McArdle, J.J. (1992). A practical and theoretical guide to measurement invariance in aging research. Experimental Aging Research, 18, 117-144.
52. Hui, C.H., Drasgow, F., & Chang, B. (1983). Analysis of the modernity scale: An item response theory approach. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 14, 259-278.
53. Hulin, C.L., Drasgow, F., & Komocar, J. (1982). Applications of item response theory to analysis of attitude scale translations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 818-825.
54. Kamakura, W.A., & Balasubramanian, S.K. (1989). Tailored interviewing: An application of item response theory for personality measurement. Journal of Personality Assessment, 53, 502-519.
55. Kaplan, R.M., & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2008). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
56. Kessler, R.C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L.J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D.K., Normand, S.T.,. Zaslavsky, A.M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in nonspecific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959-976.
57. Kim, Y., & Pilkonis, P.A. (1999). Selecting the most informative items in the IIP scales for personality disorders: An application of item response theory. Journal of Personality Disorders, 13, 157-174.
58. La Femina, F., Senese, V.P., Grossi, D., & Venuti, P. (2009). A battery for the assessment of visuo-spatial abilities involved in drawing tasks. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 23, 691-714.
59. Langenbucher, J.W., Labouvie, E., Martin, C.S., Sanjuan, P.M., Bavly, L., Kirisci, L., & Chung, T. (2004). An application of item response theory analysis to alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine criteria in DSM-IV. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 72-80.
60. Leung, K., & Drasgow, F. (1986). Relation between self-esteem and delinquent behavior in three ethnic groups: An application of item response theory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 17, 151-167.
61. Levy, R. (2009). The rise of Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation for psychometric modeling. Journal of Probability and Statistics, 2009, 1-18. doi:10.1155/2009/537139.
62. Long, J.D., Harring, J.R., Brekke, J.S., Test, M.A., & Greenberg, J. (2007). Longitudinal construct validity of Brief Symptom Inventory subscales in schizophrenia. Psychological Assessment, 19, 298-308.
63. Lord, F.M. (1980). Applications of item response theory to practical testing problems. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
64. Lord, F.M., & Novick, M.R. (1968). Statistical theories of mental test scores. Oxford, England: Addison-Wesley.
65. Marshall, G.N., Orlando, M., Jaycox, L.H., Foy, D.W., & Belzberg, H. (2002). Development and validation of a modified version of the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 14, 123-134.
66. Martin, M., Kosinski, M., Bjorner, J.B., Ware, J.E., Jr., MacLean, R., & Li, T. (2007). Item response theory methods can improve the measurement of physical function by combining the modified health assessment questionnaire and the SF-36 Physical Function scale. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation, 16, 647-660.
67. Masters, G.N. (1982). A Rasch model for partial credit scoring. Psychometrika, 47, 149-174.
68. McDonald, R.P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
69. McGrew, K.S., & Woodcock, R.W. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III technical manual. Itasca, IL: Riverside.
70. Meade, A.W., Lautenschlager, G.J., & Hecht, J.E. (2005). Establishing measurement equivalence and invariance in longitudinal data with item response theory. International Journal of Testing, 5, 279-300.
71. Meijer, R.R., & Baneke, J.J. (2004). Analyzing psychopathology items: A case for nonparametric item response theory modeling. Psychological Methods, 9, 354-368.
72. Millsap, R.E. (2010). Testing measurement invariance using item response theory in longitudinal data: An introduction. Child Development Perspectives, 4, 5-9.
73. Mislevy, R.J., Levy, R., Kroopnick, M., & Rutstein, D. (2008). Evidentiary foundations of mixture item response theory models. In G. R. Hancock & K. M. Samuelsen (Eds.), Advances in latent variable mixture models (pp. 149-175). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
74. Morey, L.C. (1991). Personality Assessment Inventory: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
75. Morizot, J., Ainsworth, A.T., & Reise, S.P. (2007). Toward modern psychometrics: Application of item response theory models in personality research. In R. W. Robins, R. C. Fraley, & R. F. Krueger (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in personality psychology (pp. 407-423). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
76. Mulaik, S.A. (2010). Foundations of factor analysis (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall.
77. Muraki, E. (1992). A generalized partial credit model: Application of an EM algorithm. Applied Psychological Measurement, 16, 159-176.
