Detection of deception on the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality: validation of the validity scales

This study used a simulation design to investigate the validity scales of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Undergraduates (N=192) were randomly assigned to two positive distortion (PD) groups, two negative distortion (ND) groups, and a control group. Controls responded normally, whereas the deception groups responded according to assigned characters. Preliminary analyses indicated no significant differences within distortion valence; thus, the groups were collapsed into single PD (n=76), ND (n=79), and control groups (n=37). Mean-level analyses revealed that, consistent with previous studies, ND profiles are easier to detect than PD profiles. Cutoff scores were suggested, and the classification accuracy of these scores converged with the results of several discriminant function analyses to indicate that Rare Virtues and Deviance predict group membership at least as well as MMPI-2 validity scales. Structural analyses revealed that two moderately correlated factors-positive distortion and negative distortion-underlie scores on these validity scales.     

Illustration of MIMIC-Model DIF Testing with the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality

This research provides an example of testing for differential item functioning (DIF) using multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) structural equation models. True/False items on five scales of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) were tested for uniform DIF in a sample of Air Force recruits with groups defined by gender and ethnicity. Uniform DIF exists when an item is more easily endorsed for one group than the other, controlling for group mean differences on the variable under study. Results revealed significant DIF for many SNAP items and some effects were quite large. Differentially-functioning items can produce measurement bias and should be either deleted or modeled as if separate items were administered to different groups. Future research should aim to determine whether the DIF observed here holds for other samples.     

The temporal stability and predictive validity of pupils' causal attributions for difficult classroom behaviour

Background. Recent studies have investigated the causal attributions for difficult pupil behaviour made by teachers, pupils, and parents but none have investigated the temporal stability or predictive validity of these attributions. Aims. This study examines the causal attributions made for difficult classroom behaviour by students on two occasions 30 months apart. The longitudinal stability of these attributions is considered as is the predictive validity of the first set of attributions in relation to teachers' later judgments about individual students' behaviour. Sample. Two hundred and seventeen secondary school age pupils (114 males, 103 females) provided data on the two occasions. Teachers also rated each student's behaviour at the two times. Method. A questionnaire listing 63 possible causes of classroom misbehaviour was delivered to pupils firstly when they were in Year 7 (aged 11–12) and then again, 30 months later. Responses were analysed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Additionally, teachers were asked to rate the standard of behaviour of each of the students on the two occasions. Results. EFA of the Years 7 and 10 data indicated that pupils' attributions yielded broadly similar five‐factor models with the perceived relative importance of these factors remaining the same. Analysis also revealed a predictive relationship between pupils' attributions regarding the factor named culture of misbehaviour in Year 7, and teachers' judgments of their standard of behaviour in Year 10. Conclusion. The present study suggests that young adolescents' causal attributions for difficult classroom behaviour remain stable over time and are predictive of teachers' later judgments about their behaviour.     

A Multiphasic Personality Schedule (Minnesota) : I. Construction of the Schedule

Although attempts to demonstrate a relationship between one set of individual differences and the evaluative or behavioral components of an attitude usually have failed, this study examined the possibility that individual differences (i. e., personality) may be important in determining the cognitive component of the attitude (i. e., the rational support offered for the evaluative position or behavior).

Students with idealistic value systems (i.e., justice, egalitarian, humanitarian oriented) endorsed idealistic justifications for their attitudinal position (i.e., pro or anti) toward the war in Vietnam. Pragmatic students (i. e., utilitarian, outcome oriented) endorsed the more pragmatic justifications supporting their attitude toward the war.     

Basic Personality Inventory clinical and validity scales: Stability and internal consistency

A sample of 71 incarcerated adult male inmates was used to investigate the stability and internal consistency for the clinical and validity scales of the Basic Personality Inventoiy. One month test-retest stability coefficients for the clinical scales ranged from .53 to .77. KR-20 reliabilities ranged from .61 to .86 on each occasion. With the exception of the longer perseveration scales, stability was also reasonable for the validity scales. Overall, the Basic Personality Inventory clinical and validity scales demonstrated favorable stability and reliability in an inmate population.This research was supported by a STEP grant from the Alberta Government. Portions of this paper were presented at the Psychologists Association of Alberta's annual meeting, April 8, 1989, Calgary, Alberta. We gratefully acknowledge M. R. Sass and M. Wcinrath for their support.     

