Development and Initial Validation of the Five-Factor Model Adolescent Personality Questionnaire (FFM–APQ)

This research reports on the 4-phase development of the 25-item Five-Factor Model Adolescent Personality Questionnaire (FFM–APQ). The purpose was to develop and determine initial evidence for validity of a brief adolescent personality inventory using a vocabulary that could be understood by adolescents up to 18 years old. Phase 1 (N = 48) consisted of item generation and expert (N = 5) review of items; Phase 2 (N = 179) involved item analyses; in Phase 3 (N = 496) exploratory factor analysis assessed the underlying structure; in Phase 4 (N = 405) confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a 25-item inventory with 5 subscales.     

Development and Validation of the Parental Authority Questionnaire – Revised

Baumrind's conceptualization of parenting style has influenced research and theorizing about child-rearing for more than 30 years, yet few clinical applications of this work have been realized. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a parenting style measure, the Parental Authority Questionnaire – Revised (PAQ-R). This project furthered the development and validation of the instrument by examining the factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity of the PAQ-R in a large, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample. The factor structure and reliability of the PAQ-R was modest, but generally within the acceptable range. Specifically, the Authoritarian and Permissive subscales of the PAQ-R had modest reliability and convergent validity; these PAQ-R subscales correlated with relevant subscales of the Parenting Scale and the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory. By contrast, the Authoritativeness subscale had poorer psychometric properties when used in lower SES, primarily African American populations. While African American mothers in the sample reported being more Permissive than did Caucasian mothers, these differences disappeared after controlling for income and maternal education. By contrast, African American mothers continued to report more Authoritarian attitudes even after controlling for income and maternal education.     

Development and Validation of Personality Disorder Spectra Scales for the MMPI–2–RF

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a set of MMPI–2–RF (Ben-Porath &; Tellegen, 2008/2011) personality disorder (PD) spectra scales. These scales could serve the purpose of assisting with DSM–5 PD diagnosis and help link categorical and dimensional conceptions of personality pathology within the MMPI–2–RF. We developed and provided initial validity results for scales corresponding to the 10 PD constructs listed in the DSM–5 using data from student, community, clinical, and correctional samples. Initial validation efforts indicated good support for criterion validity with an external PD measure as well as with dimensional personality traits included in the DSM–5 alternative model for PDs. Construct validity results using psychosocial history and therapists' ratings in a large clinical sample were generally supportive as well. Overall, these brief scales provide clinicians using MMPI–2–RF data with estimates of DSM–5 PD constructs that can support cross-model connections between categorical and dimensional assessment approaches.     

Assessment of Social Information Processing in Early Childhood: Development and Initial Validation of the Schultz Test of Emotion Processing—Preliminary Version

Crick and Dodge’s (Psychological Bulletin 115:74–101, 1994) social information processing model has proven very useful in guiding research focused on aggressive and peer-rejected children’s social-cognitive functioning. Its application to early childhood, however, has been much more limited. The present study responds to this gap by developing and validating a video-based assessment tool appropriate for early childhood, the Schultz Test of Emotion Processing—Preliminary Version (STEP-P). One hundred twenty-five Head Start preschool children participated in the study. More socially competent children more frequently attributed sadness to the victims of provocation and labeled aggressive behaviors as both morally unacceptable and less likely to lead to positive outcomes. More socially competent girls labeled others’ emotions more accurately. More disruptive children more frequently produced physically aggressive solutions to social provocations, and more disruptive boys less frequently interpreted social provocations as accidental. The STEP-P holds promise as an assessment tool that assesses knowledge structures related to the SIP model in early childhood.     

Initial Development and Validation of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale–Adolescent Version

The factor structure of a new self-report scale, the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale–Adolescent version, was examined. Reliability and 2-week stability estimates of the domain scores and total score were calculated. Relationships of the domain and total scores with other well-being measures were examined as well as the impact of social desirability responding. Although additional development is necessary, results provided preliminary psychometric support for the MSLSS–A for research purposes.The usefulness of life satisfaction measures vis-à-vis the positive psychology movement (Seligman and Csikzentmihalyi, American Psychologist, 55(1): 5-14, 2000) is highlighted.     

Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S)

Two experiments investigated the possibility that external statements in the Rotter I-E scale are more depressing in tone than internal statements, and thus depressed subjects may respond to external items due to item mood level rather than locus of control content. Results of Experiment 1 revealed that the external alternative was rated as more depressing than its internal counterpart for the majority Of the 23 I-E items (18 for females and 15 for males), while a small number of I-E items (3 for females and 6 for males) contained internal and external statements rated as balanced for depressing Content. For two I-E items the internal alternative was rated as more depressing. Results of Experiment 2 revealed that endorsement of external items was significantly related to self-reported depression for both total I-E score and for the item subset where external statements(as revealed in Experiment 1) were the more depressing of the item pair. External endorsement was not significantly related to depression for the I-E item subset where options are balanced for mood level, while endorsement of internal statements was related to depression only for the item subset where the internal option was rated as more depressing. These results were interpreted as supporting prior research which demonstrated mood response set using altered Rotter I-E scale items, Implications for use of the Rotter I-E scale in the study of depression were discussed.     

