The factor structure of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised (MAACL-R): Some statistical considerations

In response to Zuckerman's comments on my factor analyses of the MAACL-R, I focus on the statistical issues of the cutoff criterion for factor loadings and the evidence for the discriminant validity of the five-factor solution. Based upon the conclusions I draw in these two areas, I recommend that researchers either (a) use the two factor solution to the MAACL-R represented in the summary scores of Dysphoria and Positive Affect + Sensation Seeking or (b) include all MAACL-R scales in their studies and analyze their data to determine whether it is statistically appropriate to report results from a single scale (A, D, H, PA, or SS) rather than from the summary scores.     

Broad or narrow affect scores for the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List? Comment on Hunsley's “dimensionality of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised”

Hunsley's paper constitutes the second independent replication of four of the five factors in the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised (MAACL-R), even though he used the trait instead of the state form used to construct the scales and a more stringent factor loading criterion than Zuckerman and Lubin. Hunsley also did a two-factor analysis (positive and negative affects) of the MAACL items and concluded on the basis of the scree test that this was a more optimal solution than the five-factor one. This conclusion is questioned on the basis that the scales were devised to improve discriminant validity of the subscales, which they have done, particularly if standard scores are used. Since four of the five factors are replicable in state and trait versions of the MAACL-R and clinical studies show discriminant validity for the subscales, there is no reason to ignore the components of the two broader affect factors. Such factors can be assessed through use of the two standard summary scores for the MAACL: Dysphoria (A + D + H) and Positive Affect plus Sensation Seeking (PA + SS).     

Reliability and validity of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List - Revised

A recent factor analysis of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) changed the Anxiety, Depression, and Hostility scales from bipolar to unipolar scales and added two new scales: Positive Affect and Sensation Seeking. Internal reliability of the MAACL-R scales, computed for normal and patient samples, was adequate for state and trait forms except for Sensation Seeking. Test-retest reliability in college students was higher for the trait form with retest intervals of from 2 to 8 weeks than for the state form with retest intervals of from 2 to 5 days. The pattern of correlations among self-, peer, and counselor ratings and the MAACL-R scales for normal and patient samples indicates improved discriminant validity and equally good convergent validity as the old scales. The use of standard scores that are indexed to the number of items checked reduced scale intercorrelations by controlling the acquiescence set.The financial support of the Weldon Springs Endowment Fund, University of Missouri at Kansas City, toward the completion of this research project is gratefully acknowledged.     

The structure and reliability of the teacher temperament questionnaire

The Teacher Temperament Questionnaire is a recently developed instrument designed for personality assessment with preschool and early school children. The present study employed a sample of 116 in order to study the reliability and structure of the TTQ. A principal-components analysis yielded four well-defined components, which were labeled Compliance, Extraversion, Interpersonal Affect, and Environmental Sensitivity. These results did not support the theoretical scales. The component patterns were well defined and stable across the two administrations of the inventory. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients were determined for each of the four new scales. A second administration involving only items from the first three components provided a partial replication.An initial version of this paper was presented at the Northeastern Educational Research Association Meeting, Ellenville, New York, October 1979.     

Discriminant validity of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List - revised

Four groups of patients (depressives, schizophrenics, substance dependents and abusers), a miscellaneous group of other patients, and a group of matched normals from a general population sample were compared on the scales of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List - Revised (MAACL-R). All scales showed highly significant differentiation among the groups. An index consisting of Depression minus Positive Affect scales was particularly effective in discriminating between depressive and other groups. A discriminant function analysis showed that the depressive could be distinguished from other patient groups and normals with an accuracy of 72% correct. The normals could be distinguished from all of the patient groups with a 60% accuracy, and 87% if the substance abuser group is ignored. The discriminant validity among the nondepressive patient groups was not nearly as good.     

Evidence for a third factor on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule in a college student sample

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was originally developed to measure two orthogonal dimensions of affect. The present study examined the factor structure of the PANAS in a sample of 302 undergraduates. maximum Likelihood factor analysis was used to compare two- and three-factor solutions to self-rated affect. The two-factor solution resulted in confirmation of the two factors of Positive and Negative Affect hypothesized to underlie the schedule. When, however, a three-factor solution was specified, the Positive Affect factor was retained, while the Negative Affect factor split into two lower-order factors generally consistent with the Upset and Afraid factors described by Mehrabian in 1997. These findings highlight the need for research to consider the possible influence of a third affective dimension, such as Dominance-Submissiveness on self-rated affective experience.     

Assessment of Affect Integration: Validation of the Affect Consciousness Construct

Affect integration, or the capacity to utilize the motivational and signal properties of affect for personal adjustment, is assumed to be an important aspect of psychological health and functioning. Affect integration has been operationalized through the affect consciousness (AC) construct as degrees of awareness, tolerance, nonverbal expression, and conceptual expression of nine discrete affects. A semistructured Affect Consciousness Interview (ACI) and separate Affect Consciousness Scales (ACSs) have been developed to specifically assess these aspects of affect integration. This study explored the construct validity of AC in a Norwegian clinical sample including estimates of reliability and assessment of structure by factor analyses. External validity issues were addressed by examining the relationships between scores on the ACSs and self-rated symptom- and interpersonal problem measures as well as independent, observer-based ratings of personality disorder criteria and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994).     

