Checking the reliability and validity of HSPQ profiles

Developed a scale designed to detect invalid response patterns on the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ). Using a large sample of protocols drawn from the HSPQ standardization group, ten items were found to satisfy the necessary criterion for inclusion in the resulting "random" or "validity" (RV) scale. When applied to separate cross-validation groups of nearly 2,000 valid and randomly generated response protocols, RV was found to correctly classify 79% of the profiles. As a further test of the scale's utility, 100 profiles classified as valid and 100 classified as invalid were selected for comparison. In the invalid group, KR-20 reliabilities of the 14 trait scales were almost uniformly lowered, Also, for the invalid group the correlations among the trait scales were attenuated and altered to the extent that the underlying factor structure of the test was upset.     

Lasting Effects of Alcohol on the Reduction of Anxiety in Rats

A factor analysis was performed combining HSPQ forms A and B scores from a group of high school males (N = 1504) and a group of high school females (N + 1255). Eight factors were extracted and rotated from each of the two groups. It was found that the resulting factor patterns were both clearer (had better simple structure) and more closely matched the second order factor structure found among adults than previous HSPQ structures. These results supported the contention that (a) there are comparable second order personality factors between adults and high school students, and (b) since the factor pattern was similar to patterns found previously, the primary factors tend to be stable.     

A critical appraisal of the PRF ANDRO scale

A factor analysis of the PRF ANDRO reveals a structure reflecting the PRF scales from which the items came. It is argued that there is little value in combining a conglomeration of items from different Personality Research Form scales as has been done with the MASCUL and FEMIN scales of the PRF ANDRO. Rather, relevant intact PRF scales should be considered as separate predictors, for example in regression equations. Alternatively, if single scales are required to represent masculinity and femininity, it is suggested that PRF dominance and nurturance, the scales from which MASCUL and FEMIN draw a plurality of their items respectively, are more suitable than the two PRF ANDRO scales. These latter scales are less internally consistent and show less convergence with other sex-role scales than PRF dominance and nurturance.     

Family environment and its relation to adolescent personality factors

Investigated the relationship between family social climate characteristics and adolescent personality functioning. The High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) was administered to 80 high school students. These students and their parents also completed the Family Environment Scale (FES). Results of a stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that one or more HSPQ scales had significant associations with each FES scale. Significant variance in child behavior was attributed to family social system functioning; however, no single family variable accounted for a major portion of the variance to the exclusion of other factors. It was concluded that child behavior varies with total system functioning, more than with separate system factors.     

A critical appraisal of the PRF ANDRO scale

A factor analysis of the PRF ANDRO reveals a structure reflecting the PRF scales from which the items came. It is argued that there is little value in combining a conglomeration of items from different Personality. Research Form scales as has been done with the MASCUL and FEMIN scales of the PRF ANDRO. Rather, relevant intact PRF scales should be considered as separate predictors, for example in regression equations. Al ternati vely, if single scales are required to represent masculinity and femininity, it is suggested that PRF dominance and nurturance, the scales from which MASCUL and FEMIN draw a plurality of their items respectively, are more suitable than the two PRF ANDRO scales. These latter scales are less internally consistent and show less convergence with other sex-role scales than PRF dominance and nurturance.     

THE STRUCTURE OF DEPRESSION, BY FACTORING Q-DATA, IN RELATION TO GENERAL PERSONALITY SOURCE TRAITS

The factor structure of a wide, representative sample of questionnaire items was determined across the domain of depression, and their relation to normal personality factors was fixed. The depression items were administered, along with personality marker items from the 16 P.F. Test (or HSPQ), to a mixed group of 139 patients and controls and to 169 younger adults. Eight meaningful simple structure factors were found, 7 replicating across samples. Second order analysis showed no general factor in depression, but rather 4 distinct second orders.     

The Factor Structure of the Personality Research Form: A Cross-National Evaluation

ABSTRACT The present research examined the generalizability of the factor structure of the Personality Research Form (PRF) across various populations. A common methodology was used for factoring 18 data bases from largely differing samples (including data from one Asian and two European countries). In accordance with previous research results, five factors were rotated in every case and compared with two target factor solutions. A mean congruence coefficient of .93 as well as similar proportions of variance explained by the factors in the various populations indicated a large amount of generalizability for that structure. An alternative but similar structure, which had been interpreted in terms of the so-called "Big Five" factors of personality, proved to be only slightly less generalizable. It was concluded that the fairly abstract constructs of both PRF factor structures are useful for describing personality in the cultures under study, leaving room for the possibility of more subtle or specific differences between the populations.     

