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For the past two decades, behavioural ecologists have documented consistent individual differences in behavioural traits within species and found evidence for animal “personality”. It is only relatively recently, however, that increasing numbers of researchers have begun to investigate individual differences in cognitive ability within species. It has been suggested that cognitive test batteries may provide an ideal tool for this growing research endeavour. In fact, cognitive test batteries have now been used to examine the causes, consequences and underlying structure of cognitive performance within and between many species. In this review, we document the existing attempts to develop cognitive test batteries for non-human animals and review the claims that these studies have made in terms of the structure and evolution of cognition. We argue that our current test battery methods could be improved on multiple fronts, from the design of tasks, to the domains targeted and the species tested. Refining and optimising test battery design will provide many benefits. In future, we envisage that well-designed cognitive test batteries may provide answers to a range of exciting questions, including giving us greater insight into the evolution and structure of cognition.

Psychophysical experiments conducted remotely over the internet permit data collection from large numbers of participants but sacrifice control over sound presentation and therefore are not widely employed in hearing research. To help standardize online sound presentation, we introduce a brief psychophysical test for determining whether online experiment participants are wearing headphones. Listeners judge which of three pure tones is quietest, with one of the tones presented 180° out of phase across the stereo channels. This task is intended to be easy over headphones but difficult over loudspeakers due to phase-cancellation. We validated the test in the lab by testing listeners known to be wearing headphones or listening over loudspeakers. The screening test was effective and efficient, discriminating between the two modes of listening with a small number of trials. When run online, a bimodal distribution of scores was obtained, suggesting that some participants performed the task over loudspeakers despite instructions to use headphones. The ability to detect and screen out these participants mitigates concerns over sound quality for online experiments, a first step toward opening auditory perceptual research to the possibilities afforded by crowdsourcing.

Objective: This study aimed to undertake a rigorous psychometric evaluation of the nine-scale Norwegian version of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) based on data from a sample of people with psoriasis. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 825 adults with psoriasis who previously participated in the Norwegian Climate Heliotherapy programme. To investigate the factorial validity of the Norwegian HLQ, confirmatory factor analyses were carried out using Stata. Results: A highly restricted model fit with no cross-loadings or correlated residuals was acceptable for three of the nine scales (‘Feeling understood and supported by health-care providers’, ‘Appraisal of health information’ and ‘Ability to find good health information’). After minor model adjustments of the other scales, one-factor models were acceptable. All scales showed acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.71 to 0.87. Except for three items, all items had high to acceptable factor loadings. Conclusions: This study of the Norwegian HLQ replicates the original factor structure of the Australian HLQ, indicating the questionnaire has cogent and independent scales with good reliability. Researchers, programme implementers and policymakers could use the Norwegian version of the HLQ with confidence to generate reliable information on health literacy for different purposes.

Background TB outbreaking in schools is extremely complex, and presents a major challenge for public health. Understanding the knowledge, attitudes and practices among student TB patients in such settings is fundamental when it comes to decreasing future TB cases. The objective of this study was to develop a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Questionnaire among Student Tuberculosis Patients (STBP-KAPQ), and evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods This study was conducted in three stages: item construction, pilot testing in 10 student TB patients and psychometric testing, including reliability and validity. The item pool for the questionnaire was compiled from literature review and early individual interviews. The questionnaire items were evaluated by the Delphi method based on 12 experts. Reliability and validity were assessed using student TB patients ( n  = 416) and healthy students ( n  = 208). Reliability was examined with internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. Content validity was calculated by content validity index (CVI); Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); The Public Tuberculosis Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Questionnaire (PTB-KAPQ) was applied to evaluate criterion validity; As concerning discriminant validity, T-test was performed. Results The final STBP-KAPQ consisted of three dimensions and 25 items. Cronbach’s α coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.817 and 0.765, respectively. Content validity index (CVI) was 0.962. Seven common factors were extracted by principal factor analysis and varimax rotation, with a cumulative contribution of 66.253%. The resulting CFA model of the STBP-KAPQ exhibited an appropriate model fit (χ2/df = 1.74, RMSEA = 0.082, CFI = 0.923, NNFI = 0.962). STBP-KAPQ and PTB-KAPQ had a strong correlation in the knowledge part, and the correlation coefficient was 0.606 ( p  < 0.05). Discriminant validity was supported through a significant difference between student TB patients and healthy students across all domains ( p  < 0.05). Conclusions An instrument, “Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Questionnaire among Student Tuberculosis Patients (STBP-KAPQ)” was developed. Psychometric testing indicated that it had adequate validity and reliability for use in KAP researches with student TB patients in China. The new tool might help public health researchers evaluate the level of KAP in student TB patients, and it could also be used to examine the effects of TB health education.

