Health of women: associations among life events, social support, and personality for selected patient groups

This study examined the effects of life events, social support, personality traits, and siblings' birth-order on the health of women. 199 middle-class participants were included. 95 women, randomly assigned from four different patient groups, were compared with a control group of 96 randomly selected women without any special health problems. They completed a questionnaire which included questions regarding family background, health, different life events, social support, and signs of disease and a projective test, the Sivik Psychosomatism Test. Analysis indicated that report of negative life events was associated with more physical symptoms than positive life events and that the patient groups reported more negative life events and less social support than the control group.     

A comparison of five-factor personality dimensions in males with sexual dysfunction and males with paraphilia.

We compared personality profiles of men with sexual dysfunction (n = 51) to those of age-matched men with a primary diagnosis of paraphilia (n = 51) employing the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), a measure of the five-factor model. Preliminary analyses in a large sample of patients in a sexual behaviors consultation unit supported the reliability and factorial validity of the NEO-PI for this population. Analysis of variance showed significant differences between the dysfunctional and the paraphilic groups on two of the five NEO-PI domains, Neuroticism (N) and Agreeableness (A). The group personality profile of the sexually dysfunctional men was comparable to the normative sample of the NEO-PI, except for a slight elevation in N. By contrast, men with paraphilia had a personality profile marked by high N, low A, and low Conscientiousness (C). Treatment implications of the average personality profile of the sexual dysfunction group and the distinctive personality profile of paraphilic men are discussed.     

Birth order and selected work-related personality variables

A possible link between birth order and various individual characteristics (e. g., intelligence, potential eminence, need for achievement, sociability) has been suggested by personality theorists such as Adler for over a century. The present study examines whether birth order is associated with selected personality variables that may be related to various work outcomes. 3 of 7 hypotheses were supported and the effect sizes for these were small. Firstborns scored significantly higher than later borns on measures of dominance, good impression, and achievement via conformity. No differences between firstborns and later borns were found in managerial potential, work orientation, achievement via independence, and sociability. The study's sample consisted of 835 public, government, and industrial accountants responding to a national US survey of accounting professionals. The nature of the sample may have been partially responsible for the results obtained. Its homogeneity may have caused any birth order effects to wash out. It can be argued that successful membership in the accountancy profession requires internalization of a set of prescribed rules and standards. It may be that accountants as a group are locked in to a behavioral framework. Any differentiation would result from spurious interpersonal differences, not from predictable birth-order related characteristics. A final interpretation is that birth order effects are nonexistent or statistical artifacts. Given the present data and particularistic sample, however, the authors have insufficient information from which to draw such a conclusion.     

Modeling the personality of dyads and groups

The paper presents a methodological approach for assessing the personality of a dyad or a group, a concept that is not equivalent to the sum, or mean, of the individual scores. We illustrate how the logic of the multitrait multimethod approach, which is a familiar technique for establishing construct validity, can be extended to assess the construct of a relationship "personality." The model, which we call the latent group model, provides a decomposition and comparison of individual-level and group-level variance in a given trait, and the individual-level and group-level covariance or correlation between two traits. The model is also extended to the assessment of stability of the individual and group level traits. Throughout the paper, we draw connections between related methods and show how the latent group model can be estimated through hierarchical linear modeling.     

Comparisons of two groups of sex-change applicants based on the MMPI

Out of 29 men asking for a sex-change, 16 reported clinical anamnesis criteria for transsexualism according to the DSM-III-R, a more restrictive diagnosis than the DSM-IV gender dysphoria diagnosis. In addition, all the subjects had taken an MMPI which, of course, did not contribute to the transsexualism diagnosis but which served to describe their personalities. The 16 subjects diagnosed as transsexual and the 13 who did not qualify for this diagnosis were compared on the basis of personality variables measured by the MMPI. Certain differences became evident. The transsexuals systematically complied to cultural stereotypes of femininity without any uneasiness, whereas the nontranssexuals could be subdivided into two groups, those with a vague sense of ill-being linked to a pronounced feminine identity or those with only a slight feminine identity and who showed no particular difficulties.     

Comparison of selected gait parameters of trainable mentally retarded and nonretarded males

Although there were no significant differences in the single support phase of gait for 6 trainable mentally retarded boys (Mean age 9.6 yr.) and 6 nonretarded boys (Mean age 9.5 yr.), total gait time and time in double support were significantly different for the two groups, supporting previous research which showed gait was was deficient in trainable mentally retarded individuals.     

Factor structure in groups selected on observed scores

A new method is proposed for estimating factor means and factor covariances in a group of individuals selected on their observed scores. The selection variable is, for example, the total score on an admissions test. Given a factor model for the test items based on the group of test takers, we may be interested in the factor structure for those in the top quartile. The differences in factor means and covariances between this selected group and the full group gives useful information both on successful test performance and on test validity. The new method draws on the classic Pearson-Lawley selection formulas. It avoids the fallacy of factor analysis on the selected group, which would lead to incorrect estimates. The new method is applied to a simple factor structure model for the GMAT test. Although the majority of the GMAT items test verbal skills, it is found that a quantitative factor shows the greatest change in moving from average to top quartile test takers.     

Identification with groups: the role of personality and context

Is identification a product of personality or of the context? We examine this question by adopting a multidimensional conceptualization of identification (the CIDS model) that integrates research perspectives on personality and contextual effects. We investigate (Study 1) the relationships of traits to identification with the nation (students, N = 77), the army (soldiers, N = 220), and a business school (students, N = 123). Then we show that the modes of identification vary in their stability across social contexts and in their susceptibility to contextual change. Idealizing groups' symbols (“deference” identification) is especially stable across different foci of identification (Study 2): the military and former high school (soldiers, N = 188), the business school and the nation (students, = 62), and the military and one's ethnic group (soldiers, N = 95). Perceiving the group as a central part of the self (“importance” identification) is the most susceptible to contextual effects of priming values (Study 3; students, N = 80, 60) and the group's status (Study 4; students, N = 68).     

The biasing effect of personality on self-estimates of cognitive abilities in males and females

In addition to exploring the relationship between psychometric and self-estimated measures of Crystallized Knowledge (Gc) and Visual Processing (Gv), this study investigated whether personality significantly moderated these relationships, thereby influencing the accuracy of the self-estimates. Adult participants (N = 165) completed the Big Five Inventory and self-estimated their levels of Gc and Gv. They were subsequently administered the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery II, a group test of cognitive ability. Significant and positive relationships between psychometric Gc and Gv and their respective self-estimates were found. Additionally, investigation of the moderating effects of personality for each gender separately using standard multiple regressions found that females high in Extraversion and males low in Conscientiousness were more prone to overestimating their Gv ability, while males high in Openness provided more accurate estimates of their Gv than those low in Openness. Elucidating the personality traits that distort self-perceptions of intellectual functioning has significant implications for the identification of individuals at risk of harboring inaccurate expectations, leading to the potential for interventions aimed at ameliorating associated deleterious consequences.     

Perception of childhood dissatisfaction with parents and selected personality traits in adulthood

This study tested the hypotheses that perceptions of childhood dissatisfaction with parents are associated with higher scores on measures of intensity and chronicity of loneliness, anxiety, neuroticism, psychoticism, misanthropy, and external locus of control and lower scores on measures of self-esteem and sociability. The subjects were 537 Iranian students studying in American and Iranian universities. Both hypotheses were confirmed in a multivariate statistical model. We also found that dissatisfaction with parents was related to a lack of satisfactory relationships with peers.