Detection of deception on the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality: validation of the validity scales

This study used a simulation design to investigate the validity scales of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Undergraduates (N=192) were randomly assigned to two positive distortion (PD) groups, two negative distortion (ND) groups, and a control group. Controls responded normally, whereas the deception groups responded according to assigned characters. Preliminary analyses indicated no significant differences within distortion valence; thus, the groups were collapsed into single PD (n=76), ND (n=79), and control groups (n=37). Mean-level analyses revealed that, consistent with previous studies, ND profiles are easier to detect than PD profiles. Cutoff scores were suggested, and the classification accuracy of these scores converged with the results of several discriminant function analyses to indicate that Rare Virtues and Deviance predict group membership at least as well as MMPI-2 validity scales. Structural analyses revealed that two moderately correlated factors-positive distortion and negative distortion-underlie scores on these validity scales.     

The Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP): temporal stability and predictive validity of the diagnostic scales

The authors investigated the test-retest reliability and predictive validity of the diagnostic scales from the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Participants were identified from a sample of 240 undergraduates who completed the SNAP and the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS-SR) at Time 1. The authors selected 50 people who met criteria for a personality disorder (PD) based on the SNAP and 50 who did not qualify for a diagnosis. Eighty-three of these people completed the SNAP and the SAS-SR for a second time approximately 9 months after initial screening. SNAP PD scales were relatively stable over time. Test-retest correlation coefficients ranged from .58 to .81. Scores on diagnostic scales for paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal PD were inversely related to self-reported levels of adjustment for social roles concerned with work as a student, leisure activities, and relationships with family. The results provide some evidence for the validity of the SNAP     

Illustration of MIMIC-Model DIF Testing with the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality

This research provides an example of testing for differential item functioning (DIF) using multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) structural equation models. True/False items on five scales of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) were tested for uniform DIF in a sample of Air Force recruits with groups defined by gender and ethnicity. Uniform DIF exists when an item is more easily endorsed for one group than the other, controlling for group mean differences on the variable under study. Results revealed significant DIF for many SNAP items and some effects were quite large. Differentially-functioning items can produce measurement bias and should be either deleted or modeled as if separate items were administered to different groups. Future research should aim to determine whether the DIF observed here holds for other samples.     

Development and initial validation of the Spanish form of the adjustment scales for preschool intervention (ASPI)

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a Spanish language form of the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) for use by early childhood teachers. A multi-step, mixed method adaptation and translation process of the English form was used to increase the cultural relevance, linguistic comparability, and metric equivalence of the measure in its Spanish language form. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in a diverse sample of preschool children from low-income families (N = 4077) revealed two higher order behavioral dimensions of Overactivity and Underactivity. ASPI dimension scores across Spanish and English language forms were horizontally equated through IRT. Criterion-related validity using multilevel models was established through concurrent associations with social, emotional, behavioral, and academic readiness skills. Policy and practice applications, and future directions for the use of scale scores are discussed.     

Development and validation of the Schedule of Compulsions, Obsessions, and Pathological Impulses (SCOPI)

This article describes a factor analytically derived, self-report instrument-the Schedule of Compulsions, Obsessions, and Pathological Impulses (SCOPI)-using data from college students, adults, psychiatric outpatients, and patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The five SCOPI scales all are internally consistent (with coefficient alphas of .80 and higher) and are strongly stable across a 2-month interval (with retest correlations ranging from .79 to .82). They also show good convergent and adequate discriminant validity (a) when correlated with other OCD measures and (b) in analyses of self-ratings versus spouse ratings. Additional analyses indicate that three scales-Obsessive Checking, Obsessive Cleanliness, and Compulsive Rituals-assess core symptoms of OCD. The two remaining scales-Hoarding and Pathological Impulses-appear to tap different (but related) constructs.     

Development and validation of a Dutch translation of the Big Five Inventory (BFI)

In this article, we describe the translation and validation of the Dutch Big Five Inventory (BFI; John & Srivastava, 1999), a short instrument designed to measure the Big Five factors of personality. We obtained evidence of the instrument's good psychometric properties in terms of factorial equivalence to the English original and other BFI translations and the relative independence and internal consistency of the five scales. The findings suggest that the instrument can be used in diverse age groups without substantial changes in factor structure. The Dutch BFI scales showed similar demographic correlates as the English original, with higher Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and lower Neuroticism values in older participants, higher Neuroticism values in women, and higher Openness and Conscientiousness values in better educated participants. Use of the Dutch BFI will allow researchers to integrate their findings with the extant Big Five research literature. The brevity of the instrument will be appealing to researchers who are concerned about taxing the time and motivation of their participants.     

