A factor analysis of six commonly used instruments associated with suicide using college students

Determined whether six commonly used inventories which are associated with suicide (Hopelessness Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Scale for Suicide Ideation, Reasons for Living Inventory, Suicide Probability Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire) overlap; all six were given to 308 undergraduates. A principal components factor analysis yielded four factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1.00. These four factors were labeled Suicidal/Negative Ideas, Reasons for Living, Self-Doubt, and Suicide Desire. Each scale or subscale had a factor loading of .4 or greater on one factor. Only the Survival and Coping Beliefs subscale of the Reasons for Living Inventory and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire loaded on two factors. Thus, each of these six instruments accounts for unique variance in suicidality. A suicide screening battery that includes all six inventories would take approximately 20 min for college students to complete, and would be valuable in identifying different aspects of suicidality.     

A Factor Analysis of Six Commonly Used Instruments Associated With Suicide Using College Students

Determined whether six commonly used inventories which are associated with suicide (Hopelessness Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Scale for Suicide Ideation, Reasons for Living Inventory, Suicide Probability Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire) overlap; all six were given to 308 undergraduates. A principal components factor analysis yielded four factors with Eigenvalues greater than 1.00. These four factors were labeled Suicidal/Negative Ideas, Reasons for Living, Self-Doubt, and Suicide Desire. Each scale or subscale had a factor loading of .4 or greater on one factor. Only the Survival and Coping Beliefs subscale of the Reasons for Living Inventory and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire loaded on two factors. Thus, each of these six instruments accounts for unique variance in suicidality. A suicide screening battery that includes all six inventories would take approximately 20 min for college students to complete, and would be valuable in identifying different aspects of suicidality.     

Personality characteristics of undergraduates with career interests in forensic identification

The author assessed personality scores for 47 undergraduates enrolled in a forensic identification program. Results revealed no difference between men and women enrolled in the Forensic Identification Program on subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS‐V), with the exception of Experience Seeking. Participants had lower Disinhibition scores when compared with normative data. Women scored higher on the Experience Seeking subscale of the SSS‐V and lower on the Aggression‐Hostility subscale (ZKPQ), and men had elevated scores on the Activity subscale of the ZKPQ when compared with normative findings. These findings provide a primer for greater understanding of undergraduates interested in forensic identification.     

The Reliability of the Dyadic Satisfaction (DS) Subscale in a Low-income Semi-rural South African Community

This study investigated the reliability of the Dyadic Satisfaction (DS) subscale of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) in a South African setting. One-hundred heterosexual, coloured, low-income, semi-rural couples with a mean age of 43.59 years and limited formal education participated in the study. To estimate validity, the DS subscale was correlated with the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS). There appears to be a particularly strong relationship between the DS subscale and the IMS. The DS subscale can be used reliably as a measure of relationship satisfaction in the South African community studied.     

Validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale

The aim of this study was to adapt the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale to the Greek language. The validity and reliability of the scale were examined in three studies with 209, 192, and 147 sixth-grade students, respectively. The subscale structure of the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale was supported through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The hypothesized two main dimensions, Prosocial and Antisocial behavior, were divided into two factors, Cooperating skills and Empathy for Prosocial behavior and Quick-temperedness and Disruptiveness for Antisocial behavior. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were high. Additionally, correlations between each factor and social desirability scores were nonsignificant. The resultant model of the present study is a behavior rating scale that should be considered a reliable choice for assessing Greek middle school students' social skills.     

Determinants and Predictive Value of Clinician Assessment of Short‐Term Suicide Risk

We examine the interrelations among clinicians' judgment of patients' suicide risk, clinicians' emotional responses, and standard risk factors in the short‐term prediction of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Psychiatric outpatients (n = 153) with a lifetime history of suicide ideation/attempt and their treating clinicians (n = 67) were evaluated at intake. Clinicians completed a standard suicide risk instrument (modified SAD PERSONS scale), a 10‐point Likert scale assessment of judgment of patient suicide risk (Clinician Prediction Scale), and a measure of their emotional responses to the patient (Therapist Response Questionnaire‐Suicide Form). The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation were administered at a one‐month follow‐up assessment (n = 114, 74.5%). Clinician judgment of risk significantly predicted suicidal thoughts and behaviors at follow‐up. Both the standard suicide risk instrument and clinician emotional responses contributed independently to the clinician assessment of risk, which, in turn, mediated their relationships with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Our findings validate the importance of clinical judgment in assessing suicide risk. Clinical judgment appears to be informed both by concrete risk factors and clinicians' emotional responses to suicidal patients, highlighting emotional awareness as a promising area for research and training.     

