Motor deficits associated with mild, chronic hyponatremia: a factor analytic study

ABSTRACT Chronic hyponatremia (CHN) has traditionally been considered asymptomatic. If symptoms are observed, they are often mistakenly attributed to the underlying disorder. However, in recent studies neuropsychological deficits have been associated with CHN. The authors sought to determine the association between CHN and motor deficits. They used previously collected data, and 41 subjects with hyponatremia were included. An exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis (PCA) was performed (eigenvalues >1.0). Factor scores were generated for each subject based on the resultant PCA factor structure. Finally, partial correlations were computed to measure the degree of association between baseline serum sodium concentration [Na+] and individual neuropsychological factor scores with the effect of age removed. All significance tests were performed using 2-tailed comparisons with alpha level of p ≤ .05. A 3-factor model emerged accounting for 70.17% of the total variance, including 1 factor that loaded primarily with motor speed and reaction time. A significant correlation was observed between this motor factor and serum [Na+] (r = -.477, p = .002). These findings add to previous observations suggesting that CHN is associated with subtle yet harmful motor deficits.     

Performance monitoring in obsessive–compulsive disorder: A temporo-spatial principal component analysis

Hyperactive performance monitoring is a robust finding in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients show increased amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) and correct-related negativity (CRN). Recently, two temporo-spatial factors were shown to contribute to both ERPs in healthy individuals. In the present study, it was investigated whether the factor structure underlying ERN and CRN is similar in OCD and which factors differ between groups. A principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to investigate the temporo-spatial factor structure of ERN and CRN. Twenty-six OCD patients and 26 healthy controls conducted a flanker task. EEG data were analyzed as conventional ERP components and as factor scores derived from temporo-spatial PCA. ERP results showed expected increases in ERN and CRN amplitudes in OCD patients. For both groups, the PCA confirmed the assumed factor structure of a central and a fronto-parietal factor contributing to ERN and CRN. Factor scores of both factors were differently affected by response correctness in OCD. Alterations in factor scores indicate increased activity in both an outcome-independent monitoring process and an error-sensitive process, contributing to overactive performance monitoring in OCD.     

Psychometric properties of the Padua Inventory in Chinese college samples

The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Padua Inventory in Chinese college samples. Three different samples (N1 = 1,939, N2 = 1,341, and N3 = 298) of Chinese college students were recruited. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a four-factor structure which was similar to that found in previous studies. Further, present results showed good internal consistency as well as convergent and divergent validity with the subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Although no sex difference was found on total score, women had significantly higher scores on Factor 2 (Urges and worries of losing control over motor behaviors) and Factor 4 (Checking), while men had significantly higher scores on Factor 3 (Contamination). Implications of ter the results and directions for research are discussed.     

Multivariate relationships among visual-perceptual attributes and gross-motor tasks with different environmental demands

This study investigated the multivariate inter-relationships of five visual perceptual variables (coincidence anticipation, field dependence/independence, perceptual speed, peripheral range, and spatial relations) and two performance stages of two gross motor tasks. The motor tasks, a ball task and a nonball task, had different temporal environmental demands. Eighty randomly selected women enrolled In general college physical education classes performed six trials of both motor tasks on two days. Promax factor analysis produced five factors accounting for 81% of the total variability and three low but significant (p less than.05) interfactor correlations. Factor I (ability to perform the ball task) was related both to Factor IV (ability to anticipate coincidence) and to Factor II (ability to extract and inter-relate pertinent environmental information). Factor III (ability to relate to the total environment and perform the nonball task) was related to Factor V (ability to detect motion peripherally).     

Modification of the startle reflex in a community sample: do one or two dimensions of psychopathy underlie emotional processing?

Recent research on psychopathy has begun to explore two dimensions that possibly underlie psychopathy–one related more to emotional and interpersonal traits, and another related more to antisocial behaviors. A community sample of adults was assessed for psychopathy using Hare's (1991) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Eyeblinks elicited by startle probes were recorded while participants viewed pictures of emotionally-laden stimuli. Consistent with previous research, participants scoring high on PCL-R Factor 2 (“antisocial”) showed no affective modification of startle if they also scored high on PCL-R Factor 1 (“emotional detachment”). When the factor scores were analyzed together as continuous variables in a regression analysis, however, affective modification of startle was negatively related to Factor 1 but positively related to Factor 2. The results thus provide further support for a two-factor model of psychopathy.     

Cattell 16 personality profiles of patients following closed-head injuries

The personality scores from Cattell's 16 PF for 188 patients who had been referred for neuropsychological assessment following motor vehicle incidents were analyzed as a function of the severity of neuropsychological impairment (Halstead-Reitan Index) and time since the injury. Patients who were impaired (Index > 0.4) exhibited lower scores on Factor B (moe concrete thinking), Factor E (more submissive), and Factor F (more cautious) than patients who were not impaired. The presence of impairment accommodated only 10% of the variance in Factor E scores, associated with the largest group difference. There were no significant differences between scores on any of the personality factors, verbal intelligence, or standardized reading ability as a function of time since the injury.     