Convergent validity of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales and the MMPI-2 scales

The MCMI-III personality disorder scales (Millon, 1994) were empirically validated in a sample of prisoners, psychiatric inpatients, and outpatients (N = 477). The scale intercorrelations were congruent with those obtained by Millon, Davis, and Millon (1997). We conclude that our Flemish/Dutch version shows no significant differences with the original version of the MCMI-III as far as intercorrelations are concerned. Convergent validity of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales was evaluated by the correlational data between the MCMI-III personality disorder scales and the MMPI-2 clinical (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and personality disorder (Somwaru & Ben-Porath, 1995) scales. Improved convergence was obtained compared with previous versions of the MCMI-I. Only the compulsive MCMI-III personality disorder scale remains problematic. The scale even showed negative correlations with some of the related clinical scales and with the corresponding personality disorder scales of the MMPI-2.     

The mini-IPIP scales: tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five factors of personality

The Mini-IPIP, a 20-item short form of the 50-item International Personality Item Pool-Five-Factor Model measure (Goldberg, 1999), was developed and validated across five studies. The Mini-IPIP scales, with four items per Big Five trait, had consistent and acceptable internal consistencies across five studies (= at or well above .60), similar coverage of facets as other broad Big Five measures (Study 2), and test-retest correlations that were quite similar to the parent measure across intervals of a few weeks (Study 4) and several months (Study 5). Moreover, the Mini-IPIP scales showed a comparable pattern of convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity (Studies 2-5) with other Big Five measures. Collectively, these results indicate that the Mini-IPIP is a psychometrically acceptable and practically useful short measure of the Big Five factors of personality.     

Development and initial validation of validity scales for the NEO-Five Factor Inventory

Based upon the methodology established by Schinka, Kinder, and Kremer (Schinka, J. A., Kinder, B. N., & Kremer, T. (1997). Research validity scales for the NEO-PI-R: Development and initial validation. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 127–138), a set of validity scales were developed for the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI, Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory and NEO Five Factor Inventory Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources). In Study 1, 111 undergraduates completed the NEO-FFI and item means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations were used to construct measures of Positive Impression Management, Negative Impression Management, and Inconsistent Responding. In Study 2, 146 participants completed the NEO-FFI under one of five instructional sets (control, fake good, fake bad, graduate psychology and police academy admissions). A set of randomly produced NEO-FFI profiles were added to this data set. ANOVA results provided support for the utility of the validity scales, as they were differentially sensitive to random responding, positive and negative impression management in hypothesized ways.     

Development and validation of the Minnesota borderline personality disorder scale

Although large epidemiological data sets can inform research on the etiology and development of borderline personality disorder (BPD), they rarely include BPD measures. In some cases, however, proxy measures can be constructed using instruments already in these data sets. In this study, the authors developed and validated a self-report measure of BPD from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Items for the new instrument-the Minnesota BPD scale (MBPD) -were identified and refined using three large samples: undergraduates, community adolescent twins, and urban substance users. The authors determined the construct validity of the MBPD scale by examining its association with (a) diagnosed BPD, (b) questionnaire-reported BPD symptoms, and (c) clinical variables associated with BPD: suicidality, trauma, disinhibition, internalizing distress, and substance use. The authors also tested the MBPD scale in two prison inmate samples. Across samples, the MBPD scores correlated with BPD indices and external criteria and showed incremental validity above measures of negative affect, thus supporting its construct validity as a measure of BPD.     

Job-specific applicant pools and national norms for personality scales: implications for range-restriction corrections in validation research

This article compares variability in national norms to variability in job-specific applicant pools for personality scales. Across 23,231 job applicants for 111 jobs, we found that job-specific applicant pools were slightly less variable than broad normative data (by about 4%) based on a national norm sample of 40,474 job applicants. For some personality variables, the amount of variability reduction correlated with work characteristics as captured by the Data, People and Things scales of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (US Department of Labor, 1977). Most correlations were small in magnitude. In general, the small reductions in job-specific applicant pool variability provide evidence that researchers' decisions to use manual norm group standard deviations in range restriction corrections has not appreciably inflated the personality-criterion relationships studied. Implications for attraction and gravitation to jobs are discussed.     

Development and validation of a Response Bias Scale (RBS) for the MMPI-2

This study describes the development of a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) scale designed to detect negative response bias in forensic neuropsychological or disability assessment settings. The Response Bias Scale (RBS) consists of 28 MMPI-2 items that discriminated between persons who passed or failed the Word Memory Test (WMT), Computerized Assessment of Response Bias (CARB), and/or Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in a sample of 1,212 nonhead-injury disability claimants. Incremental validity of the RBS was evaluated by comparing its ability to detect poor performance on four separate symptom validity tests with that of the F and F(P) scales and the Fake Bad Scale (FBS). The RBS consistently outperformed F, F(P), and FBS. Study results suggest that the RBS may be a useful addition to existing MMPI-2 validity scales and indices in detecting symptom complaints predominantly associated with cognitive response bias and overreporting in forensic neuropsychological and disability assessment settings.     