One-year temporal stability and predictive and incremental validity of the Body,Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among college women

This study examined the one-year temporal stability and the predictive and incremental validity of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Measure (BEECOM) in a sample of 237 college women who completed study measures at two time points about one year apart. One-year temporal stability was high for the BEECOM total and subscale (i.e., Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation) scores. Additionally, the BEECOM exhibited predictive validity in that it accounted for variance in body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomatology one year later. These findings held even after controlling for body mass index and existing measures of social comparison orientation. However, results regarding the incremental validity of the BEECOM, or its ability to predict change in these constructs over time, were more mixed. Overall, this study demonstrated additional psychometric properties of the BEECOM among college women, further establishing the usefulness of this measure for more comprehensively assessing eating disorder-related social comparison.     

A longitudinal study of the predictive validity of the Bayley-III scales and subtests

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive validity of all scales and subtests from the Bayley-III. The sample consisted of 55 normal children who were assessed at six time points between 4 and 36 months. Significant correlations ranging from .28 to .79 were found for all ages and scales/subtests, but the three main scales differed with respect to predictive validity. The Cognitive Scale was predictive from 7–10, 7–13 and 10–13 months but not from 13 months and onwards. The Language Scale was predictive from 10 months and onwards and the Motor Scale was predictive at all ages, but only with respect to adjacent and not distant assessment points.     

The validity and utility of the positive presentation management and negative presentation management scales for the Revised NEO Personality Inventory

Schinka, Kinder, and Kremer developed "validity" scales for the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae) to detect underreporting-the Positive Presentation Management (PPM) Scale and overreporting-the Negative Presentation Management (NPM) Scale. In this investigation, the clinical utility of these scales was examined using the established validity scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher et al.) as the referent. The sample was composed of 370 psychiatric patients who completed the NEO PI-R and the MMPI-2 as part of a routine evaluation. Results indicated that response distortion compromised the utility of the NEO PI-R domain scales. Moreover, the PPM and NPM scales and an NPM-PPM index significantly differentiated invalid under-and overreporting groups from a valid responding group. The PPM and NPM-PPM index were adequate in classifying under- and overreporters, respectively.     

The Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS): predictive validity and construct validity in a Dutch population

The discriminant and predictive validity of the Dutch translation of the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS; Rust and Golombok, 1985, Rust and Golombok, 1986a, Rust and Golombok, 1986b; Ter Kuile et al., (1993); Ter Kuile et al., accepted for publication) was examined in independent samples comprising sexological (357 males and 380 females) and gynaecological outpatients (156 males and 209 females). Prediction of the presence of sexual complaints with the GRISS differed in these samples. The best performance was found in the male sexology sample in which sensitivity and specificity, as well as the predictive values both positive and negative were satisfactory. The predictive characteristics in the other three samples were found to be less satisfactory and were confounded with sample characteristics concerning the presence or absence of individual sexual problems. The availability of the other partners' GRISS scores enhanced the GRISS' predictive capacities for males and females in these samples. In 320 female and 300 male sexology patients and their partners, the convergent and divergent construct validity of the GRISS scales was investigated using other instruments measuring psychological distress, marital, sexual and general life maladjustment, personality traits of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism and social desirability. No correlations of the GRISS with social desirability were found. GRISS subscales were found to represent relatively independent constructs. These findings were confirmed by higher-order factor analyses of subscale scores of males and females.     

