Psychometric characteristics of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in an Argentinean sample: a cross-cultural contribution

Although studies in several populations have provided support for Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSQW) reliability and validity, factor analysis studies carried out on different populations show divergent results. The aim of this article is to contribute with the cross-cultural literature on PSWQ. This report describes two studies examining the psychometric characteristics of a revised Argentinean version of the PSWQ. In the first study, items of original PSWQ were translated into Spanish and then back-translated into English. Then, in order to examine its reliability and factorial structure, the instrument was completed by 400 community participants. The second study included two groups of participants as follows: patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and patients with other anxiety disorders (AC). Results revealed appropriated test-retest reliability over a four-week period, high internal consistency, and good convergent and discriminant validity for PSWQ. In concordance with some results reported in previous studies, a single factorial structure was confirmed for the Argentinean version of PSWQ. By the other hand, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was made to evaluate the ability of PSWQ to discriminate GAD from individuals with others anxiety disorders. A total score of 63 simultaneously optimized sensitivity and specificity in discriminating GAD patients from patients with others anxiety disorders.     

Different recognition cues reveal the decision rules used for egg rejection by hosts of a variably mimetic avian brood parasite

Brood parasitism imposes several fitness costs on the host species. To reduce these costs, hosts of avian brood parasites have evolved various defenses, of which egg rejection is the most prevalent. In the face of variable host-parasite mimicry and the costs of egg discrimination itself, many hosts reject only some foreign eggs. Here, we experimentally varied the recognition cues to study the underlying cognitive mechanisms used by the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) to reject the white immaculate eggs laid by the parasitic Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis). Immaculate eggs are the only parasite eggs rejected by this host, as it accepts all polymorphic, spotted eggs laid by cowbirds. Using a within-breeding pair experimental design, we tested for the salience of spotting, UV reflectance, and brightness in eliciting rejection. We found that the presence of spotting significantly decreased the probability of rejection while increments in brightness significantly increased rejection frequencies. The cognitive rules underlying mockingbird rejection behavior can be explained by a decision-making model which predicts changes in the levels of rejection in direct relation to the number of relevant attributes shared between host and parasite eggs.