Using Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) to identify core profiles from the WMS-III

Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) is a procedure for extracting latent core profiles in a multitest data set. The PAMS procedure offers several advantages compared with other profile analysis procedures. Most notably, PAMS estimates individual profile weights that reflect the degree to which an individual's observed profile approximates the shape and scatter of latent core profiles. The PAMS procedure was applied to index scores of nonreplicated participants from the standardization sample (N = 1,033) for the Wechsler Memory Scale--Third Edition (D. Tulsky, J. Zhu, & M. F. Ledbetter, 2002). PAMS extracted discrepant visual memory and auditory memory versus working memory core profiles for the complete 16- to 89-year-old sample and discrepant working memory and auditory memory versus working memory core profiles for the 75- to 89-year-old cohort. Implications for use of PAMS in future research are discussed.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling

This paper describes the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) parameterization of the Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) model to demonstrate validation of profile pattern hypotheses derived from multidimensional scaling (MDS). Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) is an exploratory method for identifying major profiles in a multi-subtest test battery. Major profile patterns are represented as dimensions extracted from a MDS analysis. PAMS represents an individual observed score as a linear combination of dimensions where the dimensions are the most typical profile patterns present in a population. While the PAMS approach was initially developed for exploratory purposes, its results can later be confirmed in a different sample by CFA. Since CFA is often used to verify results from an exploratory factor analysis, the present paper makes the connection between a factor model and the PAMS model, and then illustrates CFA with a simulated example (that was generated by the PAMS model) and at the same time with a real example. The real example demonstrates confirmation of PAMS exploratory results by using a different sample. Fit indexes can be used to indicate whether the CFA reparameterization as a confirmatory approach works for the PAMS exploratory results.     

Predicting physical activity intention and behaviour using achievement goal theory: A person-centred analysis

The purpose of the current study was to identify the 2 × 2 achievement goals profiles at the intraindividual level using a latent profile analyses (LPA) approach while controlling for the nesting of students within classroom. Additional analyses involving the direct inclusion of predictors and outcomes to the final latent profile solution were also used to examine the relationships between the latent profiles and perceived motivational climate, intention to be physically active and physical activity participation. A sample of 1810 school children aged 14–19 years drawn from 79 classes in 13 Singaporean schools took part in the study. Using the latent profile analysis, four distinct motivational profiles could be identified. The results from multinomial logistic regressions showed that profile membership was significantly predicted by perceptions of mastery and performance climate. Finally, the results showed that the four profiles differed significantly in terms of intention to be physically active and physical activity participation.     

Patterns of peer- and teacher-rated aggression,victimization, and prosocial behavior in an urban,predominantly African American preadolescent sample: Associations with peer-perceived characteristics

This study investigated peer-perceived social/reputational correlates of patterns of aggression, victimization, and prosocial behavior. Participants were a predominantly African-American (i.e., 87%) sample of 320 fourth and fifth graders (45% male, Mean age = 10.4 years) attending six urban public elementary schools. Using latent profile analysis, profiles of peer-perceived and teacher-perceived aggressive, victimized, and prosocial youth were identified. These latent profiles were then compared on a range of peer-perceived social/reputational characteristics. Results indicated that teachers and peers identified similar profiles of normative and prosocial students. However, whereas peers distinguished between aggressive and victimized profiles, the teacher-identified victimized profile was also perceived as aggressive. Results also indicated that there was modest agreement between peers and teachers about who was involved in peer victimization. Findings underscore the importance of including both informants in efforts to identify youth involved in peer victimization.     