Coding Counsellor Behaviour in Motivational Interviewing Sessions: Inter‐Rater Reliability for the Swedish Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code (MITI)

The aim of this study was to evaluate inter‐rater reliability when using the Swedish version of the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Code (MITI) as an adjunct to MI training, clinical practice and research. Coders were trained to use the MITI for scoring taped sessions. The 4‐month basic training had a duration of 39 hours. Following training, 60 audio‐taped live interviews were randomly assigned for MITI coding. Mean intra‐class correlation (ICC) coefficients were calculated for 7 coders across all pairs of coders. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to estimate the covariance between each pair across their common interviews. Six months later, a second inter‐rater reliability test was performed, when 5 coders coded the same 15 randomly selected tapes. At the second reliability testing the mean ICC was 0.81 and the mean Cronbach's alpha was 0.96. However, the ICC varied for different sub‐variables of the MITI, ranging from 0.42 empathy to 0.79 for number of Closed questions. In conclusion, MITI shows promising potential to be a reliable tool to confirm and enhance MI training as well as practice in clinical settings and in evaluating MI integrity in clinical MI research. However, coder assessment of empathy and MI‐spirit, “global” variables, requires further refinement.     

Comparison of Patient Versus Trained Observer Assessments of Healthcare Providers’ Use of Motivational Interviewing Techniques for Patients Experiencing Depression and Anxiety in the Dominican Republic

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - In settings with limited mental health system capacity, integrated care and the improvement of patient-provider communication surrounding common...     

Validation of the Ambivalent and Purposeful Engagement – Trait Measure

The Ambivalent and Purposeful Engagement-Trait Measure (APE-TM) was developed to assess two ways that people may react to stressful social interactions: ambivalent engagement (AE: counterproductive attempts to avoid thoughts and feelings) and purposeful engagement (PE: effortfully approaching and working through thoughts and feelings). We carried out three studies in undergraduate and clinical populations to (i) test the robustness of previous psychometric findings and (ii) determine whether AE and PE are specific to social anxiety. Across three studies, our results indicate that the APE-TM is a psychometrically valid measure of ambivalent and purposeful engagement. However, PE appeared less specific to social anxiety and may represent a more general tendency toward adaptive coping. In contrast, AE was specific to social anxiety in both undergraduate samples and clinical samples of individuals with a variety of anxiety disorders and depression.     

Initial Validation of the Children’s Worry Management Scale

We investigated the psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Children’s Worry Management Scale (CWMS). The CWMS has three subscales that specify methods of regulating worry: inhibition (the suppression of worry), dysregulation (exaggerated displays of worry), and coping (constructive ways of managing worry). Using a Caucasian, middle-class sample of 214 children (M = 9 years, 1 month), Study 1 provides reliability and validity data through patterns of correlations to parent- and child-completed measures of emotion management and behavioral problems. Internal consistencies range from .69 to .74. Study 2 establishes discriminant validity by demonstrating that the CWMS Dysregulation and Coping subscales differentiated, in the expected directions, between a group of children (n = 27) with DSM-IV anxiety diagnoses and a control group of children with no psychological disorders.     

Development and Validation of the Affect in Play Scale–Brief Rating Version (APS–BR)

The concurrence of psychiatric and MMPI based diagnoses for 78 consecutively admitted patients was examined. The results suggest diagnostic coincidence for only 21 of the admitted patients, with the majority being in the differentiation of psychoneurosis from psychosis. Patient sex and chronological age did not appear to be factors in either form of diagnosis.     

The Operational Development and Empirical Testing of the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP–18)

The Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP–18) is a structured professional judgment instrument for threat assessment of the individual terrorist. It is a rationally derived theoretical model comprising eight proximal warning behaviors and 10 distal characteristics. Empirical research on the TRAP–18 is reviewed, including both nomothetic and idiographic studies of individual terrorists in both the United States and Europe. Mean interrater reliability is 0.895 (Cohen's kappa), ranging from 0.69 to 1.0. Evidence of criterion validity has been demonstrated, including usefulness of the instrument across various extremist ideologies (jihadism, ethnic nationalism, and single-issue), and its ability to discriminate between thwarted and successful attackers. The instrument appears to advance the domain recommendations of Monahan (2012, 2016) for the risk assessment of the individual terrorist. The TRAP–18 is further discussed as a threat assessment instrument for mental health clinicians. The limitations of the current research provide direction for further studies to assess its reliability and construct, discriminant, and predictive validity.     

