Personality characteristics of drug addicts and alcoholics on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

The Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) was administered to 106 alcoholics and 100 addicts in separate VA inpatient rehabilitation treatment programs. The alcoholics scored higher on the personality style scales of Avoidant, Passive-Aggressive, Schizotypal, Borderline and Paranoid, while the opiate addicts scored higher on the Narcissistic personality disorder scale. Separate cluster analyses for both groups further revealed common personality styles among both groups. Several MCMI scales showed significant correlations with age, but in no case were the effects attributed to age larger than 5% of the total variance. The MCMI may alert clinicians to subtle similarities and differences between and among alcoholics and opiate addicts.     

Measures of concurrent validity and alternate-form reliability of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence

The subjects, 60 undergraduate students, were administered the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI) individually. The Shipley Institute of Living Scale was administered in small groups. A Pearson correlation of .56 was obtained for TONI Quotients, Forms A and B. TONI Quotients, Forms A and B, correlated with Shipley estimated WAIS--R IQ .50 and .46, respectively, and correlated to .71 and .64, with Shipley Total T scores, .52 and .44, respectively (corrected to .71 and .61), with Shipley Abstraction T scores, .51 and .42, respectively (corrected, .63 and .52), and with Shipley Vocabulary T scores .26 and .32, respectively (corrected to .63 and .52). TONI scores seem more closely related to Shipley Total and Abstraction scores than to Shipley Vocabulary.     

Developmental changes in death anxiety in childhood

A sample of 49 children divided into three age groups (3–4 years, 7–8 years, and 10–11 years) responded to a pictorial derivation of Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). Three pictures were used as stimuli, in addition to words, for the measure of death anxiety. The intensity measure was the response to six Hebrew mood adjectives as the child chose one of seven schematic face drawings ranging from positive to negative expressions. Reliabilities were comporable to the longer versions of the Hebrew STAIC with older children. Findings indicated significant differences in anxiety scores between the age groups, with older subjects showing higher levels of anxiety. The advantage of a single measure of death anxiety appropriate for a wide age range is discussed, as well as the implication for a developmental pattern of death anxiety.     

Measuring the personality of Chinese: QZPS versus NEO PI-R

The response patterns of Chinese subjects to the items and facets of NEO Personality Inventory Revised (NEO PI-R) were investigated. The Big Five-factor structure underlying this instrument was not found, while a seven-factor structure, more recently proposed to represent the Chinese personality, emerged. A cross-cultural strategy was adopted to analyze these results and mechanisms through which culture influences personality, behavioral categories and specific behaviors were proposed. The results showed that the Big Seven model of Chinese personality was stable and Western personality questionnaires could not accurately measure the personality characteristics of the Chinese.     

Personality attributes of ultramarathoners

The Self-Motivation Inventory (SMI) and four subscales from the Philosophies of Human Nature were given to 50 male ultramarathoners who were matched for age and sex with runners who had never raced any distance longer than 10 miles, and with a group of nonrunners. No significant personality differences were obtained among the three groups. Experienced ultramarathoners were Significantly. more skeptical about the goodness of human nature than inexperienced ones.     

Cross-sectional studies of personality in a national sample: 1. Development and validation of survey measures

Short scales were developed to measure three broad dimensions of personality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) Epidemiologic Followup Study. Items to measure neuroticism were selected rationally from the General Well-Being Schedule, and items to measure extraversion and openness to experience were selected by multiple regression from the NEO Personality Inventory. In a sample of 654 men and women from the Augmented Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, all three short scales showed clear evidence of convergent and discriminant validity against full scales in self-reports, and against peer and spouse ratings. Because they were developed and validated on a sample with a comparable age range, the NHANES scales should be useful in examining age trends in these three personality dimensions in a national sample.     