Toward adjustment profiles for lower secondary student-athletes in the Finnish dual career context: A mixed-methods approach

Engagement, burnout, and experiences are central concepts for understanding student-athlete adjustment in a dual career (DC) environment. As part of a larger 3-year, lower secondary sports schools pilot project, the aim of this study was to examine student-athletes’ DC adjustment in Finnish lower secondary sports schools at the end of the second academic year. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, we sought to (a) identify adjustment profiles among student-athletes based on measures of engagement and burnout in school and sport and (b) to extract experiences that describe the distribution of student-athletes in the profiles. A latent profile analysis using questionnaire data from a sample of 217 lower secondary student-athletes (M = 14 years, SD = 0.4 years) revealed three distinct profiles: well-adjusted (n = 122), reasonably functioning (n = 73), and struggling (n = 22). Follow-up interviews with a subsample of 19 student-athletes revealed that occasional physical exhaustion and school-related stress were common adjustment issues for student-athletes in all three profiles. Student-athletes showing the well-adjusted profile reported advanced DC management skills that enabled them to maintain low levels of burnout while engaging extensively in school and sport. Adolescents in the reasonably functioning profile reported difficulties in portioning time and thoughts between school and sport, which caused physical and mental DC taxation. To compensate for insufficient time management strategies, adolescents belonging to the struggling profile had to emancipate time for schoolwork by lowering their sports engagement at the cost of heightened school and sport burnout.     

Profile Analysis of Psychological Symptoms Associated With Misophonia: A Community Sample

Misophonia is characterized by extreme aversive reactions to certain classes of sounds. It has recently been recognized as a condition associated with significant disability. Research has begun to evaluate psychopathological correlates of misophonia. This study sought to identify profiles of psychopathology that characterize misophonia in a large community sample. A total of N = 628 adult participants completed a battery of measures assessing anxiety and anxiety sensitivity, depression, stress responses, anger, dissociative experiences, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and beliefs, distress tolerance, bodily perceptions, as well as misophonia severity. Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) was employed to evaluate profiles associated with elevated misophonia and those without symptoms. Three profiles were extracted. The first two accounted for 70% total variance and did not show distinctions between groups. The third profile accounted for 11% total variance, and showed that misophonia is associated with lower obsessive-compulsive symptoms for neutralizing, obsessions generally, and washing compared to those not endorsing misophonia, and higher levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms associated with ordering and harm avoidance. This third profile extracted also showed significant differences between those with and without misophonia on the scale assessing physical concerns (that is, sensitivity to interoceptive sensations) as assessed with the ASI-3. Further research is called for involving diagnostic interviewing and experimental methods to clarify these putative mechanisms associated with misophonia.     

A Comparison of Psychopathic Trait Latent Profiles in Service Members

This study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify differing classes of psychopathic traits in a large sample of military personnel (90.7% Army National Guard) and examined how membership across profiles can be differentiated by mean scores on external correlates relevant to psychopathy and/or to military service (e.g., aggression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, impulsivity). Psychopathy was operationalized via the three-factor model of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scales (LSRP; Brinkley et al. 2008; Levenson et al. 1995). LPA revealed optimal fit for a four-profile solution. Three profiles had roughly equivalent within-profile means across the three factors, characterized by below average, average, and above/high average LSRP scores. The fourth profile emerged as qualitatively different: high on LSRP-Callous but below average on LSRP-Egocentricity and LSRP-Antisocial. The four profiles were differentiable based on their mean scores on external correlates, suggesting varied implications for externalizing and internalizing features across psychopathic trait configurations in a military sample. Implications for studying psychopathy in military and other novel samples are discussed.

     

Family Profiles of Cohesion and Parenting Practices and Latino Youth Adjustment

Using a sample of 279 (52% female) Latino youth in 9th grade (M = 14.57, SD = .56), we examined profiles of family cohesion and parenting practices and their relation to youth adjustment. The results of latent profile analyses revealed four family profiles: Engaged, Supportive, Intrusive, and Disengaged. Latino youth in the Supportive family profile showed most positive adjustment (highest self‐esteem and lowest depressive symptoms), followed by youth in the Engaged family profile. Youth in the Intrusive and Disengaged profiles showed the lowest levels of positive adjustment. The findings contribute to the current literature on family dynamics, family profiles, and youth psychological adjustment within specific ethnic groups.     

