Research Validity Scales for the NEO-PI-R: Additional Evidence for Reliability and Validity

We examined the reliability and validity of the research validity scales (Schinka, Kinder, & Kremer, 1997) for the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) in a clinical sample. The Negative Presentation Management (NPM) and Positive Presentation Management (PPM) scales were found to have satisfactory internal consistency reliability. Support for the validity of these scales was provided by the pattern of convergent and discriminant correlations with respective Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) validity scales. Finally, PAI profiles of individuals with invalid NPM scores were found to differ significantly from those with valid NPM scores. Comparisons of the invalid profiles with profiles from other clinical samples provided additional support for the use of the NPM scale as a measure of negative impression management.     

Validity and Reliability of the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire: Empirical Evidence from an Italian Study

Interpersonal competence is crucial to human life, and poor social functioning is a typical feature of various psychopathological conditions. Given the relevance of the construct, increasing attention has recently been paid to the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ; Buhrmester et al. 1988), a 40-item self-report measuring five domains of interpersonal competence. To provide additional data on the cross-cultural adaptability of the ICQ, we developed an Italian version and investigated its psychometric properties with two independent student samples. Respondents were mostly women (about three quarters), ranging in age from 18 to 57. Study 1 (n?=?408) tested factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity. Study 2 (n?=?59) investigated test-retest reliability. Taken together, the results of both these studies provided support for the cross-cultural applicability of the ICQ, and revealed interesting associations between interpersonal competence and constructs such as well-being, emotion dysregulation and empathy.     

Reliability,Validity and Invariance of the Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R)

Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study compared the 4-factor 18-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children (NPQC) and the 2-factor, 12-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R). Support was found for the 2-factor structure of the 12-item NPQC-R using two independent adolescent school-based samples (n = 479 and n = 470). The 2-factor NPQC-R model (i.e., Superiority, Exploitativeness) showed a better fit in both adolescent samples than the alternative 4-factor NPQC model. There was strong support for NPQC-R’s invariance across gender and age. The NPQC-R was found to have reasonable internal consistency estimates, test–retest reliability estimates, and adequate convergent and discriminant validity estimates. Collectively, these results support the utility of the NPQC-R as a measure of narcissism in children and adolescents. A copy of the NPQC-R and scoring key can be obtained from Rebecca P. Ang.     

The Construct Validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale: Multisample and Longitudinal Evidence

This study investigated the factor structure and factorial group and time invariance of the 17-item and 9-item versions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli et al. (2002b) Journal of Happiness Studies 3:71–92). Furthermore, the study explored the rank-order stability of work engagement. The data were drawn from five different studies (N = 9,404), including a three-year longitudinal study (n = 2,555), utilizing five divergent occupational samples. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized correlated three-factor structure—vigor, dedication, absorption—of both UWES scales. However, while the structure of the UWES-17 did not remain the same across the samples and time, the structure of the UWES-9 remained relatively unchanged. Thus, the UWES-9 has good construct validity and use of the 9-item version can be recommended in future research. Moreover, as hypothesized, Structural Equation Modeling showed high rank-order stabilities for the work engagement factors (between 0.82 and 0.86). Accordingly, work engagement seems to be a highly stable indicator of occupational well-being.     

Construct Validity and Reliability of Hartman's Color Code Personality Profile1

The three reliability and two construct validity studies presented here represent the first psychometric research on the commercially successful and popular Hartman Color Code Personality Profile. The reliability studies found high reliability after 3 and 6 weeks. The construct validity studies substantiated that the Color Code assesses some personality traits. The magnitude of the error variance suggests caution, however, in using the Color Code classifications at the individual level.     

Sociotropy and Autonomy: Preliminary Evidence for Construct Validity Using TAT Narratives

In this investigation, we evaluated the construct validity of sociotropy and autonomy as assessed by the revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI; Robins et al., 1994). Stories given to 6 cards of the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) were coded for need for Achievement (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953) and need for Affiliation (Heyns, Veroff, & Atkinson, 1958). These scores were correlated with PSI Sociotropy and Autonomy, along with their component subscales. The construct validity of Sociotropy, Autonomy, and 5 of 6 component subscales were supported as hypothesized. Consistent with past research, there was no support for the construct validity of the Perfectionism/Self-Criticism subscale of Autonomy. In addition, separate analyses by gender suggested that the construct validity of sociotropy may be greater for women than for men. The results represent an important finding in that nonquestionnaire measures of interpersonal and achievement-related concerns were found to support the validity of the PSI, a need identified by the questionnaire's authors.     

A New Measure of Anti-Arab Prejudice: Reliability and Validity Evidence

Two studies were conducted to provide reliability and validity support for a new anti-Arab prejudice scale. The scale was designed to fit to the European context and showed very satisfactory reliability. Moreover, both studies provided convergent validity support. Anti-Arab prejudice was correlated with authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and conservatism. The correlation between the new scale and an adapted version of McConahay's (1986 ) Modern Racism scale was very strong. Furthermore, the second study provided predictive validity support. Scores in the new scale explained 20% of the variance in an ulterior actual behavior (to return a signed form supporting an association aimed to defend European values and culture against Islamization).     

