A LATENT STATE-TRAIT MODEL FOR ORDERED VA RIABLES AND ITS APPLICATIONTO ANALYZE THE VARIABILITY-SENSITIVITY OF ITEMS FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF MOOD

Following a discussion of the concepts of variability-sensitivity and change-sensitivity and an overview of some methods for estimating them , the basic assumptions of a late nt state-trait model for Variables w ith ordered categories are described. An application of the model is t hen presented, aimed at estimating the variability-sensitivity of the items of the ''Multidimensionaler Befindlichkeitsfragebogen'' (MDBF, M ultidimensional Mood Questionnaire). The results (longitudinal analysi s across four test sessions and 503 subjects) show that the items of t he MDBF are suitable for the measurement of variable mood states: The coefficients of variability-sensitivity are between 0.173 and 0.861. F inally, the results are discussed with regard to their implications fo r the measurement of mood.