Evaluation of Attitude Survey Translations an Investigation Using Item Response Theory

Abstract

The fidelity of a translated s w c y instrument used to measure attitudes toward mental health was evaluated using statistical methods based on item respotwe t h e w . Data from French and German versions of the attitude surycy w m analyzed, and items that displayed differenrid iremfmctioning (dif) werc identified. Item chcvaclerirtic curvu (ICCs) wcre examined to detamine whetha the source of df d d be attributed to errors in translation or differences in cultural experiences or knowledge. The proposal by Humphreys and Hulin for using ICCs to determine the source of dif is evaluated.Measuring attitudes cross-culturally entails the same basic problem that is associated with cross-cultural administration of any paper-andpencil test or survey. The problem is one of establishing the equivalence of the measurement instrument across the groups surveyed. Unless it can be established that the survey instrument itself is equivalent for all the groups, it cannot be used to compare their respective scores.When the comparison groups speak different languages, an additional problem arises. Is the survey more likely to be equivalent if administered in a single language, or should the instrument be translated into the native language of the subject? Some researchers favor the administration of the survey in only one language to bilingual Requests for reprints should be sent to B.B. Ellis,

Analysis of Differential Item Functioning in Translated Assessment Instruments

“…Within the IRT framework, Drasgow has defined measurement equivalence as a property that exists &dquo;... when the relations between observed test scores and the latent attribute measured by the test are identical across subpopulations&dquo; (Drasgow, 1984, p. 134 (Candell & Hulin, 1987;Candell & Roznowski, 1984;de Vera, 1985;Drasgow & Hulin, 1989;Drasgow & Lissak, 1983;Ellis, 1989Ellis, , 1991Ellis, Minsel, & Becker, 1989;Hulin, Drasgow, & Komocar, 1982;Hulin & Mayer, 1986;Osberg, Scott, & Raju, 1985). Some of these IRT analyses were based on small samples and, in others, there was only limited control over the linguistic abilities of the samples used.…”

Avaliação do coping em adultos com transtorno bipolar e a relação com traços de personalidade

“…O processo de tradução e adaptação da escala seguiu as normas quanto à equivalência cultural (Flaherty, 1987;Flaherty et al, 1988;Ellis et al, 1989), bem como as orientações do International Test Comission (Hambleton, 1993;Hambleton, 1994 total HAMD e YMRS) e do Qui-quadrado (sexo).…”

Adaptação e validação discriminante do instrumento Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM) para avaliação neuropsicológica em adultos angolanos com diagnóstico clínico de acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) e epilepsia

“…Foram priorizados dois tópicos na análise linguística, sendo eles a análise denotativa e conotativa (Ellis et al, 1989). A análise denotativa verificou o significado referencial, específico de cada palavra, da versão referente ao português angolano em relação à versão brasileira.…”

“…Doenças como AVC e Epilepsia estão constantemente associadas à manifestação de comprometimentos cognitivos e demência, tendo como característica principal os déficits de memória (Caramelli et al, 2005 (Flaherty, 1987;Flaherty et al, 1988;Ellis et al, 1989).…”

“…Foram priorizados dois tópicos da análise linguística, a análise denotativa e a conotativa (Ellis et al, 1989). Em seguida, foram avaliadas as palavras que sofreram poucas alterações ou as que foram trocadas por palavras com significados diferentes, de modo a investigar se há o uso do mesmo conceito de sentença em ambas as versões.…”