Individual differences in patterns of developmental opportunity and constraint during COVID-19: Implications for longitudinal well-being

Individual differences in sociodemographic characteristics and trait-like perceptions of opportunities and constraints may shape how people respond to adversities such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about how these factors combine to form multifaceted profiles of developmental opportunity and constraint or the implications of such profiles for longitudinal well-being following major life stressors. Using 1-year data from a national sample of U.S. adults (n = 293), we identified profiles based on relevant sociodemographic characteristics (age, socioeconomic status, chronic conditions, functional status) and trait-like perceptions of opportunity and constraints (perceived mastery, perceived constraints). Results of latent profile analyses showed that three common profiles emerged at pandemic onset (veridical opportunity, perceived constraints, perceived opportunity). Subsequent latent growth models showed that, despite reporting more sociodemographic constraints, the perceived opportunity profile exhibited better 1-year emotional well-being (positive and negative affect) during the pandemic than the perceived constraints profile. Findings advance the literature by identifying multifaceted individual differences in profiles of developmental opportunity and constraint and by showing these profiles have consequences for longitudinal well-being following the pandemic onset.     

Student-athletes’ dual commitment to school and sport: Compatible or conflicting?

There is general agreement that for collegiate student-athletes to thrive in academics and athletics these individuals must develop and maintain quality commitments to both school and sport throughout college. Yet, limited research has investigated student-athletes’ concurrent negotiation of their discrete commitments to school and sport, and its consequences for these individuals' academic, athletic, and general lives. The purpose of the present study was threefold: (a) identify distinct profiles representing collegiate students-athletes’ dual commitment to school and sport, (b) detect whether these dual commitment profiles demonstrated compatibility versus conflict, and (c) examine the relationships between dual commitment profiles and student-athletes’ academic, athletic, and general life outcomes. A sample of 248 NCAA Division I student-athletes (Mage = 19.87 years, SD = 1.33 years) completed measures of commitment, engagement, and burnout in school and sport, as well as global psychological well-being indices (i.e., life satisfaction and subjective vitality). Using latent profile analyses, results supported a four-profile solution comprising dual commitment profiles with unique configurations of enthusiastic (EC) and constrained (CC) commitment to school and sport: Weak CC-Dominant: School/Strong EC-Dominant: Sport (n = 43), Weak CC-Dominant: School/Strong CC-Dominant: Sport (n = 71), Moderate Commitment: School & Sport (n = 91), and Strong EC-Dominant: School & Sport (n = 43). Dual commitment profiles characterized by enthusiastic-dominant commitment patterns were associated with higher levels of school/sport engagement and global psychological well-being, as well as lower levels of school/sport burnout. Overall, our findings established that collegiate student-athletes are tied to school and sport for various reasons and speak to a potential need for enhanced support networks and services catered to student-athletes’ academic role in the United States.     

Exercise schema and motivational regulation of college students: A person-centered analysis

To further understand the complex psychological processes involved with motivating health behavior, we sought to examine how one's exercise schema may align with self-determined exercise motivation regulations. Few studies have examined patterns of motivation regulations that may be associated with exercise schema in order to better identify unique motivation-based profiles. We conducted a latent profile analysis on responses from 427 college-aged adults to an exercise self-schema measure (schema identification and schema strength) and five exercise regulation subscales (external, introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic). A three-class latent profile model fit this data best considering both the fit indices and theoretical implications and confirmed previous research grouping individuals into pre-exerciser schematics, aschematics, and exerciser schematics. However, the model also captured individuals that would have been unclassifiable in the original scoring analysis. Future research may examine the stability of these profiles and methods to better understand schema-regulation profiles and exercise behavior.     