Circadian typology and the Alternative Five‐Factor Model of personality

Two studies were carried out to explore the relationship between circadian typology and the Alternative Five‐Factor Model of personality. In the first study, 379 participants (232 females) were administered the reduced version of the Morningness‐Eveningness Questionnaire and the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire. Evening types reported higher impulsive sensation‐seeking scores than morning and intermediate types, whereas morning types scored higher than evening types on activity factor. In the second study, the association between morningness and activity personality factor was verified through the objective‐actigraphic monitoring of the rest‐activity cycle. Actigraphy allowed us to operationalise both circadian typology, through the computing of midpoint of sleep (early values, expressed in hours and minutes, correspond to an advanced phase of the sleep/wake cycle), and activity factor by the means of motor activity recording. Fifty‐one individuals (30 females) wore an actigraph on the nondominant wrist continuously for 1 week. A negative correlation was observed between midpoint of sleep and mean diurnal motor activity, demonstrating that an early phase of the sleep/wake cycle (i.e. morningness preference) was related to higher diurnal motor activity. Assessed both subjectively and objectively, the results of both studies highlight a significant relationship between morningness and activity personality factor.     

Psychometric, diurnal, and electrophysiological correlates of activation.

Several studies were performed using Thayer's Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL). Factor analysis of college students' scores identified a single activation factor representing a continuum ranging from sleep through wakefulness. Next, changes over the diurnal cycle in activation factor scores were demonstrated. One-week test-retest reliability was also investigated. Finally, activation scores were related to pulse rate, respiration rate, and skin resistance level under passive and active conditions. Correlations between factor scores and electrophysiological measures were higher than were intercorrelations of electrophysiological measures, indicating that scores on this revised activation factor represent a valid measure of phenomenological bodily activation level.     

A psychometric evaluation of the Harvey Imposter Phenomenon Scale

In this article, we present psychometric properties on the 14-item Harvey Imposter Phenomenon (IP) Scale (Harvey, 1981) among a sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 136). Item analyses, internal consistency reliability, and principal components analysis (PCA) were computed to assess the reliability and factor structure of the IP scores. Although the internal consistency reliability (e.g., Cronbach's alpha) was reasonably acceptable (alpha =.70), the item analyses and subsequent PCA suggest concern for the content homogeneity and factor structure of composite scores obtained from the 14-item measure. The results of this study suggest that the indiscriminate use of the Harvey IP Scale is cautioned relative to the insufficient psychometric properties.     

Sociomoral reasoning,perceptions of parenting and self‐reported delinquency in adolescents

This study considers the relationships between perceived parenting, sociomoral reasoning, and self‐reported delinquency in a sample of high school adolescents. Correlational analysis revealed that moral reasoning was associated with a consistent disciplinary style. Self‐reported delinquency was positively related to a number of the parenting variables but negatively correlated with moral reasoning. Separate analysis for males and females showed similar patterns for self‐reported delinquency, with the exception that moral reasoning was negatively correlated with attachment and supervision among females. The most significant predictors of delinquency scores were parenting variables, with moral reasoning also playing a role for males. A factor analysis of the perceived parenting measure revealed two factors. The first factor reflected a warm, inductive and involved style of parenting with the second reflecting a parenting style characterized by physical punishment. Self‐reported delinquency was negatively significantly associated with Factor 1, and positively related to Factor 2. There were also differences in the self‐reported delinquency scores of the top and bottom quartiles of Factor 1 scores. These support the conclusion that a parental style that is perceived to be warm, involved and inductive is associated with lower levels of delinquency in adolescence. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factor-analytic structures in the English and Japanese versions of the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS)

This research describes an exploratory factor analysis for the purposes of factorial validation for both the English and Japanese versions of the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS)—Ideological version (Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989). The Japanese OMEIS is a direct translation of the English OMEIS (Ohnishi, 1998). The study reports the factor structure of the OMEIS—Ideological version in English and Japanese. A principal factor analysis (PFA) with both oblique and orthogonal solutions was performed. Alpha reliabilities for the factors are presented. The present research compares and contrasts the factor structures of OMEIS—Ideological version, derived from a U.S. sample and a Japanese sample, comprising women from late adulthood to middle age. Cultural differences between the two sample populations are explored.     