Psychological distress: A hierarchical factor model of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL)

Recent investigations of the structure of psychological distress have indicated that hierarchical models can accommodate both unitary and multifaceted conceptions of distress. The present study tested the hierarchical framework suggested by Zuckerman, Lubin, and Rinck (1983) for the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL), a commonly used measure of psychological distress. One- and two-factor models were estimated using maximum-likelihood methods. Results indicated that the two-factor solution, with correlated positive and negative affect factors, provided a significantly better fit to the data than did the omnibus one-factor solution. These results provide further support for hierarchical models of distress.     

The Relationship Between a Hierarchical Transdiagnostic Model of Vulnerability Factors and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters

The latent structure of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomology is the subject of ongoing deliberation. The cognitive vulnerabilities of Negative Affect, Anxiety Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty have been shown to explain symptoms clusters in multiple anxiety and mood disorders, and may be able to offer further insight to explain PTSD symptomology. Using structural equation modelling, this study examines whether a hierarchical model consisting of the general cognitive factor of Negative Affect and the transdiagnostic risk factors of Anxiety Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty can explain variability among PTSD symptom clusters as defined by the DSM-5 and/or Dysphoria models of PTSD. Anxiety Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty were tested as mid-level factors between Negative Affect and the PTSD symptom constructs. The hierarchical model fit the data well in both the DSM-5 and Dysphoria models. Negative Affect consistently showed significant direct effects on each symptoms cluster in both models. Anxiety Sensitivity served as a significant mediator of Negative Affect for several symptom clusters in both models. Intolerance of Uncertainty was non-significant either as a direct effect or as a mediator of Negative Affect in all analyses. This study demonstrates how the hierarchical model of Negative Affect, Anxiety Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty may fit upon multiple PTSD symptom constructs and offers new directions for conceptualizing this disorder.

     

The structure of women's mood in the early postpartum

The "postpartum blues" is a mild, predictable mood disturbance occurring within the first several days following childbirth. Previous analyses of the "blues" symptom structure yielded inconclusive findings, making reliable assessment a significant methodological limitation. The current study aimed to explicate the symptom structure of women's mood following childbirth, and to examine psychometric properties of the Daily Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), an adapted version of the Kennerley Blues Questionnaire that included additional items from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Mothers who recently delivered (N = 216) were recruited from a university hospital and asked to complete mood ratings on six consecutive days using the DEQ. Exploratory factor analysis yielded an interpretable two-factor solution identified as Negative Affect and Positive Affect. Scale reliability indices were excellent, with a high level of agreement in factor structure over time. This two-factor model provides reliable assessment of women's mood in the early postpartum, informing the study of reproductive-related mood disorders.     

Initial development of a brief measure of psychological distress

This paper addresses the preliminary development, construct validity, and psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of psychological distress. 40 items were originally generated by doctoral level psychologists for use in the preliminary clinical sample. Inpatients from a psychiatric unit (N = 125) completed the items, and a principal-components analysis with a direct oblimin rotation was used to evaluate construct validity. The study indicated a four-factor solution, using the constructs of Depression, Hopelessness, Anxiety, and Anger, with good estimates of reliability. After evaluation of factor structure, item analyses, and reliability estimates, a redacted 19-item scale was identified.     

Dynamics of the general factor of personality in response to a single dose of caffeine

General Factor of Personality (GFP) research is an emergent field in personality research. This paper uses a theoretical mathematical model to predict the short-term effects of a dose of a stimulant drug on GFP and reports the results of an experiment showing how caffeine achieves this. This study considers the General Factor of Personality Questionnaire (GFPQ) a good psychometric approach to assess GFP. The GFP dynamic mechanism of change is based on the Unique Trait Personality Theory (UTPT). This theory proposes the existence of GFP which occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality, and extends from an impulsiveness-and-aggressiveness pole (approach tendency) to an anxiety-and-introversion pole (avoidance tendency). An experiment with 25 volunteers was performed. All the participants completed the GFPQ and the Sensation-Seeking Scale list of adjectives from the trait version of MAACL-R (Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist Revised) on an empty stomach. The participants in the experimental group (20) received 330 mg of caffeine. All the participants filled in a state version form with the sensation-seeking adjectives every 4.5 minutes. This study considers that the Sensation-Seeking Scale list of adjectives from the MAACL-R, available in both trait and state versions, is a good psychometric approach to assess GFP. The results show that GFP is modified by a single dose of caffeine in the direction predicted by the UTPT.     

Examining the Factor Structure and Structural Invariance of the PANAS Across Children,Adolescents, and Young Adults

It is unclear what factor structure best represents the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) from childhood to adulthood. The PANAS structure was examined in a sample of 555 children (M age = 11.66, SD = 1.24), 608 adolescents (M age = 15.45, SD = 1.09), and 553 young adults (M age = 18.75, SD = 1.00). A partially invariant model consisting of Positive Affect, Fear, and Distress factors best represented the PANAS across all age groups, indicating that the underlying constructs are the same across age but that the factors become increasingly interrelated with increasing age.     