Purpose To propose a paradigm change for the validation procedures of medication adherence questionnaires. Methods A total of 121 validation procedures of unique questionnaires for medication adherence were analyzed. Results “Construct validity” and “internal consistency” were most often assessed, and test results varied largely. A more in-depth analysis indicated that the assessment of medication non-adherence included distinct but related constructs, such as the extent to which doses are missed, and the attempt to identify different facets of medication-taking behavior. Consequently, each construct requires a different measurement approach with different psychometric tests for establishing its validity and reliability. Conclusion Results show that assessing the validity and reliability of adherence questionnaires with standard procedures including statistical tests is inconclusive. Refinement of the constructs of non-adherence is needed in pharmacy and medical practice. We suggest a distinction between the (i) extent of missed doses over the past 2 weeks, (ii) modifiable reasons for non-adherence behavior, and (iii) unmodifiable factors of non-adherence. Validation procedures and corresponding statistical methods should be selected according to the specific single constructs.

To cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically test the Spanish version of the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Tool for student nurses and midwives (EPICC_ spa) Spiritual care is an essential component of holistic nursing and specific training on its competencies and their evaluation should be mandatory in nursing degree studies. However, assessment instruments of spiritual care competencies among student nurses in Spanish contexts are presently insufficient. This was a multicentre, descriptive, cross-sectional study in two phases. Phase 1 involved the translation and linguistic adaptation of the scale through a panel of experts and a pilot test. Phase 2 involved the evaluation of structural content, internal reliability and construct validity. Data were collected between January and June 2024. Twelve of thirteen nursing schools in Madrid, Spain participated, with 642 first- or fourth-year nursing students as the final sample population. In the content validity analysis based on an expert panel, 28 items showed good or excellent validity indices. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a bifactor model of the EPICC_ spa, with two dimensions and 16 items: attitudes towards spiritual care (ten items) and knowledge and skills to provide spiritual care (six items). Very good reliability and evidence of construct validity (convergent and differentiation in known groups) were also shown. The EPICC_spa can be a reliable and valid self-assessment tool for spiritual-care competence among nursing students in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. •Assessment instruments of spiritual care competences in student nurses are absent in the Spanish context.•The EPICC_spa is the first tool that can be used in the Spanish context, within pre- and even postgraduate nursing education, for the self-assessment of their spiritual care competencies in any course.•The EPICC_spa provides a baseline and assessment measure for planning future educational interventions in undergraduate nursing education in Spain.•The EPICC_spa comprises the presence of two factors: an attitudinal component, with a strong influence on the global factor of spiritual competence, and another component of knowledge and skills, independent of attitudes.

The Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) provides a holistic measure of well-being, but has only been validated for adults, and does not have a Hindi version. The present study investigated the unidimensional structure, internal consistency, convergent/discriminant, and criterion validity of both the original English version of the BIT (BIT-E) and its Hindi-translated version (BIT-H) among adolescents in India. Further, we tested measurement invariance across these two language versions, gender, and academic disciplines. A total of 534 adolescents were recruited across two samples ( N 1  = 224 and N 2  = 310) from five schools using convenience sampling. Both versions demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, with unidimensional structure, good internal consistency, convergent/discriminant, and criterion validity with a number of psycho-educational correlates. Partial scalar invariance was achieved across language versions and gender, while strict invariance was established across academic disciplines. The BIT, in both English and Hindi, appears to be an excellent measure of well-being for adolescents. Limitations, directions for future research, and recommendations for using the BIT-E and BIT-H among adolescents in research and applied settings are discussed.