Inner images and delineations of parental figures reported by psychotherapeutic outpatients

Psychotherapeutic outpatients (10 men, 20 women) were tested with the Inner Images of Parental Figures. Each subject imagined first his mother and then his father. Questions were asked about size, look, and spatial and emotional distance of the imagined parent. The patient was then asked to describe the personality of each parent by underlining at least 20 of 85 adjectives in a list called Family Climate Scale. This originally consisted of four factors, Closeness, Spontaneity, Distance, and Chaos, but the two administered were Factor I (positive traits) and Factor II (negative traits). Emotional distance correlated positively with Factor I and negatively with Factor II. For the maternal figure there was a correlation with distance in metres and Factor I scores. The Inner Images of Parental Figures may be a valuable complement in psychotherapy, mapping out emotional relations between patients and their parents.     

Factor-analytic structures in the English and Japanese versions of the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS)

This research describes an exploratory factor analysis for the purposes of factorial validation for both the English and Japanese versions of the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS)—Ideological version (Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989). The Japanese OMEIS is a direct translation of the English OMEIS (Ohnishi, 1998). The study reports the factor structure of the OMEIS—Ideological version in English and Japanese. A principal factor analysis (PFA) with both oblique and orthogonal solutions was performed. Alpha reliabilities for the factors are presented. The present research compares and contrasts the factor structures of OMEIS—Ideological version, derived from a U.S. sample and a Japanese sample, comprising women from late adulthood to middle age. Cultural differences between the two sample populations are explored.     

Measuring positive,psychological rewards: The validation of the Intrinsic Work Rewards Scale

This study sought to validate the Intrinsic Work Rewards Scale (IWRS) using a transnational sample. Respondents were 486 non-profit employees from Australia, South Africa and the United States of America (females = 72.0%; managerial/ supervisory job level employees = 57.4%). Data analysis included reliability testing, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and concurrent validity testing with established measures to which the IWRS is theoretically linked. The scores from the IWRS obtained an overall acceptable reliability coefficient of 0.86. Factor analysis confirmed its five factor structure, and correlations indicated that intrinsic rewards are positively related to work engagement, and negatively related to intention to quit. The IWRS appears to yield reliable scores for human resource managers advising in the non-profit employment sector.     

Social networks and adult social identities: Profiles and correlates of support and rejection

The growth of interest in social networks has underscored the need for integrative analyses of network dimensions. A three-pronged strategy to achieve this objective was pursued in a study of 261 married women nurses. First, network variables related to important adult social identities were differentiated. Factor analyses revealed four network interaction factors: work support, work rejection, general support, and general rejection. An additional factor analysis differentiated work associates from nonwork network members. Second, cluster analysis of these factor scores identified five different network profiles. The profiles differed in the importance of the woman's work to her nonwork ties as well as the frequency and pattern of different positive and negative interactions. Third, individuals with these contrasting network profiles differed on levels of life satisfaction and psychological symptomatology. The discussion emphasizes social network differences within the broader context of the ecology of human development.     

A family study of memory processes and their relations to cognitive test scores

Members of 118 families (456 individuals) who had been tested on several measures of cognitive ability were retested on the same battery in order to determine test-retest reliability. They then were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and tests of visual memory, auditory memory, and figure memory, as well as other measures not discussed herein. Intercorrelations of memory tasks were low to moderate. Factor analysis resulted in a four factor solution. The different factors appeared to represent auditory sequential memory (Factor I); visual memory, as measured psychometrically (Factor II); visual memory, as measured experimentally (Factor III); and figure memory (Factor IV). A second order factor analysis yielded two factors, one consisting of basically psychometric measures of memory and the other of measures of memory obtained in the experimental psychological tradition. Memory measures generally showed low to moderate positive correlations with scores on the cognitive test battery. Significant spouse correlations were found for 3 of the 11 measures of memory. Significant midparent-midchild regressions were found for 9 of the 11 memory measures.     

Specific fears as predictors of generalized anxiety

Three hundred thirty-seven female undergraduates completed the Trait Form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Fear Survey Schedule-II (FSS) to determine if any specific fear factor was significantly related to STAI score. All fear factor scores and the total FSS-II score were significantly correlated with the STAI score and with each other. A stepwise regression procedure indicated that Factor 1, Fear of Social Interaction, accounted for 25.2% of the variance in STAI scores (p <.001), while Factor 4, of Negative Social Evaluation, accounted for an additional 1.8% of the variance (p <.01). The implications for theory, assessment, and intervention are discussed.     

The big none: No evidence for a general factor of personality in chimpanzees, orangutans, or rhesus macaques

We examined whether a general factor of personality (GFP) was present in chimpanzees, orangutans, or rhesus macaques. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to model correlations among first-order factors as arising from a GFP. We then conducted principal axis factor analyses (PFA) of the first-order factors to extract a single higher-order factor and then to extract two oblique higher-order factors. The CFA model fit was poor for chimpanzees and orangutans, but not rhesus macaques. The single higher-order factors extracted via PFA did not resemble the GFP in all three species. The oblique higher-order factors extracted via PFA were only weakly correlated in all three species. These results do not support the existence of a GFP in nonhuman primates.