78. Nering, M.L., & Meijer, R.R. (1998). A comparison of the person response function to the lz person-fit statistic. Applied Psychological Measurement, 22, 53-69.
79. Orlando, M., Sherbourne, C.D., & Thissen, D. (2000). Summed-score linking using item response theory: Application to depression measurement. Psychological Assessment, 12, 354-359.
80. Patz, R.J., & Junker, B.W. (1999). Applications and extensions of MCMC in IRT: Multiple item types, missing data, and rated responses. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 24, 342-366.
81. Pedraza, O., Graff-Radford, N.R., Smith, G.E., Ivnik, R.J., Willis, F.B., Petersen, R.C., & Lucas, J. (2009). Differential item functioning of the Boston Naming Test in cognitively normal African American and Caucasian older adults. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15, 758-768.
82. Popper, K. (1964). Scientific theory and falsifiability. In J. A. Mourant & E. H. Freund (Eds.), Problems of philosophy: A book of readings (pp. 541-547). New York, NY: Macmillan.
83. Rasch, G. (1960). Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests. Copenhagen, Denmark: Nielsen & Lydiche.
84. Reckase, M.D. (2009). Multidimensional item response theory. New York, NY: Springer.
85. Reise, S.P., & Haviland, M.G. (2005). Item response theory and the measurement of clinical change. Journal of Personality Assessment, 84, 228-238.
86. Reise, S.P., & Henson, J.M. (2000). Computerization and adaptive administration of the NEO PI-R. Assessment, 7, 347-364.
87. Reise, S.P., & Waller, N.G. (1990). Fitting the two-parameter model to personality data. Applied Psychological Measurement, 14, 45-58.
88. Reise, S.P., & Waller, N.G. (1993). Traitedness and the assessment of response pattern scalability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 143-151.
89. Reise, S.P., & Waller, N.G. (2003). How many IRT parameters does it take to model psychopathology items? Psychological Methods, 8, 164-184.
90. Reise, S.P., & Waller, N.G. (2009). Item response theory and clinical measurement. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 25-46.
91. Reise, S.P., & Waller, N.G. (2010). Measuring psychopathology with nonstandard item response theory models: Fitting the four-parameter model to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. In S. E. Embretson (Ed.), Measuring psychological constructs: Advances in model-based approaches (pp. 147-173). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
92. Revicki, D.A., & Sloan, J. (2007). Practical and philosophical issues surrounding a national item bank: If we build it will they come? Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation, 16, 167-174.
93. Roberson-Nay, R., Strong, D.R., Nay, W.T., Beidel, D.C., & Turner, S.M. (2007). Development of an abbreviated Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) using item response theory: The SPAI-23. Psychological Assessment, 19, 133-145.
94. Rouse, S.V., Finger, M.S., & Butcher, J.N. (1999). Advances in clinical personality measurement: An item response theory analysis of the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales. Journal of Personality Assessment, 72, 282-307.
95. Samejima, F. (1969). Estimation of latent ability using a response pattern of graded scores. Psychometrika Monograph Supplement, 34(4,Pt.2), 100.
96. Samejima, F. (1997). The graded response model. In W. J. van der Linden & R. K. Hambleton (Eds.), Handbook of modern item response theory (pp. 85-100). New York, NY: Springer.
97. Santor, D.A., Ramsay, J.O., & Zuroff, D.C. (1994). Nonparametric item analyses of the Beck Depression Inventory: Evaluating gender item bias and response option weights. Psychological Assessment, 6, 255-270.
98. Schultz-Larsen, K., Kreiner, S., & Lomholt, R.K. (2007). Mini-mental status examination: Mixed Rasch model item analysis derived two different cognitive dimensions of the MMSE. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 60, 268-279.