Background: The rising global incidence of dementia is an escalating public health issue. In 2021, the rate of dementia cases in Indonesia had already risen to 27.9%. Dementia literacy, which refers to the ability to acquire, assess, and apply knowledge about dementia, is crucial for increasing public awareness and improving dementia care. However, obstacles persist in advancing dementia literacy owing to difficulties in obtaining information and a lack of awareness regarding the importance of dementia knowledge. Addressing these challenges is essential to enhance dementia care at a societal level. Purpose: This study was implemented to translate and adapt the Consumer Access, Appraisal, and Application of Services and Information on Dementia (CAAASI-Dem) instrument into Indonesian (CAAASI-Dem-INA) and to evaluate its psychometric properties to ensure it is a valid and reliable tool for assessing dementia literacy in Indonesia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a two-stage translation procedure followed by psychometric testing was used. A sample of 319 older adults aged 60 years or older was recruited from Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, using a convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the validity and reliability of the translated instrument. Results: The results of the psychometric evaluation indicate that CAAASI-Dem-INA offers satisfactory validity and reliability. Moreover, the good model fit obtained in the CFA confirms the construct validity, while the Cronbach alphas obtained demonstrate strong internal consistency (.934), and composite reliability (.744-.930), further supporting the reliability of this tool. Conclusions: The CAAASI-Dem-INA is a valid and reliable tool for measuring dementia literacy among older adults in Indonesia. Thus, it represents an important addition to existing dementia literacy assessment tools and may be used to gain a comprehensive understanding of dementia literacy levels in Indonesia. As a tool to help assess and promote improvements in dementia literacy, the CAAASI-Dem-INA can contribute to improving care and support for the growing number of people affected by dementia in Indonesia.

While it has become standard practice to report the reliability of self-report scales, it remains uncommon to do the same for experimental paradigms. To facilitate this practice, we review old and new ways to compute reliability in reaction-time tasks, and we compare their accuracy using a simulation study. Highly inaccurate and negatively biased reliability estimates are obtained through the common practice of averaging sets of trials and submitting them to Cronbach’s alpha. Much more accurate reliability estimates are obtained using split-half reliability methods, especially by computing many random split-half correlations and aggregating them in a metric known as permutation-based split-half reliability. Through reanalysis of existing data and comparison of reliability values reported in the literature, we confirm that Cronbach’s alpha also tends to be lower than split-half reliability in real data. We further establish a set of practices to maximize the accuracy of the permutation-based split-half reliability coefficient through simulations. We find that its accuracy is improved by ensuring each split-half dataset contains an approximately equal number of trials for each stimulus, by correcting the averaged correlation for test length using a modified variant of the Spearman–Brown formula, and by computing a sufficient number of split-half correlations: around 5,400 are needed to obtain a stable estimate for median-based double-difference scores computed from 30 participants and 256 trials. To conclude, we review the available software for computing this coefficient.

Chronic illness requires numerous treatments and self-care is essential in the care process. Evaluation of self-care behaviors facilitates the identification of patients’ needs and optimizes education and care processes. This study aimed to test the psychometric characteristics (validity, reliability, and measurement error) of the Albanian version of the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory (SC-CII). Patients with multiple chronic conditions and caregivers were recruited in outpatient clinics in Albania. The patients completed the SC-CII, which includes three scales: self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring, and self-care management. Factorial validity was tested for each scale, with confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was evaluated with the composite coefficient, Cronbach’s alpha, and the global reliability index for multidimensional scales. The construct validity was tested using hypothesis testing and known differences between groups. The measurement error was tested to assess responsiveness to changes. The self-care maintenance and self-care monitoring scales showed a unidimensional factorial structure, while the self-care management scale showed a bidimensional structure. Reliability estimates were adequate for all reliability coefficients. Construct validity was supported. The measurement error was adequate. The Albanian version of the SC-CII shows good psychometric properties in the Albanian sample.