Personality in Action: Assessing Personality to Identify an ‘Ideal’ Conscientious Response Type with Two Different Behavioural Tasks

Performance on achievement tests is characterized by an interplay of different individual attributes such as personality traits, motivation or cognitive styles. However, the prediction of individuals' performance from classical self-report personality measures obtained during large and comprehensive aptitude assessments is biased by, for example, subjective response tendencies. This study goes beyond by using behavioural data based on two different types of tasks, requiring different conscientious-related response behaviours. Moreover, a typological approach is proposed, which includes different behavioural indicators to obtain information on complex personality characteristics. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology     

Predicting Nonresponse Bias from Teacher Ratings of Mental Health Problems in Primary School Children

The impact of nonresponse on estimates of mental health problems was examined in a prospective teacher screen in a community survey of 9,155 7–9 year olds. For 6,611 of the children, parents consented to participation in the actual study (Responders), while for 2,544 children parental consent was not obtained (Nonresponders). The teacher screen involved assessment of a broad set of symptoms of mental health problems and functional impairment. Calculations of non-response coefficients, a function of effect sizes and non-response proportion, revealed only ignorable nonresponse bias for both mean scores and correlations. However, the results from binary logistic regressions revealed that children ascribed signs of mental health problems by their teachers were less likely to participate. This was most frequent among children with only moderate symptoms. However, it also involved children with high symptom scores related to inattention, hyperactivity, emotions and peer relationship problems. These findings suggest that measures based on effect size can underestimate the magnitude of non-response bias and that a logistic regression approach may be more appropriate for studies geared at estimating prevalence of mental health problems in children. The study was financially supported by the Norwegian Research Council, The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, Western Norwegian Regional Health Authority, the L. Meltzer legacy for the University of Bergen, and the City of Bergen.     

Prevalence of auditory hallucinations in Norwegian adolescents: Results from a population‐based study

Knowing the prevalence and characteristics of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in adolescents is important for estimations of need for mental health care and assessment of psychosis risk. In this report we assess the prevalence of AVH in a population‐based sample of 16–19 years old Norwegian adolescents (n = 9,646, 46.4% male) using two items assessing AVH (from the extended Launay‐Slade Hallucination Scale). The prevalence of hearing a voice speaking thoughts aloud was 10.6%. The prevalence of being troubled by voices was 5.3%, showing that negative emotionality about AVH is less frequent than the experience of hearing voices. Female respondents had slightly increased risk for being troubled by voices than males (odds ratio = 1.3), while age did not modulate prevalence. This AVH prevalence is in line with earlier reports in smaller samples of adolescents and indicates that AVH are not uncommon in this period of life. Further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the value of AVH in predicting psychiatric disorder.     

Parental socioeconomic status and child intellectual functioning in a Norwegian sample

Socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood has been linked to cognitive function and future academic and occupational success in studies from several countries. However, previous Nordic studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the strength of this link. We therefore investigated the association between SES and cognitive functioning in a sample of 255 Norwegian children, including 151 typically developing children and 104 children with a psychiatric diagnosis. The third edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC‐III) to assess cognitive function was used. SES was defined from maternal and paternal education and family income of typically developing children and of a subsample of children with a psychiatric diagnosis. Multiple adjusted regression analyses were used to investigate the relation between SES and cognitive functioning. The analyses showed that SES explained a significant part of the variance of the full‐scale WISC‐III score and two WISC‐III indices (Verbal Comprehension and Freedom from Distractibility). Overall, the strength of the relations was weaker than expected from reports from other non‐Nordic countries. Parental education was the only significant individual predictor, suggesting that income was of minor importance as a predictor of cognitive functioning. Further studies should investigate how diverse political and socioeconomic contexts influence the relation between SES and cognitive functioning.     

A latent trait model for response times on tests employing the proportional hazards model

For computer-administered tests, response times can be recorded conjointly with the corresponding responses. This broadens the scope of potential modelling approaches because response times can be analysed in addition to analysing the responses themselves. For this purpose, we present a new latent trait model for response times on tests. This model is based on the Cox proportional hazards model. According to this model, latent variables alter a baseline hazard function. Two different approaches to item parameter estimation are described: the first approach uses a variant of the Cox model for discrete time, whereas the second approach is based on a profile likelihood function. Properties of each estimator will be compared in a simulation study. Compared to the estimator for discrete time, the profile likelihood estimator is more efficient, that is, has smaller variance. Additionally, we show how the fit of the model can be evaluated and how the latent traits can be estimated. Finally, the applicability of the model to an empirical data set is demonstrated.     

Nachweis der Retentionsstörung beim Erkennen

Zusammenfassung Da tachistoskopisches Erkennen unter sehr ungünstigen Umständen durch vorherige Bekanntheit der exponierten Gebilde erleichtert wird, kann das tachistoskopische Erkennen zu einem weiteren Nachweis der Retentionsstörung verwandt werden. Sind die betreffenden Gebilde vorher in Häufung vorgeführt, so gelingt das Erkennen viel schlechter als wenn sie in Isolierung gegeben waren.Auch in Versuchen über tachistoskopisches Wiedererkennen kommt die Retentionsstörung viel deutlicher zum Ausdruck als in Versuchen über Wiedererkennen unter gewöhnlichen Bedingungen.Daß die Retentionsstörung bei Prüfung des Wiedererkennens unter gewöhnlichen Bedingungen anscheinend geringer ist, liegt an der Unempfindlichkeit des dabei verlangten Wiedererkennens als Indicator.Wird das tachistoskopische Erkennen des gleichen Materials wiederholt unter denselben ungünstigen Bedingungen geprüft, so gelingt es allmählich besser. Auch diese Spurenwirkung wird gestört, wenn dabei mehrere Gebilde des gleichen Materials vorgeführt werden.Dissertation der Philosophischen Fakultät Greifswald. — Für die Fragestellungen dieser Arbeit und für vielen Rat habe ich Herrn Professor Köhler und Fräulein Dr. von Restorff zu danken, Herrn Professor von Allesch dafür, daß er ihren Abschluß ermöglichte und mich dabei auf das freundlichste unterstützte.     

New branches on the Tree of Knowledge. Challenges for systemic family therapists

Faced with today's challenges, I question whether the framework for family therapy provided by systemic thinking is sufficient when working with children and teenagers. The aim of this paper is not to argue for an eclectic model for therapy, but rather to encourage a critical dialogue between various bodies of knowledge. The paper raises the discussion of how family therapists relate to knowledge external to the therapy field. Contemporary developmental psychology, neurobiology, behavioural genetics and group socialization theory are highlighted as useful bodies of knowledge for family therapists. Examples from clinical practice are used to illustrate this.