Hypermasculinity and academic goal-setting: an exploratory study

The relation between gender-role percepts and academic goal-setting was explored. An inventory examining the aspects of masculinity that would facilitate or inhibit academic goal-setting was developed based on a literature review of how masculinity relates to academic behaviors. A diverse sample of students (120 male, 147 female, 14 not indicating sex) was measured on three aspects of sex and academic goal-setting behavior. Factor analysis confirmed the content validity of masculine factors having facilitative (Mastery Competitiveness) and inhibitory (Antisocial Competitiveness) academic properties. Regression analyses indicated that sex-role orientations (Competitiveness and Hypermasculinity) significantly predicted academic goal-setting behaviors (R2 = .136). Finally, men scored higher than women on the subscales measuring Hypermasculinity and Antisocial or Competitiveness, while there were no sex differences on the Mastery Competitiveness subscale. The implications of these findings and suggestions for research are discussed.     

PTSD Severity and Cognitive Reactions to Trauma Among a College Sample

ABSTRACT

Two hundred twenty-one undergraduate education students were assessed to determine trauma history and cognitive responses to traumatic events. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Cognitive Distortions Scale, and the PTSD Symptom Scale (for those reporting a trauma history). The most common types of traumatic events were domestic violence, natural disasters, and severe transportation accidents. Differences in cognitive distortions of individuals with and without a trauma history also were assessed. Individuals with a trauma history were significantly higher on Preoccupation with Danger and Self-Blame subscales. Number of previous traumatic events and the subscale of Preoccupation of Danger significantly predicted PTSD severity.     

Diminished sense of self-existence and self-reported aggression among Japanese students

This study examined the relationship between a diminished sense of self-existence and self-reported aggression among Japanese undergraduate students. Based on the previous scales, 81 items were developed to measure the diminished sense of self-existence and were assumed to represent three dimensions: self, others, and time. 286 undergraduate students rated themselves on the Diminished Sense of Self-existence Scale and the 1992 Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Analysis indicated that men and women had low scores on Verbal Aggression and high scores on Hostility with the diminished sense of self-existence. The diminished sense of self-existence was not generally related to Anger or Physical Aggression in men, whereas in women, Anger and Physical Aggression were found particularly when the sense of self-existence in relations with others was diminished.     

Using the Personality Assessment Inventory to predict male offenders' conduct during and progression through substance abuse treatment

Prior research has supported the utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007) to predict various negative outcomes among offender samples, yet few studies have specifically examined its association with behavior in treatment. In this study, the PAI was administered to 331 male offenders court ordered into substance abuse treatment. Several theoretically relevant PAI scales (e.g., Antisocial Features, Borderline Features) predicted various forms of problematic conduct (e.g., disruptive behavior, aggression) and subjective and objective ratings of treatment progress. Although there was relatively limited evidence for the superiority of any one predictor over the others, the Aggression (AGG) scale demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond other indicators for general noncompliance and aggressive behavior. Interpersonal scales also predicted select treatment behavior while sharing relatively little common variance with AGG. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing lower order and higher order dimensions on the PAI and other measures.     

Teacher Ratings of Hyperactivity, Inattention, and Conduct Problems in Preschoolers

Age and sex norms of classroom behavior in preschoolers were established on a standard measure, the Revised Conners Teacher Rating Scale, and the utility of this measure for assessing problem behavior in preschoolers was examined. Teachers provided ratings for 455 nonreferred preschoolers. In addition, ratings were obtained for 12 clinically referred preschoolers diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Conduct Problems, Inattention, and Hyperactivity subscales, as well as the Hyperactivity Index, were found to have good internal reliability and were related to each other in predictable ways. Normative data are presented by age and sex. Age was inversely related to scores for the Conduct Problems subscale, the Hyperactivity subscale and the Index. Sex was a significant predictor of subscale scores, with boys receiving higher scores than girls. Subscale scores and nearly all item scores were highly significantly different between clinically referred and nonreferred preschoolers. The results provide a standard upon which to evaluate preschool-aged children in clinical and research settings.     

