To Collapse or not to Collapse Multiple Measures of the Same Psychological Construct: A Demonstration Across 14 Independent Studies of Autistic and Non-Autistic Children.
14 affiliations
- 1Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2716 South Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19146, USA.
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Maryland-College Park, College Park, MD, USA.
- 3Department of Radiology, Diffusion and Connectomics in Precision Healthcare Research Lab, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- 4Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- 5Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- 6Department of Radiology, Program in Advanced Imaging Research and Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- 7Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA, USA.
- 8Occupational Therapy Program in the Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
- 9Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
- 10Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA.
- 11Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2716 South Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19146, USA. [email protected].
- 12Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA. [email protected].
- 13Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. [email protected].
- 14Advancing Transition and Learning for Adult Success Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia, USA. [email protected].
Abstract
Large data repositories provide a valuable opportunity to combine multiple independent studies, creating large samples that can address questions not achievable within a single study. However, independent studies often use different instruments to measure the same behavior or psychological construct, such as cognitive ability, social functioning, or psychopathology. Investigators often combine samples that include different instruments under the assumption that instruments assessing the same construct capture the same underlying phenomenon. Yet this assumption of instrument interchangeability may be wrong. Collapsing different instruments into a single variable could introduce bias. Here, we established a quantitative method to demonstrate compatibility among multiple instruments with moderation analyses. We illustrate this method in domains of cognitive ability, anxiety symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms as exemplars that might interact with outcomes of interest (autistic features instruments). A total of 1,352 participants were included from autistic and non-autistic samples across 14 independent studies. Our findings suggest that within this sample, some commonly used instruments within a domain can be acceptably combined, whereas others demonstrate discrepant relationships with outcomes of interest. More importantly, we offer a generalizable approach for scientists seeking to leverage existing datasets for secondary analyses.
Related
- Assessing psychological, neural and AI-based representational geometries across multiple similarity properties
- OpenAntigens: a structure-aware database for antigen construct design across the human cell-surface and secreted proteome
- Exploiting RAG1-deficient chickens to construct a single-cell transcriptional atlas of chicken heterophils during inflammation
- Maize recruits beneficial microorganisms via rhizosphere metabolites as signals to construct a functional network for saline–alkaline stress resistance
- The demonstration of a single origin for nodule evolution, with nodule engineering in a non-nodulating species
BibTeX
@article{reckner2026collapse,
title = {{To Collapse or not to Collapse Multiple Measures of the Same Psychological Construct: A Demonstration Across 14 Independent Studies of Autistic and Non-Autistic Children.}},
author = {Erin Reckner and Naveen Thourani and Drew Parker and John D Herrington and Timothy P L Roberts and Robert T Schultz and Brittany G Travers and Chandan J Vaidya and Ragini Verma and Birkan Tunç and Benjamin E Yerys},
journal = {Research on child and adolescent psychopathology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s10802-026-01512-4},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42873411},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - To Collapse or not to Collapse Multiple Measures of the Same Psychological Construct: A Demonstration Across 14 Independent Studies of Autistic and Non-Autistic Children.
AU - Erin Reckner
AU - Naveen Thourani
AU - Drew Parker
AU - John D Herrington
AU - Timothy P L Roberts
AU - Robert T Schultz
AU - Brittany G Travers
AU - Chandan J Vaidya
AU - Ragini Verma
AU - Birkan Tunç
AU - Benjamin E Yerys
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Research on child and adolescent psychopathology
DO - 10.1007/s10802-026-01512-4
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42873411
AB - Large data repositories provide a valuable opportunity to combine multiple independent studies, creating large samples that can address questions not achievable within a single study. However, independent studies often use different instruments to measure the same behavior or psychological construct, such as cognitive ability, social functioning, or psychopathology. Investigators often combine samples that include different instruments under the assumption that instruments assessing the same construct capture the same underlying phenomenon. Yet this assumption of instrument interchangeability may be wrong. Collapsing different instruments into a single variable could introduce bias. Here, we established a quantitative method to demonstrate compatibility among multiple instruments with moderation analyses. We illustrate this method in domains of cognitive ability, anxiety symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms as exemplars that might interact with outcomes of interest (autistic features instruments). A total of 1,352 participants were included from autistic and non-autistic samples across 14 independent studies. Our findings suggest that within this sample, some commonly used instruments within a domain can be acceptably combined, whereas others demonstrate discrepant relationships with outcomes of interest. More importantly, we offer a generalizable approach for scientists seeking to leverage existing datasets for secondary analyses.
SN - 2730-7166
SN - 2730-7174
ER -