Changes in dynamic balance control over time in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

The aim of this study was to examine differences in underlying adaptations of dynamic balance in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) during a Wii Fit game and to measure changes over time and after intervention.Twenty-eight children with DCD and 21 typically developing (TD) children participated in the study. Analyses of force plate variables showed that the TD group initially used a longer path length for the ski slope descent and tended toward more variation in Center of Pressure (CoP) displacement in lateral direction than the children with DCD. In contrast, the TD group showed a trend of fewer reversals per cm in both AP and lateral direction. After the nonintervention period, the TD group improved performance by decreasing the path length, while the DCD group improved by increasing the path length and by decreasing the number of reversals. After intervention, no changes were found in sway characteristics. Individual analyses within the DCD group showed that the path length per run fell more often within the 95% confidence Interval of the faultless runs. In conclusion both TD and DCD children modify the underlying kinetics of dynamic balance control, but in different ways and both lead to better performance.     

Normative and Maladaptive Personality Trait Models of Mood,Psychotic, and Substance Use Disorders

The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) is a questionnaire developed to assess the five domains represented in the alternative model for personality disorders proposed in Section III of the DSM-5. This study examined the ability of the PID-5 to distinguish between different mental disorders compared to a questionnaire measure of the five-factor model (FFM) of normative personality. The study included the administration of the PID-5 and Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), a measure of the FFM, to treatment-seeking individuals with Depressive, Bipolar, Psychotic, and Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). Diagnostic groups were compared at the domain level of PID-5 and NEO PI-R, with sex and age as covariates. The main findings on the PID-5 included higher Detachment scores for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders than Psychotic and AUDs, lower Psychoticism/higher Disinhibition scores for the AUD group compared to all other groups, and lower Negative Affect for the Psychotic Disorders versus AUD group. On the NEO PI-R, the AUD diagnostic group was associated with lower Conscientiousness and Agreeableness scores compared to all other groups, and lower Neuroticism scores than the Bipolar and Depressive groups. Group pairwise comparisons did not appear to show many differences between the PID-5 and NEO PI-R. The results suggest that the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders may have clinical utility in distinguishing personality profiles between diagnostic groups. These findings emphasize the importance of additional research on the capacity of maladaptive personality to contribute to the assessment of differential diagnoses.     

Personality Disorders in Older Adult Inpatients with Chronic Mental Illness

It has been hypothesized that some types of personality disorders tend to remit with age whereas others may become more prominent. The present study determined the prevalence and nature of 13 personality disorders with a self-report inventory (Coolidge Axis II Inventory) in an older group of chronically mentally ill inpatients (N = 30, mean age = 63 years) and a younger group of similar patients (N = 30, mean age = 39 years). All patients met DSM-IV criteria for either Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, or recurrent severe Major Depression with psychotic features. The prevalence rate of personality disorders was high for both groups: 58% for the older sample and 66% for the younger group. The younger group was more likely to be diagnosed Antisocial, Borderline, Passive-Aggressive, Sadistic, and Schizotypal, but the groups were not different in the rates of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This study supports the hypothesis that some personality disorders remit with age. However, no evidence was found to suggest that other personality disorders become more prominent in older adult psychiatric populations. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

Incremental validity of the typical intellectual engagement scale as predictor of different academic performance measures

The incremental validity of the Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) scale (Goff & Ackerman, 1992) as a predictor of academic performance (AP) was tested over and above other established determinants of AP, namely, psychometric g (as extracted from 5 cognitive ability tests) and the Big Five personality traits, assessed by the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992). One hundred four British students were tested on arrival to university, and AP measures were collected longitudinally throughout a 3-year period. TIE, g, and Conscientiousness were the highest correlates of AP. A series of multiple-hierarchical regressions showed that TIE had significant incremental validity (over and above g and the Big Five) in the prediction of AP. Implications are discussed in light of the investment theory of intellectual competence and the utility of self-report inventories as predictors of academic achievement.     