The Dutch DAPP-BQ: improvements, lower- and higher-order dimensions, and relationship with the 5DPT

After modifying 53 items in a previous Dutch translation of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2002), the present DAPP-BQ scales (with or without Self-Harm included) were subjected to a principal components analysis with oblimin or varimax rotation in a general population sample of 478 subjects, retaining four factors. All four (higherorder) factors (Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial, Inhibition, and Compulsivity) proved identical to the factors originally derived in Canada, with Tucker coefficients of factor similarity approaching unity. Particularly the (unexpected) finding that the present Dutch version of the DAPP-BQ also resulted in an Inhibition factor (and not, like the former Dutch version, in an Intimacy Problems factor) was considered positive. In addition, a principal components analysis with oblimin rotation was conducted on the 282 items contained in the 18 DAPP-BQ scales, investigating the lower-order structure of the DAPP-BQ; in this case, 18 factors were retained. Although the structure originally derived by Livesley and colleagues could not be recovered completely, the degree of similarity was of such a magnitude that the 18 DAPP-BQ scales were considered to give a dependable account of the "true" lower-order structure of disordered personality. Moreover, based on the finding that the 18 scales are sufficiently reliable (Cronbach's alpha) and correlate as predicted in a subsample of 284 subjects with the normal personality scales of Van Kampen's 5DPT (or, Five-Dimensional Personality Test), the DAPP-BQ appears to be a valuable instrument.     

Personality characteristics of ski instructors and predicting teacher effectiveness using the PRF

Normative data for the Personality Research Form (PRF) were collected from 118 ski instructors (40 female, 78 male). Subjects differed significantly from PRF norms on 17 scales (.0001 < or = p < or = .05), thus reiterating the need for caution when applying college-normed summary statistics to non-college populations. The efficacy of PRF scales as predictors of teaching effectiveness was also investigated. Three PRF scales (Abasement, Succorance and Sentience) were negatively correlated with increasing levels of teaching effectiveness. Univariate regressions yielded Abasement and Sentience scores as significant predictors of effective ski instruction.     

A psychometric study of the PRF ANDRO Scale

This study investigated the adequacy of the items in the PRF ANDRO Masculinity (M) and Femininity (F) Scales, in terms of the content themes specified by Berzins, Welling, and Wetter (1978), and empirically tested their appropriateness using Bem's (1974) criteria. Results indicated that the PRF ANDRO M and F scales contain a large proportion of items that are theoretically irrelvant and that did not satisfy Bem's criteria. In addition, these scales were found to contain several items with low content saturation. Implications of the results are discussed.     

The DAPP-BQ in The Netherlands: factor structure and relationship with basic personality dimensions

After discarding eight items in the Dutch translation of Livesley's DAPP-BQ that showed item-total correlations < 0.20 in a sample of 223 normal subjects. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated for the remaining items in the 18 scales of this instrument. The 'Dutch' alpha coefficients proved to be satisfactory. Furthermore, the Dutch DAPP-BQ scales were factor analyzed, retaining four factors. Three of these factors proved to be identical (Emotional Dysregulation and Dissocial) or nearly identical (Compulsivity) to the Canadian factors. However, the original factor Inhibition was not the same as the remaining Dutch factor Intimacy Problems. In a sample of 115 students, the estimated scores for the Dutch Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) factors were correlated with the scales of Van Kampen's Four-Dimensional Personality Test. As expected, Emotional Dysregulation was found to correlate with Neuroticism, Dissocial with Insensitivity, and Compulsivity with Orderliness. The Intimacy Problems factor proved to be negatively correlated with Extraversion. The results obtained are embedded in the context of the evidence favoring a dimensional model of personality disorder. Furthermore, Livesley's proposal that separate diagnostic criteria for the existence of a personality disorder must be formulated to supplement the assessment by means of the DAPP-BQ is critically discussed.     

Social desirability and Wiggin's MMPI content scales.

Using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) item pool, Wiggins (1966) developed 13 scales, each with a homogeneous content. The 13 scales, along with marker scales for the 1st 3 MMPI factors, Edward's social desirability (SD), Welsh's repression (R), and Wiggins's social desirability (Sd) respectively were scored in the MMPI. The same scales were scored in an Experimental Multiphasic Personality Inventory (EMPI). A principal-components analysis of the 16 scales when scored in the MMPI resulted in 4 factors. A principal-components analysis of these same scales when scored in the MMPI and when scored in the EMPI were found to be highly congruent. The SD, R, and Sd scales proved to be excellent markers for the 1st 3 factors of the MMPI and also for the 1st 3 factors of the EMPI. Results provide further evidence that the 1st MMPI factor is a social desirability factor rather than a content factor.     

Another look at the psychometric properties of the Anxiety Control Questionnaire.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anxiety Control Questionnaire (AxCQ), a recently developed 30-item instrument intended to assess an individual's perceived level of control over anxiety related events. The sample consisted of 303 college students (189 females, 110 males, 4 no response). Although the scale is reported to have a two factor solution, results of an exploratory factor analysis in this sample indicated a three factor solution was more appropriate. Significant correlations were found between the three factor scales (r's ranged from 0.28 to 0.62). Internal consistency appeared good for the total AxCQ and for the factor scales derived from both the two and three factor models. There were no significant gender differences. We conclude that the psychometric properties of the scale look promising, but recommend that the factor structure of the AxCQ continue to be explored.     