Factor validation of the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: evidence for a short version

The author examined the factor structure of the 12-item Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale (A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & S. Edwards, 1994) among 664 undergraduate university students enrolled in human development courses. A principal-components factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded 2 factors. The author used confirmatory factor analysis procedures to examine the fit of 4 models, according to the principal-components factor analysis findings, with the observed covariance. The author used a number of fit indices to compare the 4 models. Both sets of analysis provided the greatest support for an 8-item short version of the CFC Scale. The author discussed findings in regard to the CFC Scale as an instrument to measure future time perspective.     

Factor analytic evaluation of differences between black and caucasian emotionally disturbed children on the children's depression inventory

Scores on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) for 392 Caucasian and 159 black psychiatric inpatients between 6 and 18 years of age were subjected to principal-components factor extraction with Varimax rotation. Factors not contributing to variance were eliminated using the scree test (Cattell, 1966) and the degree of variance accounted for by remaining factors for both groups was examined through respective squared multiple correlations. A comparison of CDI factors for blacks and Caucasians indicated some differences, with blacks be ing less suicidal yet higher on other behavioral dimensions, such as oppositionality, and Caucasians higher on affective dimensions, such as sadness. The results support research on black-Caucasian differences and suggest the need to validate further the CDI with minority populations.     

Analytic rotation to a functional relationship

It is suggested that a number of theoretical models for non-test data can be tested by factor analysis. A traditional method for transforming principal-axis factor solutions is used as an aid in making such tests; a modification of this method is suggested. Means of using all of the information in a model for the purpose of determining the transformation of the arbitrary factor solution are presented, and an illustrative example is given.The author is indebted to Dr. Ledyard R Tucker for many valuable comments and suggestions.     

Measuring cancer patients' psychological distress and well-being: a factor analytic assessment of the Mental Health Inventory

This study examined the psychometric structure of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI) in 433 cancer patients. Using structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted. Next, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to explore an alternative MHI factor structure with a randomly chosen subsample. Finally, CFAs were conducted on 6 MHI models with the second subsample. Convergent validity was examined by administering the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). The CFAs with the original MHI factor structure indicated inadequate fit, supporting the need to conduct an EFA. Results of the EFA indicated support for a 5-factor solution but numerous differences in item factor loadings. The CFA indicated that the 5-factor correlated model was the best fitting model. Correlations between the PANAS and the DAS with the MHI provided preliminary support for the convergent validity of the MHI. Together, these results indicate that the original MHI factor structure may require modification for use in patients with cancer.     

Gender differences in negative affect and well-being: the case for emotional intensity

Affect intensity (AI) may reconcile 2 seemingly paradoxical findings: Women report more negative affect than men but equal happiness as men. AI describes people's varying response intensity to identical emotional stimuli. A college sample of 66 women and 34 men was assessed on both positive and negative affect using 4 measurement methods: self-report, peer report, daily report, and memory performance. A principal-components analysis revealed an affect balance component and an AI component. Multimeasure affect balance and AI scores were created, and t tests were computed that showed women to be as happy as and more intense than men. Gender accounted for less than 1% of the variance in happiness but over 13% in AI. Thus, depression findings of more negative affect in women do not conflict with well-being findings of equal happiness across gender. Generally, women's more intense positive emotions balance their higher negative affect.     

Exploratory factor analysis of the Human Behavior Rating Scale: a rural population

The construct validity of Eaves' Human Behavior Rating Scale (HBRS) was investigated. The HBRS is a scale with 91 Likert-type items designed to measure five factors: arousal (persistence and curiosity), affect (externalizing and internalizing), and cognition. Forty-four teachers of Grades 6, 7, and 8 from two low socioeconomic and rural southern counties completed the HBRS for 320 of their students. Three parcels were submitted for analysis for each of the five dimensions. A five-factor, then a two-factor, solution were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. A principal-axis factor analysis was employed and an oblique promax rotation was applied. The results supported the five-factor solution with 90.2% of the total variance accounted for when compared to the two-factor solution which recovered 73.4% of the total variance. Intercorrelations between factors ranged from .15 to .76 for the five-factor solution.     

Validation of the acculturative stress inventory for children

The psychometric properties of the Acculturative Stress Inventory for Children (ASIC) were examined with a sample of 139 Hispanic children. This self-report instrument was studied using the items of the Societal, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental Acculturative Stress Scale for Children (SAFE-C; Chavez, Moran, Reid, & Lopez, 1997), which had face validity for acculturative stress. The psychometric properties of the ASIC were examined by conducting an exploratory principal-axis factor analysis, which yielded a two-factor solution. The first factor includes 8 items assessing perceived discrimination and the 4 items of the second factor measure immigration-related experiences. Evidence of internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the 2 factors and the total scale were found to be adequate. In addition, sufficient estimates of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity were obtained. Implications for future research of acculturative stress in children involving the ASIC are discussed.