Narrative and Paradigmatic Thinking Styles in Creative Writing and Journalism Students

How do creative writing students and journalists differ in their thinking styles? To investigate this question, 81 undergraduate participants (41 creative writing students and 40 student journalists) were asked to write sentences in response to a series of photographs. Their responses were then scored according Bruner's theory of Narrative and Paradigmatic thought. In addition, these students were assessed on the NEO Personality Inventory — Revised (Costa & McRae, 1992) to measure personality, the Work Preference Inventory, College Student Version (Amabile, 1995) to measure motivation, and the Mental Self‐Government Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1991) to measure a different theory of thinking styles. As hypothesized, creative writers scored significantly higher than journalists on Narrative thought, but an interaction occurred on Paradigmatic thought. Male journalists significantly outscored male creative writers, but a non‐significant trend in the opposite direction was observed for females; these results stayed significant when personality and motivation factors were controlled.     

什么是“中国人”的个性？——《中国人个性测量表CPAI-2》的分组差异

《中国人个性测量表CPAI-2》是一套本土化发展而成的个性量表,涵盖包括中国文化独有以及在大多数文化共有的性格维度。该文认为结合文化特定与文化共通的研究方法能全面地反映心理现实,亦能加深我们对跨文化心理学的理解。该研究分析了CPAI-2常模的几个子组别,以展示在同一文化之内,性格特质的差异及连续性。性别及年龄组别间的平均分差异均符合相应的社化过程及人生发展阶段所预期的结果。而中国香港及中国不同地区在平均分的差异上则没有特定的模式。文化内及跨文化的差异展示了个人性格差异的连续性,以及文化特定与文化共通概念的相互关系。     

Early temperamental and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality

Emerging research on psychopathy in children and adolescents raises the question of whether indicators, such as temperament or psychophysiology, exist very early in life in those with a psychopathic-like personality in adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals who are more psychopathic in adulthood would be less fearful and inhibited and more stimulation seeking/sociable at age 3 and that they would also show reduced age 3 skin-conductance (SC) responsivity. In a community sample of 335 3-year-olds, behavioral measures of temperament were taken and electrodermal activity was recorded in response to both orienting and aversive tones. R. D. Hare's (1985) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II) was administered at follow-up at age 28. Individuals scoring higher on the measure were significantly less fearful and inhibited, were more sociable, and displayed longer SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli compared with controls at age 3. Contrary to predictions, they also showed increased autonomic arousal and SC orienting. Findings appear to be the first to suggest that a prospective link may exist between temperament and psychophysiology in very young children and psychopathic personality in adulthood.     

Rorschach correlates of state and trait anxiety in college students

This study was done to determine whether Elizur's anxiety scoring (AL) for Rorschach content was correlated to scores on Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The definition of anxiety presented by Elizur implies that his technique measures anxiety as a long-term, relatively stable personality characteristic rather than a transitory emotional state, but no research has shown whether AL was correlated with state and/or trait anxiety as defined and measured by Spielberger. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered in small groups to 40 college students with a repeated measure of STAI State-anxiety and the Rorschach given individually following a delay of at least five days. Analysis indicated that the STAI Trait-anxiety measure correlated significantly with AL. Test-retest correlations for STAI State-anxiety measures and STAI State- and Trait-anxiety measures obtained in the same testing session were significant. State-anxiety scores obtained just prior to Rorschach testing were related to STAI Trait-anxiety scores and initial STAI State-anxiety scores correlated with AL.     

Mexican- and Anglo-American differences on the psychological screening inventory

This study investigated differences between Mexican- and Anglo-American college students on the Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI; Lanyon, 1970, 1973)-a brief personality instrument designed to detect persons who might benefit from more extensive evaluations in mental health settings. Further, this study controlled for the Mexican Americans' acculturation level, age, and socioeconomic status (SES), as these variables have routinely been shown to covary with other psychosocial variables. From data on 107 Mexican-American and 105 Anglo-American college students, we found that Mexican-American subjects had higher PSI scores on the Alienation and Defensiveness subscales and lower scores on the Social Nonconformity and Expression subscales than did Anglo-American subjects. With acculturation covaried, however, these differences were no longer statistically significant. With age and SES covaried, the two ethnic groups differed on Alienation, Expression, and Defensiveness, suggesting that Mexican Americans' performance on the PSI varies as a function of acculturation, age, and SES. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The relationship between personality, approach to learning and academic performance