Attention Network Performance and Psychopathic Symptoms in Early Adolescence: An ERP Study

Reaction time (RT) and event-related potential (ERP) measures were used to examine the relationships between psychopathic symptoms and three major attention networks (alerting, orienting, and executive attention) among a community sample of youth. Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; Frick and Hare 2001) total and subscale scores were negatively correlated with ERP measures of attentional alerting, indicating that youth with psychopathic symptoms had difficulty using warning cues to prepare for upcoming targets. APSD total scores were not related to performance on measures of orienting or executive attention, although weaker executive attention was found among youth with higher scores on the Impulsivity subscale. These findings support attention-based models of psychopathy and provide evidence of specific deficits in attentional alerting among youth with psychopathic traits. Deficiencies in attentional alerting may be related to noradrenergic functioning and may have cascading effects on higher order cognitive and affective processing.     

Examining Proximal Risk Factors for Suicide in a Sample of Mexican Adults in Rehabilitation Centers

The cross‐cultural generalizability of the interpersonal theory of suicide was examined in this study. One hundred ninety‐nine adults in an inpatient setting in Mexico completed the Personal Resources Questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale, and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire‐Revised. Analyses revealed the interaction between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness did not predict suicide ideation. The interactions between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness and between perceived burdensomeness and acquired capacity significantly predicted suicidal behaviors, whereas the hypothesized three‐way interaction did not. These findings highlight the importance of perceived burdensomeness in the development of suicidal behaviors among Mexican‐origin adults.     

Does the revised multiple affect adjective checklist hostility subscale measure hostility?

In an attempt to clarify the nature of the construct measured by the Hostility subscale of Zuckerman and Lubin's [(1985): Educational and Industrial Testing Service] revised Multiple Affective Adjective Checklist (MAACL‐R), 104 undergraduates completed the MAACL‐R and the Aggression Questionnaire [Buss AH, Perry M. 1992. J Pers Soc Psychol 63:452–459]. Scores on the MAACL‐R Hostility subscale were found to be related to the Aggression Questionnaire subscales of Physical and Verbal Aggressiveness but not its Hostility subscale. It is concluded that although the MAACL‐R reflects some aspect(s) of aggressiveness, it may not be the best instrument for the measurement of hostility. Aggr. Behav. 25:179–184, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Comparison of two aggression inventories

Two recently developed questionnaire measures of aggression, the Aggression Questionnaire [Buss and Perry (1992; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63:452–459]; and the Aggression Inventory [Gladue (1991a); Psychological Reports 68:675–684], were administered to a British sample (N=320) of men and women undergraduates. Both questionnaires contain subscales measuring physical and verbal aggression; the other scales of the Aggression Questionnaire measure anger and hostility, and those of the Aggression Inventory measure impulsiveness and avoidance of aggression. The factor structure of scales were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. The interrelations of the subscales were calculated in both cases: anger was independently related to verbal and physical aggression and to hostility on the Aggression Questionnaire; impulsivity, and verbal and physical aggression were associated on the Aggression Inventory. Sex differences were largest on the two physical subscales, of lesser magnitude but still significantly different for the two verbal subscales, but absent for anger and hostility. This supports the hypothesis that sex differences in aggression are larger for more escalated forms of aggression. The physical and verbal subscales of the two questionnaires were each highly correlated with one another and the impulsive subscale of the Aggression Inventory highly correlated with the anger subscale of the Aggresion Questionnaire. Thus, two aggression questionnaires developed in the US not only produce similar associations between subscales and sex differences among a British undergraduate sample, but also show high correlations between their respective scales. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Individual differences in embarrassment: Self-consciousness,self-monitoring and embarrassibility