A Multiphasic Personality Schedule (Minnesota): III. the Measurement of Symptomatic Depression

La Fave's habit lag construct, which specifies conditions under which previously automatized motor responses become disruptive of subsequent performance, was tested. Performance under stress was also examined as a possible factor in the occurrence of habit lag. Following a visual discrimination task, 48 women performed motor responses simultaneously: (a) repeating an invariant lever movement and (b) pushing one of two keys. The habit lag construct was supported, as Ss who had automatized responses produced more errors than nonautomatized Ss. Performance under stress, by calling attention to the risk of habit lag, reduced errors. Habit lag accounts for an intrusive type of error often found in motor performance where negative transfer fails to do so.     

The Spanish version of the Wisconsin Personality Disorders Inventory-IV (WISPI-IV): tests of validity and reliability

Personality disorders (PD) are a prevalent class of mental disorders that interfere with functioning and cause subjective distress while increasing the intensity and duration of Axis I clinical syndromes, and therefore assessing PD is important even when PDs are not the focus of treatment. The purpose of these studies was to develop and test a new Spanish version of a self-report measure of PD, the Wisconsin Personality Inventory-IV (WISPI-IV) that would be psychometrically equivalent to the English version while also maintaining the same interpersonal content, which is based on Benjamin's analysis of the PD criteria using her Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) model (1974). Study 1 participants completed the WISPI-IV twice over a two-week interval. For Study 2, participants from two sites in Spain and one site in Argentina completed Spanish versions of the WISPI-IV and other personality measures. SASB-analysis of the translated items showed high correspondence between the interpersonal content of the English version and the Spanish version demonstrating theoretical validation in relation to other PD measures. The Spanish WISPI-IV showed satisfactory reliability based on test-retest correlations and alphas for internal consistency. Study 2 showed the Spanish WISPI-IV had good convergent validity with the Spanish versions of the IIP and SCID-II and performed similarly to the English versions of these measures. Our goal in translating the WISPI-IV was to extend this measure to Spanish-speakers in language that would be understood by different Hispanic sub-groups, however research team members and subjects had a variety of suggestions for changes in item wording. This reflects the difficulty with creating a "neutral" Spanish version of any assessment given regional differences.     

The predictive capacity of the MMPI-2 and PAI validity scales and indexes to detect coached and uncoached feigning

The objective of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) validity scales and indexes to detect malingering. Research participants were either informed (coached) or not informed (uncoached) about the presence and operating characteristics of the validity scales and instructed to fake bad on both the MMPI-2 and PAI. The validity scale and index scores produced by these research participants were then compared to those scores from a bona fide sample of psychiatric patients (n = 75). Coaching had no effect on the ability of the research participants to feign more successfully than those participants who received no coaching. For the MMPI-2, the Psychopathology F scale, or F(p), proved to be the best at distinguishing psychiatric patients from research participants instructed to malinger, although the other F scales (i.e., F and Fb) were also effective. For the PAI, the Rogers Discriminant Function index (RDF) was clearly superior to the other PAI fake-bad validity indicators; neither the Negative Impression Management scale nor Malingering Index were effective at detecting malingered profiles in this study. Overall, RDF proved to be marginally superior to F and F(p) in distinguishing MMPI-2 and PAI protocols produced by research participants asked to malinger and psychiatric patients. Both the RDF and the F and F(p) scales, however, were able to increase the predictive capability of one another.     

The validity of dietary restraint scales: comment on Stice et al. (2004)

In 4 empirical studies, E. Stice, M. Fisher, and M. R. Lowe calculated the correlations between some widely used dietary restraint scales and food intake. Failing to find substantial negative correlations, they concluded that these scales were invalid. The current article challenges this conclusion. For one thing, there is some evidence that restrained eaters do eat less than do unrestrained eaters under controlled experimental conditions favoring self-control. Dietary restraint is also associated with tendencies toward disinhibition under conditions favoring loss of self-control; such disinhibition often masks (but does not invalidate) the construct of dietary restraint. For these and other reasons, the assessment of food intake at a single eating episode may not capture overall dietary restriction. Finally, how much one eats does not necessarily indicate whether one has eaten less than one desired to eat. The authors suggest that the existing restraint scales do in fact validly assess restriction of food intake, albeit in a more complex fashion than is evident from simple correlations in single episodes.     

