Language tests developed and validated in one country may lose their desired properties when tran... more Language tests developed and validated in one country may lose their desired properties when translated for use in another, possibly resulting in misleading estimates of ability. Using Item Response Theory (IRT) methodology, we assess the performance of a test of receptive vocabulary, the U.S.-validated Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), when translated, adapted, and administered to children 3 to 10 years of age in Madagascar (N = 1372), in the local language (Malagasy). Though Malagasy is considered a single language, there are numerous dialects spoken in Madagascar. Our findings were that test scores were positively correlated with age and indicators of socio-economic status. However, over half (57/96) of items evidenced unexpected response variation and/or bias by local dialect spoken. We also encountered measurement error and reduced differentiation among person abilities when we used the publishers' recommended stopping rules, largely because we lost ...
In the developing world, 39% of children <5 y old are short for their age (stunted, defined as... more In the developing world, 39% of children <5 y old are short for their age (stunted, defined as height-for-age less than -2 SD of National Center for Health Statistics references), and many have poor levels of mental development along with behavioral problems. We showed previously that 8- to 10-y-old children from a longitudinal cohort who experienced early childhood stunting had altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) system activity. We repeated the study with 31 newly recruited, stunted Jamaican school children (less than -2.0 SD height-for-age) and nonstunted controls (n = 31, more than -1.0 SD height-for-age) matched for sex, age and school. All children were tested in a 1.5-h session, including psychological and physiologic stressors, in which their behaviors, salivary cortisol concentrations and heart rates were measured. In addition, we measured urinary catecholamine (epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine) concentrations, w...
To document the changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young women living... more To document the changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young women living in poverty in a semi-urban community in Mexico. Women who had previously participated in a longitudinal research study (1997-2000) were re-assessed in 2005. Anthropometric measurements were obtained using standard procedures, and socio-demographic questionnaires were administered. Total and annual rate of change in BMI and change in the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or = 25.0 and &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =30.0) were estimated. Mean age in 2005 was 30.0 +/- 5.7 years (n = 683) and time between recruitment and follow-up was 6.4 +/- 1.0 years. Mean change in BMI was +3.6 +/- 2.7 (range -8.2 to +14.6). In 2005, 500 (73.2%) women were overweight, up from 263 (38.5%) in the original assessment. The prevalence of obesity tripled over the follow-up period (from 9.8% to 30.3%). The mean annual rate of change in BMI was +0.6 (+/-0.4). After adjustment for age and parity at baseline, an annual rate of change of BMI above the sample median (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;0.5) was associated with lower levels of formal education. The annual increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in this sample is double that which was reported at a national level in Mexico. An understanding of the determinants of this rapid increase among the women living in poverty in Mexico is urgently needed.
Language tests developed and validated in one country may lose their desired properties when tran... more Language tests developed and validated in one country may lose their desired properties when translated for use in another, possibly resulting in misleading estimates of ability. Using Item Response Theory (IRT) methodology, we assess the performance of a test of receptive vocabulary, the U.S.-validated Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), when translated, adapted, and administered to children 3 to 10 years of age in Madagascar (N = 1372), in the local language (Malagasy). Though Malagasy is considered a single language, there are numerous dialects spoken in Madagascar. Our findings were that test scores were positively correlated with age and indicators of socio-economic status. However, over half (57/96) of items evidenced unexpected response variation and/or bias by local dialect spoken. We also encountered measurement error and reduced differentiation among person abilities when we used the publishers' recommended stopping rules, largely because we lost ...
In the developing world, 39% of children <5 y old are short for their age (stunted, defined as... more In the developing world, 39% of children <5 y old are short for their age (stunted, defined as height-for-age less than -2 SD of National Center for Health Statistics references), and many have poor levels of mental development along with behavioral problems. We showed previously that 8- to 10-y-old children from a longitudinal cohort who experienced early childhood stunting had altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) system activity. We repeated the study with 31 newly recruited, stunted Jamaican school children (less than -2.0 SD height-for-age) and nonstunted controls (n = 31, more than -1.0 SD height-for-age) matched for sex, age and school. All children were tested in a 1.5-h session, including psychological and physiologic stressors, in which their behaviors, salivary cortisol concentrations and heart rates were measured. In addition, we measured urinary catecholamine (epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine) concentrations, w...
To document the changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young women living... more To document the changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young women living in poverty in a semi-urban community in Mexico. Women who had previously participated in a longitudinal research study (1997-2000) were re-assessed in 2005. Anthropometric measurements were obtained using standard procedures, and socio-demographic questionnaires were administered. Total and annual rate of change in BMI and change in the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or = 25.0 and &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =30.0) were estimated. Mean age in 2005 was 30.0 +/- 5.7 years (n = 683) and time between recruitment and follow-up was 6.4 +/- 1.0 years. Mean change in BMI was +3.6 +/- 2.7 (range -8.2 to +14.6). In 2005, 500 (73.2%) women were overweight, up from 263 (38.5%) in the original assessment. The prevalence of obesity tripled over the follow-up period (from 9.8% to 30.3%). The mean annual rate of change in BMI was +0.6 (+/-0.4). After adjustment for age and parity at baseline, an annual rate of change of BMI above the sample median (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;0.5) was associated with lower levels of formal education. The annual increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in this sample is double that which was reported at a national level in Mexico. An understanding of the determinants of this rapid increase among the women living in poverty in Mexico is urgently needed.
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