Personality patterns of physicians in person-oriented and technique-oriented specialties

This study investigated differences in personality patterns between person-oriented and technique-oriented physicians. It tested an integrative framework by converting the scores on the Personality Research Form (PRF) to the Big-Five factors and built a predictive model of group membership in clinical specialty area. PRF scores from 238 physicians (153 person-oriented and 85 technique-oriented) were used for this retrospective study. Significant personality differences between group means existed for seven of the traits on the PRF and two Big-Five factors. Results of a stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that two PRF traits and one Big-Five factor had the greatest ability to discriminate between person-oriented and technique-oriented physicians. Findings of this study provide support for establishing personality profiles of physicians interested in person-oriented versus technique-oriented specialties. Examining personality differences among male and female physicians is discussed as an area for future research.     

THE STRUCTURE OF ATTITUDE TOWARD QUANTITATIVE CONCEPTS

The purpose of this study was to assess the dimensionality of attitude toward quantitative concepts. Subjects were 311 graduate students. The instrument employed was a semantic differential consisting of six quantitative concepts and 14 evaluative scales. The concepts were: Algebra, Statistics, Mathematics, Numbers, Calculations, and Formulas. An obliquely rotated principal factor analysis of the data yielded two categories of interpretable factors: (1) factors defined by all scales within one quantitative concept, and (2) factors defined by a sub-set of scales across quantitative concepts.     

Convergent and discriminant validity of selected masculinity and femininity scales

Using Campbell and Fiske's (1959) multitrait-multimethod matrix technique and Jackson's (1975) multimethod factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validity were investigated for masculinity and femininity scales from the Adjective Check List, Bem Sex Role Inventory, and PRF ANDRO Scale as compared with measures of dominance and nurturance. Results indicated very good convergent and discriminant validity for the masculinity and femininity scales from the Adjective Check List and Bem Inventory, but not for the PRF ANDRO Scale. Implications of these results for research on sex roles and psychological androgyny are discussed.     

Gender schema theory and sex role inventories: some conceptual and psychometric considerations

In this study we assessed whether the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the PRF ANDRO are appropriate for investigations of gender schema theory (Bem, 1981a). Because these instruments were developed for entirely different theoretical purposes, it is important to empirically examine the validity of these measures for investigating the construct of gender schema. On the basis of the propositions of gender schema theory, we made several predictions about the psychometric properties that should be exhibited by a valid measure of this construct. Responses to the PRF ANDRO and the BSRI were factor analyzed separately for sex-typed and non-sex-typed groups. Results show consistent and theoretically predictable differences in the factor solutions of these two groups. The sex-typed or gender-schematic group obtained bipolar factors, with masculine items loading with one sign, whereas feminine items loaded with the other sign on each factor. Also, sex of subject loaded highly on almost every factor for this group. The non-sex-typed group, however, obtained few such distinctly dichotomous factors, and sex of subject loaded only on the weaker factors. Results are interpreted as providing support for the construct validity of at least the BSRI and the PRF ANDRO for use in researching the implications of this approach.     

A construct validation of the Objective-Analytic Test Battery (OATB)

The scales of Cattell's Objective–Analytic Test Battery (OATB) and the factors derived from the factor analysis of the subtests of the OATB were located with respect to a wide range of ability and personality variables, including the 16PF and Cattell's Comprehensive Ability Battery. The expected relationships between the OATB scales and the personality measures did not emerge. However, it was found that many of the OATB scales were highly correlated with ability factors. It is concluded that in Britain, and in its present form, the OATB is not a viable instrument for measuring personality traits.     

A six orthogonal factor model of adolescent personality derived from the HSPQ

Attention is drawn to recent major critiques of Cattell's ‘16 PF’ model of personality. Various six/seven-factor models of personality (assuming intelligence is included) derived from the 16 PF or its precursors are described. The equation of Eysenck's E and N factors with Cattell's second-order factors of ‘exvia’ and ‘anxiety’ is mentioned. An examination is made of the problems of factored scale construction and the ‘number of factors’ issue, especially when item responses are analysed.Three previous second-order factor solutions to the HSPQ are presented. These show a remarkable degree of concordance among themselves and with an item analysis of the HSPQ conducted by the writers. This item analysis also reveals serious doubts about the primary trait structure proposed by Cattell and Cattell (1969). It is suggested that, for adolescents, the four studies, with some support from the 16 PF analyses, point to a six-factor structure for personality consisting of anxiety ( = Eysenck's N); tender-tough-mindedness ( = Eysenck's Psychoticism); carefulness-casualness and two aspects of extraversion-introversion: (a) preference for working with people rather than with things. (b) Classical extraversion (the last or both (a) and (b) being analogous to Eysenck's E) and finally intelligence, if this can be classified as an aspect of personality.     

A general factor of personality,social desirability,cognitive ability,and the survey of work styles in an employment selection setting

How a general factor of personality (GFP) correlated with employment screening measures in an applied setting was examined. Participants were 540 adult insurance sales job applicants who completed scales from two personality measures, the five scales from the Survey of Work Styles (SWS), an intelligence measure, and a social desirability scale. A joint factor analysis of the personality questionnaires produced four first order factors. A single GFP was also extracted. Strong correlations were found between some of the personality factors and the SWS scales. Strong significant correlations were found between the GFP and three of the four personality factors with social desirability. Neither the GFP nor the personality factors correlated significantly with cognitive abilities.