This study considers the relationship between students' approaches to learning, as measured by a short-form of Entwistle and Tait's (1995) Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI), the Big Five personality factors, as measured by Cattell's 16PFi, and the background variables of age, gender and prior educational achievement and academic performance. Subjects were 146 social science undergraduate students at a university in Scotland. Structural equation modelling identifies the Big Five personality factor scores account for between 22.7% and 43.6% of the variance across scores on the three approach to learning dimensions. Four of the Big Five personality factors and the three approach to learning dimensions were found to be poor predictors of academic performance. A linear regression analysis with academic performance as the dependent variable and age, prior educational attainment and conscientiousness as independent variables, accounted for 24.1% of the variance in performance. Our investigation suggests approach to learning is a subset of personality. However, we conclude it makes sense to measure these two groups of variables separately in educational settings.     

Predictors of self-reported prospective and retrospective memory in a population-based sample of older adults

In this article, the authors examined predictors of self-reported everyday memory failures using the Prospective and Retrospective Questionnaire (PRMQ; Smith, Della Sala, Logie, & Maylor, 2000) in a population-based sample of older adults (age range = 60-90 years; N = 250). The results showed that a higher frequency of reported failures was associated with lower scores on the personality dimension of self-directedness as assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Dragan, Svrakic, & Przybeck, 1993) and more depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). However, PRMQ scores showed no relationships with objective memory ability, as reflected by a series of retrospective memory measures and a measure of prospective memory. Neither were the PRMQ scales associated with general cognitive functioning as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1977). Taken together, the results indicate that within the older population, self-reported memory as assessed by the PRMQ may reflect mood-state and personality factors rather than individual differences in memory and cognitive ability.     

Attention,extraversion, and stimulus—personality congruence

In this study Ss classified as extraverts, ambiverts or introverts on the Maudsley Personality Inventory looked at photographs rated as extravert, ambivert, or introvert for as long as they wished. It was hypothesized that there would be a tendency for Ss to look relatively longer at pictures congruent with their personality characteristic. Support for this hypothesis was found in a significant picture by personality interaction. Extraverts clearly looked longer at extravert pictures and introverts showed a very s light preference for introvert pictures. Ambivert pictures were looked at the longest by all groups. This high looking time for ambivert pictures and the small difference between the looking time at extravert and introvert pictures by introvert Ss is explained in terms of greater complexity of the ambivert and extravert pictures used in this experiment.     

Attention,extraversion, and stimulus-personality congruence

In this study Ss classified as extraverts, ambiverts or introverts on the Maudsley Personality Inventory looked at photographs rated as extravert, ambivert, or introvert for as long as they wished. It was hypothesized that there would be a tendency for Ss to look relatively longer at pictures congruent with their personality characteristic. Support for this hypothesis was found in a significant picture by personality interaction. Extraverts clearly looked longer at extravert pictures and introverts showed a very slight preference for introvert pictures. Ambivert pictures were looked at the longest by all groups. This high looking time for ambivert pictures and the small difference between the looking time at extravert and introvert pictures by introvert Ss is explained in terms of greater complexity of the ambivert and extravert pictures used in this experiment.     

The Effect of Anxiety on the Cognitive Functioning in Non-clinical Schizotypal Individuals

Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is characterized by eccentric behavior and perceptual distortions that closely resemble the patterns observed in those with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia and related personality disorders (i.e., SPD) are associated with deficits in sustained attention, slower than normal reaction times, and manifestations of working memory deficits and erratic cognitive tasks. The present study used the schizotypal personality scale (STA) to compare cognitive abilities of self-reported low schizotypic tendency subjects with high schizotypic tendency subjects. The group scores on the STA differed significantly. Those with high STA scores also tended to have higher state and trait anxiety scores based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The groups did not significantly differ on any of the demographic variables tested, including age, education, self-rated health status, and medication. Along with an executive function test, two computerized tasks tested subjects on reaction time and memory. Even when covariates (i.e., state, trait anxiety scores) were analyzed, there were no significant differences between the groups and tasks, although the gathered data showed trends in the expected direction.