Research validity scales for the NEO-PI-R: development and initial validation

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a set of research validity scales for use with the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992b). In study 1 we used the existing NEO-PI-R item pool to select items for three validity scales: positive presentation management, negative presentation management, and inconsistency. Several iterative item and scale analyses were conducted, using multiple criteria for item selection. These analyses resulted in 10-item scales. In Study 2, the internal consistency, interscale relationships, and normative characteristics were examined in a separate sample of working adults. In Study 3, the validity of the scales was examined by contrasting five sets of NEO-PI-R protocols: from a separate sample of working adults, from a sample of 100 NEO-PI-R protocols with randomly produced responses, and from three samples of undergraduates completing the NEO-PI-R under different instructional sets. Analyses revealed that both the research validity scales and the NEO-PI-R domain scales were sensitive to group differences. issues relating to the appropriate use of the scales are discussed.     

Concurrent validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Borderline scales in patients seeking dialectical behavior therapy

The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) Borderline full scale (BOR) and subscales in the assessment of patients being evaluated for dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993).We administered 67 patients both the PAI and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) Structured Clinical Interview for Axis II disorders (SCID-II; First, Spitzer, Gibbon, Williams, & Benjamin, 1997). Point biserial correlations showed a significant relationship between the presence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and scores on the BOR and Schizophrenia (SCZ) scales. A regression analysis showed that among the BOR subscales, those measuring identity disturbance, self-harming behavior, and negative relationships were significantly related to the total number of SCID-II BPD criteria. Diagnostic efficiency statistics between the BOR scale and the number of SCID-II BPD criteria indicated that a T score cutoff of 65 optimally differentiates patients who do and do not meet criteria for BPD. The relationship between BOR and SCID-II BPD demonstrates the concurrent validity of the PAI and shows its usefulness in this setting.     

Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118) in adolescents: reliability and validity

The Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118; Verheul et al., 2008) is a self-report questionnaire focusing on core components of (mal)adaptive personality functioning. The SIPP-118 was developed and validated in an adult population. In adult populations, the 16 facets of the SIPP-118 fit into 5 higher order domains: self-control, identity integration, relational capacities, social concordance, and responsibility. In this study we present the 1st psychometric properties of the SIPP-118 in adolescents. We compared the SIPP-118 scores of a patient and a nonpatient sample of adolescents, and compared personality disordered and non-personality disordered adolescents. In addition, the relationship between scores on the SIPP-118 and other clinical instruments (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1975; Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Personality; DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2002) was investigated. The questionnaires were completed by 378 adolescent patients and 389 adolescents in the community. Facets appeared to be homogeneous, as alpha coefficients ranged from .62 to .89, indicating moderate to acceptable reliability. Also, more pathological SIPP-118 scores were found in the patient sample, and more specifically in the personality disordered sample, suggesting that the facet scores of the SIPP-118 can discriminate between various populations (divergent validity). Correlation with other clinical instruments was moderate to high (-.82 to .10). Taken together, the SIPP-118 seems to be a promising instrument measuring personality pathology in adolescents.     

The validity of the mu index for differentiation of state and trait scales

For 443 men and women of the general population and mean age of 45.8 yr. state and trait measures were obtained on two occasions, 6 mo. apart. Internal consistencies at each time were similar (.84-.95). Test-retest coefficients were lower for measures of state concepts than for trait concepts. Howarth's mu indices were higher for state concepts than for trait concepts.     

Narcissism and empathy: validity evidence for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Three empathy questionnaires were correlated with scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and the predicted negative relationship was observed in two of the three cases. In addition, the Exploitiveness/Entitlement (E/E) subscale of the NPI was inversely related to all three empathy scales and directly related to another hypothesized measure of narcissism. Unexpected negative correlations between the E/E subscale and social desirability scales were interpreted as evidence of E/E subscale sensitivity to the manipulative dimension of narcissistic relationship styles. These data further support the construct validity of the NPI in general and of the Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale in particular.