Further Evidence of the Reliability and Validity of the Multidimensional Anxiety

The psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) were examined in adolescent psychiatric inpatient samples. In Study 1 (n = 287), confirmatory factor analyses provided satisfactory fit for the four-factor (comparative fit index; CFI = 0.856) and higher-order (CFI = 0.854) solutions. Using parcels as items, the fit of the four-factor model was improved substantially (CFI = 0.935). Next, in the bifactor analyses, support was attained for a model that included a general factor and four domain specific subfactors. In Study 2 (n = 195 inpatient youths), the MASC showed good scale reliability and concurrent validity. Results of the receiver operating characteristic curve and binary logistic regression analyses provided adequate evidence for discriminative validity. In Study 3 (n = 40), test–retest reliability of scores on the MASC-10 scale over a 3-week period was adequate (r _tt = 0.83, p < 0.001) for children ages 8 to 11 years.     

Perfectionism as an Explanatory Construct in Comorbidity of Axis I Disorders

Understanding comorbidity is an important challenge for psychopathology researchers and diagnostic systems given the repeated finding of very high comorbidity rates among Axis I disorders in psychiatric samples. This paper proposes that perfectionism may be a critical factor for understanding levels of comorbidity, and a conceptual argument for the importance of perfectionism as an explanatory construct for comorbidity is advanced. The link between perfectionism and comorbidity in a large sample of patients (N = 345) who attended an anxiety disorders clinic is examined using a variety of methods. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV), and perfectionism was assessed using both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales. Overall, scores on both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost perfectionism scales were correlated with the number of diagnoses, and a logistic regression analysis, controlling for current symptoms, showed that maladaptive evaluative concerns perfectionism in particular predicted higher levels of comorbidity.     

Parental Empowerment: Construct Validity and Reliability of a Dutch Empowerment Questionnaire (EMPO)

In this study, the construct validity and reliability of the Empowerment questionnaire (EMPO) that was developed in Dutch youth care was examined. The 12-item EMPO focuses on measuring parental empowerment in raising their children. The three components of psychological empowerment (intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral) form the rationale for the EMPO. Non-clinical (n?=?673) and clinical (n?=?1,212) data were used. Construct validity was tested by the factorial structure, measurement invariance, correlations with other instruments (PSQ-S and SDQ), and empowerment differences between the two groups. Reliability was determined by testing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The results show that the factorial validity of the EMPO was sufficient to good, the EMPO was measurement invariant for various subgroups, and the EMPO scales were negatively correlated with parenting stress (PSQ-S) and child behavioral problems scales (SDQ). Furthermore, the clinical group was less empowered, and the correlation between parental empowerment and child behavioral problems was stronger in this group. In addition, both groups of parents had relatively high scores on the interactional component. In the clinical group, however, parental scores on the interactional component were less correlated with scores on the intrapersonal and behavioral components. Finally, reliability analyses showed a largely sufficient to good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The EMPO seems to be an instrument with sufficient to good construct validity and reliability. Further research is recommended regarding the underlying assumptions, other aspects of validity, representativeness, and the way it should be used as a tool by professionals for supporting parental empowerment.     

The Seven-Item Short Form of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale: Further Evidence for Construct Validity

Two studies examine psychometric aspects of the seven-item version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) (Spanier, 1976). In Study 1, data from 148 heterosexual clients seeking marital therapy services and 122 heterosexual couples in the community were used to assess the criterion validity of the DAS-7. The measure differentiated between clinic and community participants and between marriages classified as distressed or adjusted based on the full DAS score. In Study 2, the reliability and convergent validity of the DAS7, when administered as a separate scale, was assessed in a community sample of 162 participants who were married or were in cohabiting heterosexual relationships. Obtained values were comparable to those reported in previous research in which the DAS-7 was obtained by extracting items from participants' full DAS. These results demonstrate that the DAS-7 is a psychometrically sound short form for assessing marital adjustment.     

Meta-Analysis and Construct Validity

It is argued that meta-analysis is a fundamental tool in any construct valida- tion effort. Meta-analytic resuits provide the stable and precise estimates of relationships between variables that are needed for causal modeling and the- ory development. A review of the application of meta-analysis to the area of employment validities is used to show the theoretical and applied benefits this tool can bring to construct validation research. The case is also made that meta-analyses focused on the criterion side of prediction equations would lead to enhanced knowledge of the construct validity of criteria.     

Construct Validity Evidence for the Intercultural Readiness Check against the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire

The psychometric qualities of the intercultural readiness check (IRC) were evaluated against an existing instrument for multicultural effectiveness: the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). The IRC has scales for intercultural sensitivity, intercultural communication, intercultural relationship building, conflict management, leadership and tolerance of ambiguity. A sample of in majority employees who were trained for an international position (N=137) participated in the study. The IRC scales were moderately to sufficiently reliable. Correlations with the MPQ scales were in the expected direction. Both instruments were equally strongly related to international inspiration, with open‐mindedness (MPQ) and intercultural sensitivity (IRC) as most important predictors. The IRC scales explained more variance in international experience.     

