Clarifying Construct Validity: Definitions,Processes, and Models

Despite definitions in standard sources, personnel managers, psychologists, and psychometricians persistently encounter problems that are best referred to as the ambiguous nature of validity. The purpose of this article is to pro- vide an overview of construct validity and personnel testing, to demonstrate its practical utility, and to clarify with concrete examples certain theories and models, as well as to illustrate the meaning of the terminology used by com- mentators on the topic. A brief historical overview of testing and validation is presented; the progress of construct validity and its acceptance by various sec- tors of society is discussed parsimoniously in the section The Seven Wonders of Personnel Psychology. In the past, personnel psychologists have not done a very good job of understanding the constructs that underlie test perform- ance. Some new approaches can help to correct this. A process should be rou- tinely used on all tests in order to develop an understanding of the constructs that underlie performance on an employment test; only by knowing the cor- rect criterion and method of measuring it can we ascertain the intrinsic valid- ity of our measures.     

Risk Factors for Misconduct in a Navy Sample

Understanding antisocial behavior and organizational misconduct is an important objective, because these maladaptive behaviors are disruptive and costly to organizations and to society as a whole. The objective of this study was to identify psychosocial risk factors for misconduct and antisocial behavior in a sample of Navy personnel. A group of sailors (n = 158) who had engaged in significant misconduct were compared with a demographically similar group of sailors (n = 288) who had not engaged in misconduct and who were in good standing with the Navy. The psychosocial variables that emerged as the most important risk factors for antisocial behavior were alcohol use (odds ratio [OR] = 2.42), high impulsivity (OR = 2.20), high trait hostility (OR = 1.79), and antisocial behavior of friends (OR = 1.65). The implications of these results for the military and for research on antisocial behavior are discussed.     

Marital role strain,illness intrusiveness,and their impact on marital and individual adjustment in end-stage renal disease

Abstract

A marital role theory approach was used to investigate individual psychosocial well-being and marital adjustment in 89 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and their spouses. Four different patient groups were selected according to a continuum of clinical milestones in the treatment of ESRD, including pre-dialysis (n=17), incenter dialysis (n=18), home dialysis (n=19), and posttransplant patients (n=17). A nephrology clinic control group (n=18) was also included. Standardized instruments were employed to investigate marital role strain (Marital Role Questionnaire, KDS-15), marital adjustment (Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test), subjective well-being (Affect Balance Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory), and psychopathology (Symptom Checklist 90-R). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided strong and consistent support for the major hypotheses relating elevated marital role strain to compromised marital adjustment and individual well-being. Further analyses demonstrated that increased perceived intrusiveness of ESRD was significantly related to greater marital role strain, poorer marital adjustment, and decreased individual well-being. This is consistent with the idea that perceived intrusiveness may be an important mediator of marital role strain and of coping with chronic illness. “Objective” intrusiveness, defined in terms of patient group, was not significantly related to marital or individual well-being. These findings support a dyadic approach to the psychosocial study of chronic illness.     

State Aid to Religiously Affiliated,Non-Public Schools: An Emerging Trend or Same Old Same Old?

This article reviews judicial attitudes with regard to the constitutionality of aid for children in religiously affiliated non-public schools. The first part highlights the extent to which the Supreme Court appears to have turned the corner in its willingness to examine the effective use of resources in regular education rather than just the acceptability of aid. The second section reviews how Congressional and regulatory activities have contributed to lower court decisions that continue to focus on the narrow issues of how much money can be spent and the appropriate locations for the delivery of services to children who attend religiously affiliated non-public schools rather than the quality of education that they may be eligible to receive. Given the distinctions between the ways in which children in religiously affiliated non-public schools are treated based on whether they have disabilities, this article examines recent legal trends in considering whether there will be a new era in providing children who attend religiously affiliated non-public schools with the state aid that they deserve.     

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cognitive Performance in a Population-Based Sample of the Oldest Old: Impact of Comorbid Dementia

We examined the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and cognitive function in a population-based sample of very old people. The sample comprised 338 persons, aged 80-93 years (mean age 83.5 years), of whom 70 persons had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Measures of cognitive functioning included tests of perceptual speed, visuo-spatial ability, inductive reasoning, short-term memory, semantic memory, episodic memory, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Regression analyses showed that type 2 diabetes mellitus duration was related to test performance across all cognitive domains, with the exception of short-term memory, such that longer duration was associated with lower test performance. When cases with dementia were excluded from the sample, further analyses showed that diabetes duration was not associated with cognitive test performance. This indicates that diabetes is not related to lower cognitive function in the general population of non-demented old people. Diabetes, however, increases the risk for cerebrovascular incidents, like stroke, that may contribute to vascular dementia.     

The Role of Psychological Climate in Neutralizing the Effects of Organizational Politics on Work Outcomes

The present study examined the moderating impact of psychological climate on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and both commitment and turnover intent. Data were gathered from 131 restaurant employees who completed surveys at work. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a 6-factor conceptualization (supportive management, role clarity, contribution, recognition, self-expression, and challenge) provided the most adequate model representation of the psychological climate construct. Results indicate that politics perceptions interacted with each climate factor (with the exception of challenge) in predicting commitment. Conversely, politics perceptions interacted only with supportive management and self-expression to predict turnover intent. Implications for theoretical development and empirical research in this domain are provided.     

Misrepresentation in the Consumer Context

Research in social psychology suggests that motives such as self‐bolstering and impression management can lead people to engage in deliberate misrepresentations during interpersonal communications. This article extends our understanding of such behavior to a new domain; that of consumer communications. Drawing on research on lying behavior and symbolic consumption, we suggest that misrepresentation about products and possessions is particularly likely to occur when these products or possessions are used to create a positive self‐image in the context of social interaction. Experiments 1 and 2 simulate a social interaction wherein misrepresentation about the purchase price of a product helps participants to manage impressions. A third experiment extends these findings by testing for wealth‐related misrepresentation in the context of an interaction wherein participants actually communicate their family's wealth to a recipient. Consistent with predictions derived from existing research on symbolic consumption, all 3 experiments provide support for the critical importance of recipient status on the likelihood of misrepresentation. The first 2 experiments additionally examine the role of individual differences and brand differences. Results on these dimensions are also supportive of our underlying theoretical premise regarding the antecedents of lying behavior.     

Assessment Instruments Used by Addictions Counselors

The Association for Assessment in Counseling's Committee on Assessment and Training in Addictions Counseling conducted a survey of Master Addictions Counselors (MACs) certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors. The intent of the survey was to identify which standardized assessment instruments were most frequently used by MACs and perceived to be most important in their substance abuse practices. This article describes survey results and provides training and practice recommendations.