Embarrassment has been conceptualized as a self-presentational difficulty resulting from a concern with our observable behaviour and a desire to conform and to please others. Thus, individuals particularly concerned with these aspects of their behaviour (i.e. publicly self-conscious and other-directed) are likely to be particularly susceptible to embarrassment. This experiment was designed to investigate this possibility. The Self-consciousness Scale (SCS), Self-monitoring Scale (SMS) and the Embarrassibility Scale (ES) were administered to over 100 Ss. The factor structures obtained in the present study were compared with those obtained in previous studies and revealed an almost exact correspondence for the SCS, a close correspondence for the SMS and little correspondence for the ES. There was a predicted significant positive correlation between the ES and the Public Self-consciousness subscale of the SCS (i.e. a concern for observable behaviour) and the Other-directedness subscale of the SMS (i.e. a desire to conform and please others). Two aspects of the results are discussed: the possibility that the ES is unidimensional and implications of individual differences in the process of embarrassment for investigating coping strategies.     

Post-stroke depression: Main phenomenological clusters and their relationships with clinical measures

Objectives: To investigate the principal psychopathological dimensions of post-stroke depression (PSD) through the assessment of the factorial structure of the Post-Stroke Depression Rating Scale (PSDRS). Methods: We enrolled ninety-eight subjects with PSD, who underwent the PSDRS, MMSE and Barthel Index. Information about demographic, clinical, and neuroanatomical factors was collected. Results: The factor analysis extracted three factors accounting for 63.4% of the total variance, and identified as: 1) "Depressive and Anxious Symptoms" (DAS); 2) "Lack of Emotional Control" (LEC); 3) "Reduced Motivation" (RM). On multivariate statistics, DAS severity was predicted by previous history of mood disorders and Barthel Index; LEC severity was predicted by Barthel Index; RM severity was predicted by age. Conclusions: The PSDRS displayed a reliable factor structure that agreed with previous interpretation of PSD. In particular, core depressive symptoms seem to be related to premorbid personality and functional status, whereas apathy/anhedonia may be connected to brain aging.     

Boredom proneness and sleep disorders as predictors of adult attention deficit scores

This study examined the extent to which boredom proneness and sleep disturbances were related to attention deficit scores in college-aged adults. In a sample of 148 college students, Attention scores on the Adult Behavior Checklist were best predicted by Boredom Proneness (BP) subscale scores, which assess one's inability to maintain internal stimulation and feelings of constraint, and scores on the Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Athens Insomnia Scale (R2 = .57). Hyperactivity scores were best predicted by the BP subscales, which assess one's need for a stimulating environment, the perception of time passing slowly, and feelings of constraint, and the Epworth Scale (R2 = .51). The findings contribute to the understanding of the symptomatology of attention deficit in adults and provide further evidence of the validity of this measure.     

Does Defensiveness Account for the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychosocial Adjustment?

Religiosity has been related to positive psychosocial adjustment across a large number of studies. Some researchers question, however, whether this relationship is an accurate finding, observing that there are many potential confounds that have not been controlled for, such as defensiveness. This study examined whether defensiveness accounted for the relationship between religiosity and psychosocial adjustment. Two samples of religious individuals were assessed on religiosity (Duke University Religion Index), defensiveness (measured using the denial of distress and repressive defensiveness subscales from the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory [WAI]), and psychosocial adjustment (Depression subscale from the WAI, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Sarason Social Support Scale). In both studies it was found that religiosity was related to positive psychosocial adjustment as well as higher levels of defensiveness. Defensiveness, however, did not account for the relationships between religiosity and psychosocial adjustment. These findings add to the research literature by eliminating a potential confound of the relationship between religiosity and psychosocial adjustment.     

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Convergent validity of subscale scores

This study examined the convergent validity of scores from the four subscales in the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale. The differential relation of each subscale to theoretically-related constructs was examined in a sample of 332 graduating university students. The results were as predicted. Career concern related highest to future time perspective; career control related highest to both locus of control and core self-evaluations as well as inversely to neuroticism; career curiosity related highest to proactive personality; and career confidence related highest to generalized self-efficacy. The only relation that was not as predicted involved self-esteem, which was predicted to relate highest to confidence. It related higher to career control (r = .42) and career concern (r = .41).