Social Status: Construct and External Validity

Abstract

The present study examined the construct and external validity of social status based on data covering various aspects of the construct, and collected from adolescent samples in Sweden, Australia, and the United States. Using correlation and factor analytic techniques it was found that (a) the various social status variables were, in general, only moderately related within the different countries, (b) the relations among variables were not congruent between countries, (c) two social status factors were revealed in all countries, separating educational-occupational status from social-economic status, and (d) only the educational-occupational factor showed high congruence between all of the countries.     

Happiness as Stable Extraversion: Internal Consistency Reliability and Construct Validity of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Among Undergraduate Students

The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) was developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) to provide a more accessible equivalent measure of the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI). The aim of the present study was to examine the internal consistency reliability, and construct validity of this new instrument alongside the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was completed by a sample of 131 undergraduate students together with the abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (alpha = .92) and good construct validity in terms of positive association with extraversion (r = .38 p < .001) and negative association with neuroticism (r = −.57 p < .001). The kind of happiness measured by the OHQ is clearly associated with stable extraversion.     

Conceptual Complexity and Construct Validity

Despite a century of methodological and conceptual advances in the technology of psychosocial measurement, poor correspondence between indicators and the constructs they are intended to represent remains a limiting factor to the accumulation of scientific knowledge. Longstanding conventions in measurement may contribute to the failure to develop optimal criteria. These conventions include the focus on complex over simple constructs and the use of multi-item measures of disparate content to represent those constructs. Several arguments suggest that such a measurement model compromises the potential for developing measures that accurately reflect psychosocial phenomena. The article concludes with some preliminary suggestions concerning an alternative model that may address this construct validity problem more effectively.     

Construct Validity of the Iowa Gambling Task

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was created to assess real-world decision making in a laboratory setting and has been applied to various clinical populations (i.e., substance abuse, schizophrenia, pathological gamblers) outside those with orbitofrontal cortex damage, for whom it was originally developed. The current review provides a critical examination of lesion, functional neuroimaging, developmental, and clinical studies in order to examine the construct validity of the IGT. The preponderance of evidence provides support for the use of the IGT to detect decision making deficits in clinical populations, in the context of a more comprehensive evaluation. The review includes a discussion of three critical issues affecting the validity of the IGT, as it has recently become available as a clinical instrument: the lack of a concise definition as to what aspect of decision making the IGT measures, the lack of data regarding reliability of the IGT, and the influence of personality and state mood on IGT performance.     

Be Careful What You Ask For: Effects of Response Instructions on the Construct Validity and Reliability of Situational Judgment Tests

The aim of this study was to examine how six different types of situational judgment test (SJT) instructions, used frequently in practice, influence the psychometric characteristics of SJTs. The six SJT versions used the exact same items and differed only in their instructions; these versions were administered in two phases. Phase I was a between–subjects design (n= 486) that had participants complete one version of the SJTs. Phase II was a within–subjects design (n= 231) held several weeks later that had participants complete all six versions of the SJTs. Further, 146 of these individuals completed both phases, allowing for an assessment of test–retest reliability. A variety of objective and subjective criteria were collected, including self and peer ratings. Results indicated that instructions had a large effect on SJT responses, reliability, and validity. In general, instructions asking what one ‘would do’ showed more favorable characteristics than those that asked what one ‘should do’. Correlations between these two types were relatively low despite the fact that the same items were used, and criterion–related validities differed substantially in favor of the ‘would do’ instructions. Overall, this study finds that researchers and practitioners must give careful consideration to the types of SJT instructions used; failing to do so could influence criterion–related validity and cloud inferences of construct validity.     

Construct Validity of the Perceived Criticism Measure

The construct validity of the Perceived Criticism Measure (PCM) was examined in 2 studies. In Study 1, 50 community couples participated in problem-solving interactions after which they rated interaction-specific perceived criticism and their criticism of their spouses. In addition, they provided ratings of perceived criticism for their relationship overall and completed measures of psychopathology and marital satisfaction. For both husbands and wives, convergent validity was demonstrated by moderate-to-large correlations between the PCM and spouses' own ratings of their criticism for both general and interaction-specific perceived criticism. In Study 2, 37 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their spouses participated in problem-solving interactions and provided ratings of marital satisfaction and general perceived criticism. Five untrained coders rated the interactions according to their own definitions of the relatives' destructive criticism of the patient. Their aggregated ratings proved strongly related to patients' PCM scores. Higher PCM scores were related to lower marital satisfaction in both Studies 1 and 2. The results of these studies are supportive of the convergent validity of the Perceived Criticism Measure. Evidence of discriminant validity was mixed.