Validation of the narcissistic personality questionnaire for children--revised among U.S. students.

In the present studies, the Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R), which was previously validated with 7th- and 9th-grade students in Singapore, was examined with a sample of U.S. students. The NPQC-R is a self-report measure and consists of 2 (Exploitativeness and Superiority) factors. In Study 1, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the responses of 275 U.S. students in Grades 4-8. The results of the CFA indicated that a 2-factor model provided the best fit to the data. In addition, the NPQC-R was found to be invariant across U.S. students in Grades 4-6 and 7-8. In Study 2, support for the convergent and discriminant validity and test score stability of the NPQC-R scores was found among a sample of 112 U.S. students. Implications of the findings of the studies for mental health professionals who work with children and adolescents in clinical and school settings are discussed.

An examination of the RCMAS-2 scores across gender, ethnic background, and age in a large Asian school sample.

The present study investigated the factor structure, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and U.S. norms of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, Second Edition (RCMAS-2; C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 2008a) scores in a Singapore sample of 1,618 school-age children and adolescents. Although there were small statistically significant differences in the average RCMAS-2 T scores found across various demographic groupings, on the whole, the U.S. norms appear adequate for use in the Asian Singapore sample. Results from item bias analyses suggested that biased items detected had small effects and were counterbalanced across gender and ethnicity, and hence, their relative impact on test score variation appears to be minimal. Results of factor analyses on the RCMAS-2 scores supported the presence of a large general anxiety factor, the Total Anxiety factor, and the 5-factor structure found in U.S. samples was replicated. Both the large general anxiety factor and the 5-factor solution were invariant across gender and ethnic background. Internal consistency estimates ranged from adequate to good, and 2-week test-retest reliability estimates were comparable to previous studies. Evidence providing support for convergent and discriminant validity of the RCMAS-2 scores was also found. Taken together, findings provide additional cross-cultural evidence of the appropriateness and usefulness of the RCMAS-2 as a measure of anxiety in Asian Singaporean school-age children and adolescents.

Significant predictors of test anxiety among students with and without learning disabilities.

In the present study, the relationship between students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and different aspects of test anxiety was examined on a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety. A sample of 774 elementary and secondary school students--195 students with LD and 579 students not identified with LD--completed the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA), a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety for elementary and secondary school students in Grades 4 through 12. Examination of the factor structure of the TAICA scores across LD status to determine whether accurate test score interpretation was possible revealed that the majority of the coefficient of congruence values between each pair of six corresponding factors of the TAICA (Cognitive Obstruction/ Inattention, Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, Worry, and Lie) and the Total Test Anxiety factor were above .90, and the salient variable similarity index values were statistically significant, suggesting that the factor structure of the TAICA was similar across groups. The results of seven multiple regression analyses revealed that LD predicted higher Cognitive Obstruction/Inattention and Worry scores and lower Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety and Lie scores. Implications of the findings for school personnel who work with students with LD are discussed.

Gender differences in memory test performance among children and adolescents.

Gender differences among children and adolescents were examined on 14 separate measures of short-term memory. A nationally stratified sample of 1,279 children and adolescents, 637 males and 642 females, ranging in age between 5 and 19 years, were assessed on the 14 subtests of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Factor structure of the TOMAL was determined to be invariant as a function of gender. Using age-corrected deviation scaled scores calculated at 1-year intervals, results of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed only two significant differences in absolute scores across gender on the 14 memory subtests. A profile of normal variations in patterns of memory test performance across gender revealing relative strengths for females on verbal tasks and males on spatial tasks is presented for clinical use and future normative comparisons.