99. Simms, L.J., & Clark, L.A. (2005). Validation of a computerized adaptive version of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Psychological Assessment, 17, 28-43.
100. Simms, L.J., Grös, D.F., Watson, D., & O'Hara, M.W. (2008). Parsing the general and specific components of depression and anxiety with bifactor modeling. Depression and Anxiety, 25, E34-E46. doi:10.1002/da.20432.
101. Spearman, C. (1904a). The proof and measurement of association between two things. American Journal of Psychology, 15, 72-101.
102. Spearman, C. (1904b). General intelligence, objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201-293.
103. Smith, G.T., & Combs, J. (2010). Issues of construct validity in psychological diagnoses. In R. F. Krueger & E. Simonsen (Eds.), Contemporary directions in psychopathology: Scientific foundations of the DSM-V and ICD-11 (pp.205-222). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
104. Smits, D.J.M., & De Boeck, P. (2003). A componential IRT model for guilt. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 38, 161-188.
105. Stark, S., Chernyshenko, O.S., Drasgow, F., & Williams, B.A. (2006). Examining assumptions about item responding in personality assessment: Should ideal point methods be considered for scale development and scoring? Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 25-39.
106. Stevens, S.S. (1946). On the theory of scales of measurement. Science, 103, 677-680.
107. Strauss, M.E., & Smith, G.T. (2009). Construct validity: Advances in theory and methodology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 1-25.
108. Takane, Y., & de Leeuw, J. (1987). On the relationship between item response theory and factor analysis of discretized variables. Psychometrika, 52, 393-408.
109. Tenenbaum, G., Furst, D., & Weingarten, G. (1985). A statistical reevaluation of the STAI anxiety questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 239-244.
110. Teresi, J.A., Cross, P.S., & Golden, R.R. (1989). Some applications of latent trait analysis to the measurement of ADL. Journals of Gerontology, 44, S196-S204.
111. Thomas, M.L., & Locke, D.E.C. (in press). Psychometric properties of the MMPI-2-RF Somatic Complaints scale. Psychological Assessment.
112. Thomas, M.L., & Youngjohn, J.R. (2009). Let's not get hysterical: Comparing the MMPI-2 Validity, Clinical, and RC scales in TBI litigants tested for effort. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 23, 1067-1084.
113. Thurstone, L.L. (1928). Attitudes can be measured. American Journal of Sociology, 33, 529-554.
114. Thurstone, L.L. (1947). Multiple-factor analysis: A development and expansion of the vectors of mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
115. van der Linden, W. J., & Hambleton, R. K. (Eds.). (1997). Handbook of modern item response theory. New York, NY: Springer.
116. Waller, N.G., & Reise, S.P. (1989). Computerized adaptive personality assessment: An illustration with the Absorption scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1051-1058.
117. Walter, O.B., Becker, J., Bjorner, J.B., Fliege, H., Klapp, B.F., & Rose, M. (2007). Development and evaluation of a computer adaptive test for anxiety (anxiety-CAT). Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation, 16, 143-155.
118. Wang, W., Chen, P., & Cheng, Y. (2004). Improving measurement precision of test batteries using multidimensional item response models. Psychological Methods, 9, 116-136.
119. Wright, B. (1980). Foreword. In G. Rasch, Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests (Expand ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
120. Yao, L., & Boughton, K.A. (2007). A multidimensional item response modeling approach for improving subscale proficiency estimation and classification. Applied Psychological Measurement, 31, 83-105.
121. Young, M.A., Halper, I.S., Clark, D.C., & Scheftner, W.A. (1992). An item-response theory evaluation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 579-587.
122. Zickar, M.J., & Drasgow, F. (1996). Detecting faking on a personality instrument using appropriateness measurement. Applied Psychological Measurement, 20, 71-87.
123. Zumbo, B.D., Pope, G.A., Watson, J.E., & Hubley, A.M. (1997). An empirical test of Roskam's conjecture about the interpretation of an ICC parameter in personality inventories. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 963-969.