Development and validation of Swedish classical and modern sexism scales

In two studies we develop and validate a Classical--overt or direct--and a Modern--covert or subtle--Sexism Scale concerning attitudes toward women, for a Swedish (Scandinavian) context. Further, we examine whether these two forms of prejudice are distinguishable. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, although highly correlated, classical and modern sexism are distinguishable. The construct validations showed that men had higher means on modern and classical sexism scores than women, and that our scales were related to other constructs as expected. In a third study, we analyzed the knowledge and the content of cultural stereotypes about women. There were no differences in the knowledge of cultural stereotypes between men and women or between high- and low-sexist individuals. The findings are discussed in relation to previous international studies that examine people's modern and/or classical sexism.     

Development and validation of a new procedure for the diagnostic assessment of personality disorder: the Multidimensional Personality Disorder Rating Scale (MPDRS)

Data from a community-based prospective longitudinal study were used to investigate the utility of a structured assessment of the DSM-IV General Diagnostic Criteria for a Personality Disorder (PD). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV PDs (SCID-II) was administered to 154 adults. After completing the interview, an experienced clinician assessed the General Diagnostic Criteria for a PD using a structured rating scale. PD diagnoses, based solely on the rating scale data, demonstrated strong agreement with diagnoses obtained using the diagnostic thresholds for specific PDs (Kappa = 0.89). The sensitivity, specificity, predictive power, and internal reliability of the rating scale were satisfactory. PD diagnoses, based on both of the assessment procedures, were associated with substantial impairment and distress. These findings suggest that a structured assessment of the DSM-IV General Diagnostic Criteria for a Personality Disorder may constitute a useful alternative or supplement to standard assessments of the diagnostic thresholds for specific DSM-IV PDs.     

Development and initial validation of brief public domain RIASEC marker scales

Although commercially developed interest measures based on Holland’s RIASEC types are effectively used in a variety of applied settings, these measures have somewhat limited research utility due to their length and copyright restrictions placed by the test publishers. In the present study, two sets of 8-item RIASEC scales were developed using activity-based items selected from the 30-item RIASEC scales of the Interest Profiler, and two sets of 8-item RIASEC scales were developed using sets of 30 occupational job titles selected from the O∗NET database representing each Holland type. Responses to the items were obtained from three samples of college students with a total of 1024 female and 639 male participants. Results obtained in the initial development and validation process suggest that the sets of brief activity- and occupational-based RIASEC scales developed in the current study retain acceptable levels of reliability and convergent validity. The development of these brief public domain RIASEC interest measures addresses the copyright and length limitations of current scales and may be useful when conducting integrative research examining the inter-relations between Holland’s types and other individual differences measures.     

Development and validation of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children (MIQ-C)

The ability to perform movement imagery has been shown to influence motor performance and learning in sports and rehabilitation. Self-report questionnaires have been developed to assess movement imagery ability in adults, such as the Movement Imagery Questionnaire 3 (MIQ-3); however, there is a dearth of developmentally appropriate measures for use with children. To address this gap, the focus of this research was to develop an imagery ability questionnaire for children. This process involved adaptation of the MIQ-3 via: i) cognitive interviewing with twenty children, ii) validation with 206 children by examining its factor structure via multitrait-multi method confirmatory factor analysis, and iii) examination of test-retest reliability with 23 children. The findings of Study 1 led to changes to the wording of the questionnaire and modifications of the instructions to successfully adapt the MIQ-3 for children aged 7–12 years. The validation undertaken in Study 2 found that a correlated-traits correlated-uniqueness model provided the best fit to the data. Finally, test-retest reliabilities varied from fair (for external visual imagery) to substantial (for kinesthetic imagery). With respect to ease of imaging, no significant gender or age-group differences were noted. However, significant difference were found among the three imagery modalities (p < .001), with external visual imagery rated as easiest to image and kinesthetic imagery rated as the most difficult. Taken together, findings support the use of the MIQ-C for examining movement imagery ability with children.     

Development and validation of the Material Values Scale for children (MVS-c)

The aim of this study was to develop a scale to measure materialism among children while relying on insights from research conducted among adults. Although research among adults suggests that materialism is a second-order construct with three underlying factors (i.e., material centrality, material happiness, and material success), existing materialism scales for children include only one or two of these factors. Hence, we adapted the items of the well-established Material Values Scale (MVS) of Richins and Dawson (1992) to make them appropriate for use among children. We then administered the Material Values Scale for children (MVS-c) to 1001 8- to 11-year-olds. Structural equation modeling confirmed the presumed second-order structure of the MVS-c. Based on these findings, we created 6- and 3-item versions in addition to the full-length, 18-item MVS-c. All three versions performed well in terms of test–retest reliability and construct validity.