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies among Chinese adolescents having unprotected sex: a latent profile analysis

The association between cognitive emotion regulation strategy use and adolescents’ risk behavior has long been emphasized. To identify coping profiles of Chinese adolescents having unprotected sex and to examine the characteristics and associations among those subgroups, 541 adolescents (age, 14–19 years) were screened from secondary schools in 10 Chinese cities. By latent profile analysis (LPA), the participants were identified into three latent profiles: the low reaction profile (LRP, N = 70), the medium reaction profile (MRP, N = 369), and the high reaction profile (HRP, N = 102) based on nine subscales of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). By one-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that: the HRP has the highest level of using eight strategies and the lowest unprotected sex, meanwhile the LRP has the lowest level of using nine strategies and the highest unprotected sex among three groups (both p < .05). The low response coping was more prevalent among boys and younger students. It indicates that more active cognitive coping, using both adaptive and maladaptive strategies, may associate with less unprotected sex. The programs of enhancing active copying may be targeted in interventions aiming to reduce adolescent unprotected sex.     

Relocating attitudes as components of representational profiles: Mapping the epidemiology of bicultural policy attitudes using latent class analysis

We apply latent class analysis (LCA) to build typologies of response profiles underlying variation in attitudes. LCA is directly suited for identifying categories of people who have distinct representational profiles, that is, discretely measureable patterns of attitudes that are bound together by a common system of interpretation used by the group to make sense of and communicate about a social object within a social context. This novel application extends social representations theory and provides a way to simultaneously examine the relevant content of important representations and their prevalence across a priori social categories and demographics within a given society. We identify four distinct representational profiles underlying bicultural policy attitudes in a nationally representative New Zealand sample (N = 6150). We map the prevalence of these four profiles across the population, show how they vary demographically across indicators of social class, immigration status, and ethnicity, and predict distinct patterns of voting behavior, political party support, social identification, and in‐group and out‐group attitudes. Guidelines for the use of LCA in the study of social representations are discussed, including a three‐step model of the following: (i) profile prediction and derivation; (ii) profile validation; and (iii) prevalence mapping of profile distributions across strata within the population. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Typical coping patterns: A person-centered approach to coping

Applying the person-oriented approach to coping can provide a unique perspective by revealing typical latent patterns. The study examined typical latent patterns shown by task-, emotion- and avoidance-oriented trait-based coping styles. We performed secondary analyses with Latent Profile Analysis on our former data and three independent datasets containing coping measures with the CISS-48 scale (Endler & Parker, 1994). Gender differences were also studied. Two basic profiles seem universal: the first is characterized by a high level of task-oriented coping, and the second profile is with moderately high scores on all three coping styles. The finding indicates that two fundamental latent coping profiles exist, which suggests a within-subject comparison in practice instead of investigating the absolute value of coping styles. Comparing data before and after 2020, COVID-19 does not seem to affect these profiles. The person-centered approach provides a possibility for the integration of coping-related findings.     

Upsetting the apple cart: Within-team profiles of intragroup conflict and their associations with narcissism

Different types of intragroup conflict (i.e., relationship, task, and process conflict) co-exist in team environments yet how this co-existence is expressed is poorly understood, particularly in sports teams. Further, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the antecedents of intragroup conflict. Here, we examined the nature of conflict profiles in sports teams and investigated narcissism as an antecedent to the conflict profiles. In a large, multi-group sample (n = 1107 athletes from 109 teams), participants completed measures of intragroup conflict and narcissism. Team-level latent profile analysis of intragroup conflict variables indicated five distinct within-team conflict profiles which varied in patterns of relationship, task, and process conflict. Moreover, teams high in narcissism (both in terms of team mean and team maximum scores) were more likely to occupy dysfunctional conflict profiles, that is profiles high in all conflict types. These findings underscore the importance of considering conflict profiles within teams and provide the first evidence for narcissism as a contributing factor in the development of conflict profiles in groups.     