Development,Use and Implications of Diagnostic Creativity Assessment App,RDCA – Reisman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment

The Reisman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment (RDCA) is a free online self-report creativity assessment that provides immediate feedback to the user and is diagnostic, rather than predictive, with the focus on making the user aware of creative strengths and weaknesses. Several engineering and teacher education studies have included the RDCA over a period of 3 years to refine the document items as a result of factor and statistical analyses. We acknowledge the advantages and disadvantages of self-report instruments and question the traditional use of reliability as a psychometric measure for self-report assessments. Many tools and techniques for enhancing creative factors identified by the RDCA are included.     

The Assessment of Adult Health Care Orientations: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Multidimensional Health Profile–Health Functioning Index (MHP-H) in a National Sample

This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of the Multidimensional Health Profile–Health Functioning Index (MHP-H), a 69-item self-report instrument designed to assess a variety of behaviors, perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs presumed to influence health status and the pursuit of lay and professional health care. The MHP-H briefly measures adult health history, health habits, health care utilization, health beliefs and attitudes, and response to illness (help-seeking behaviors). A national sample of adults (N = 673) was assessed, comprising 3 age groupings (18–32, 33–50, and 51–89) crossed with gender and then further subdivided into several subsamples for purposes of reliability and validity assessment. In addition, a group of spouse key informants was also recruited. Preliminary validation of single-item indicators as well as confirmatory factor analyses of multi-item scales was achieved. The present findings support the psychometric and practical utility of the MHP-H and warrant its use by health psychologists in a variety of research and applied settings.     

Development and Assessment of Short and Very Short Forms of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised

Using data from parents of 761 infants from 6 independent samples, short (91 items, 14 scales) and very short (37 items, 3 broad scales) forms of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised (IBQ–R), a well-established caregiver report measure of temperament for infants aged 3 to 12 months, were developed. The forms were subsequently evaluated with data from 1,619 participants from 11 samples. Over 90% of Cronbach's alphas and part–whole correlations calculated for the short and very short form scales were greater than.70. Interparent agreement was nearly identical to that obtained with standard IBQ–R scales, averaging.41 and ranging from.06 to.76. Longitudinal stability over multiple time spans, and estimated retest reliability of the short form scales, were highly similar to those of standard forms, with estimated retest reliability averaging.72 and ranging from.54 to.93. Convergent and predictive validity of select short form scales were comparable to, but slightly lower, than those observed for standard IBQ–R scales. Recommendations for the use of the standard, short, and very short scales are discussed.     

German version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire – Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS): Confirmatory factor analysis and validation

The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) is a widely used questionnaire that measures body image as a multidimensional construct. The Appearance Scales (AS) of the MBSRQ (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Overweight Preoccupation and Self-Classified Weight) are subscales which facilitate a parsimonious assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image. The current study tested the psychometric properties and factor structure of a German translation of the MBSRQ-AS. Participants were n = 230 female patients with the SCID diagnosis of an eating disorder and n = 293 female healthy controls. In a confirmatory factor analysis, convincing goodness-of-fit indices emerged. The subscales of the questionnaire yielded good reliability and convergent and discriminant validity coefficients, with most items showing excellent characteristics. Like the English version, the German adaptation of the questionnaire can be recommended for a multidimensional assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image in both research and clinical practice.     

The Conner’s Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Long Self-Report and Observer Forms: Validation of the Catalan Version

Assessment and diagnosis of adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is complex, involving multiple tasks and several sources of information. The suitability of the instruments needs to be tested in the cultural context in which they will be applied. This study validates the Catalan adaptation of the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Long Version (CAARS: L), in both its self-report and observer forms. The sample comprised 606 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensional structure. Reliability was analysed in terms of internal consistency, test-retest and informant agreement. Age and gender differences were studied, and differential item functioning (DIF) in relation to these variables was tested. Results show that the four-factor model (i.e., Inattention/Memory Problems, Hyperactivity/Restlessness, Impulsivity/Emotional Lability, and Problems with Self-Concept), similar to the original version, presented an adequate fit for both forms. Internal consistency and test-retest correlations reached very high values for the two forms, and informant agreement was high at both test and retest. There were significant gender and age differences that were not due to bias in the measurement instrument, since no item showed differential behaviour with respect to these two variables. The Catalan versions of the CAARS: L present adequate validity and reliability, and they can therefore be used for diagnostic purposes and cross-cultural comparisons.