A latent profile analysis of attributions for poverty: Identifying response patterns underlying people’s willingness to help the poor

Attribution theory posits that poverty beliefs vary along the causal properties of locus, stability, personal control, and other control. The current paper extends this framework by using a latent profile analysis to identify the unique response patterns (latent profiles) that underlie these beliefs. Results indicated that participants (N = 315) displayed one of three attributional profiles: Blaming (high internal locus; moderate stability; high personal control; high other control), Caring (low internal locus; moderate stability; low personal control; high other control), or Ambivalent (moderate across causal properties). Subsequent analyses showed that levels of conservatism and system justification positively correlated with membership in the Blaming (vs. Caring) profile. In turn, belonging in the Blaming (vs. Caring) profile predicted more anger, less sympathy, and less support for the poor. These findings advance attribution theory by taking a person-centered perspective and demonstrating that three distinct response patterns underlie individual differences in people’s poverty beliefs.     

中学教师工作狂类型与工作绩效的关系研究：基于潜在剖面分析

以229名中学教师对研究对象,采用潜在剖面分析方法探索其工作狂类型,并进一步揭示这些类型与工作绩效间的关系。结果表明:（1）教师按工作狂得分可分为三类：重度工作狂、中等偏高工作狂和中等偏低工作狂;（2）不同类别工作狂会对工作绩效产生不同程度的影响。     

The Role of Personality Profiles in the Longitudinal Relationship Between Work-related Well-being and Life Satisfaction Among Working Adults in Switzerland

Drawing on the concept of spillover between work and life domains and using a person-centred approach, the present study examined the role of Big Five personality trait profiles in moderating the relationship between work-related well-being and life satisfaction over a 1-year period in a sample of working adults in Switzerland (N = 1204). Latent profile analysis was first carried out to derive and compare alternative latent personality profile models. Subsequently, a two-wave cross-lagged structural equation model using three personality profiles (resilient, average, and oversensitive) as moderators was tested. Work stress and job satisfaction were used as negative and positive indicators of work-related well-being. The results showed that in the overall sample, only Time 1 life satisfaction predicted Time 2 job satisfaction. We found a moderating role for the personality profiles, where the effect of Time 1 work stress on Time 2 life satisfaction became salient in the oversensitive profile, while a significant effect of Time 1 life satisfaction on Time 2 work stress was found in the resilient profile. The current study showed that different combinations of personality traits may determine the way in which work-related well-being and general well-being relate to each other. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Are People Mindful in Different Ways? Disentangling the Quantity and Quality of Mindfulness in Latent Profiles and Exploring their Links to Mental Health and Life Effectiveness

We sought to disambiguate the quantitative and qualitative components of mindfulness profiles, examine whether including ‘nonattachment’ as a subcomponent of mindfulness alters the profiles, and evaluate the extent to which the person‐centred approach to understanding mindfulness adds predictive power beyond a more parsimonious variable‐centred approach. Using data from a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 7884; 52% female; Age: M = 47.9, SD = 16), we utilized bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling and latent profile analysis to separate the level and shape of previously identified profiles of mindfulness (Pearson, Lawless, Brown, & Bravo, 2015 ). Consistent with past research, we identified a judgmentally observing profile and a non‐judgmentally aware group, but inconsistent with past research, we did not find profiles that showed high or low levels on all specific aspects of mindfulness. Adding nonattachment did not alter the shape of the profiles. Profile membership was meaningfully related to demographic variables. In models testing the distinctive predictive utility of the profiles, the judgmentally observing profile, compared to the other profiles, showed the highest levels of mental ill‐health, but also the highest levels of life satisfaction and effectiveness. We discuss the implications of our study for clinical interventions and understanding the varieties of mindfulness. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Profiles of Children’s Thinking About Violence in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence remains a pervasive and common social problem. Evidence indicates that children witness many instances of intimate partner violence. However, the structure of children’s thinking about family violence is still not well understood. This research employed latent profile analysis to identify underlying latent profiles of children’s thinking about violence using the Attitudes and Beliefs About Violence Scale. The analysis identified two latent profiles mostly differentiated by children’s beliefs about whether or not victims of violence deserve to have violence inflicted upon them. Several covariates differentiated members of the two profiles. Suggestions for intervention and practice are included.