Examining the impact of unscorable item responses on the validity and interpretability of MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF Restructured Clinical (RC) Scale scores

This article examined the impact of unscorable item responses on the psychometric validity and practical interpretability of scores on the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2/Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF). In analyses conducted with five archival samples, we found that relatively large proportions of unscorable responses (defined as 10% or more of the items scored on a scale) were relatively uncommon, occurring most often in forensic samples. Simulated unscorable responses were inserted in varying proportions (10% to 90%) in place of the responses of participants in two of the archival samples for which criterion data were available. Analyses were conducted to gauge the impact of unscorable responses on the criterion validity of scores on these scales and their interpretability. Impact on validity was evaluated by examining correlations with extra-test variables as a function of increasing levels of unscorable responding. Interpretability was evaluated by examining the proportion of participants who produced clinically elevated RC Scale scores as a function of unscorable responding. Results indicate that whereas scale score validity was relatively robust up to a level of 50% unscorable responses, interpretability was substantially compromised at only 10% unscorable responding. This suggests that prorated scores may be used to correct for the impact of unscorable responses on the interpretability of RC Scale scores at levels as high as 50% unscorable responses. Classification analyses supported this possibility. Further steps needed to explore the feasibility of using prorated scores are discussed.     

Adult mice maintained on a high-fat diet exhibit object location memory deficits and reduced hippocampal SIRT1 gene expression

Mounting evidence has established that diet-induced obesity (DIO) is associated with deficits in hippocampus-dependent memory. The bulk of research studies dealing with this topic have utilized rats fed a high-fat diet as an experimental model. To date, there has been a paucity of research studies that have established whether the memory deficits exhibited in DIO rats can be recapitulated in mice. Moreover, the majority of experiments that have evaluated memory performance in rodent models of DIO have utilized memory tests that are essentially aversive in nature (i.e., Morris water maze). The current study sought to fill an empirical void by determining if mice maintained on a high-fat diet exhibit deficits in two non-aversive memory paradigms: novel object recognition (NOR) and object location memory (OLM). Here we report that mice fed a high-fat diet over 23 weeks exhibit intact NOR, albeit a marked impairment in hippocampus-dependent OLM. We also determined the existence of corresponding aberrations in gene expression within the hippocampus of DIO mice. DIO mice exhibited significant reductions in both SIRT1 and PP1 mRNA within the hippocampus. Our data suggest that mice maintained on a high-fat diet present with impaired hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and a corresponding alteration in the expression of genes that have been implicated in memory consolidation.     

Behavioural state differentially engages septohippocampal cholinergic and GABAergic neurons in R6/1 Huntington's disease mice

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterised by progressive motor, psychological and cognitive decline. R6/1 HD transgenic mice model the clinical hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficits observed in patients. Cholinergic and GABAergic septohippocampal projections play important roles in hippocampal-dependent cognition. The current study examined neuronal activity of cholinergic and GABAergic septohippocampal projections in response to arousal elicited during differing behavioural states. The different behavioural states examined were; home cage (controls), acute exploration of a novel enriched environment and either spontaneous wakefulness (dark phase) or spontaneous sleep (light phase). We employed triple-label immunohistochemistry using c-Fos as an indirect marker of neuron activation and parvalbumin and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) to label GABAergic and cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain, respectively. The Y-maze was used to assess short-term hippocampal-dependent memory independently during either the dark or light phase and revealed a memory deficit in R6/1 HD mice compared to wild types that was particularly prominent during the dark phase. Three-way ANOVA of basal forebrain cholinergic and GABAergic activity through co-expression of c-Fos revealed overt responses to differing behavioural states. Both genotypes increased cholinergic neuron activity in response to exploring a novel enriched environment and also an increase during the dark phase compared to the light phase. Novel enriched environment exploration caused a larger response of GABAergic neuron activity in R6/1 HD mice, which also failed to increase the activity of GABAergic neurons during the dark phase compared to the light phase as observed for wildtype mice. Basal levels of c-Fos-positive cells were greatly increased in the hippocampal granule cell layer of R6/1 HD mice during both circadian phases. The differential activation of septohippocampal cholinergic and GABAergic neurons in R6/1 HD mice in response to differing behavioural states may be associated with impaired hippocampal-dependent short-term memory.     

MMPI-2-RF characteristics of custody evaluation litigants

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is a 338-item objective self-report measure drawn from the 567 items of the MMPI-2. Although there is a substantial MMPI-2 literature regarding child custody litigants, there has been only one previously published study using MMPI-2-RF data in this population that focused on Validity scales L-r and K-r. The current study evaluated the MMPI-2-RF results of 344 child custody litigants and showed substantial consistency between T-score elevations typically found on MMPI-2 Validity scales L and K, and comparable elevations for MMPI-2-RF validity scales L-r and K-r. Mean T-scores well within normal limits characterized results for clinical scales on both instruments. The RC scale intercorrelation patterns, and alpha coefficient values found for MMPI-2-RF scales in a custody population, were also found to be very similar to those reported for other populations. Directions for future research are presented.     

The Effect of Praise, Positive Nonverbal Response, Reprimand, and Negative Nonverbal Response on Child Compliance: A Systematic Review

Lack of compliance has both short- and long-term costs and is a leading reason why parents seek mental health services for children. What parents do to help children comply with directives or rules is an important part of child socialization. The current review examines the relationship between a variety of parenting discipline behaviors (i.e., praise, positive nonverbal response, reprimand, negative nonverbal response) and child compliance. Forty-one studies of children ranging in age from 1? to 11?years were reviewed. Reprimand and negative nonverbal responses consistently resulted in greater compliance. Praise and positive nonverbal responses resulted in mixed child outcomes. The findings are discussed based on theory and populations studied. The authors propose a mechanism that may increase children’s sensitivity to both positive and negative behavioral contingencies.     

Discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, and Latino psychological distress: a moderated mediational model

Prior research has found that perceived discrimination is associated with adverse mental health outcomes among Latinos. However, the process by which this relationship occurs remains an understudied area. The present study investigated the role of acculturative stress in underlying the relationship between perceived discrimination and Latino psychological distress. Also examined was the ability of acculturation to serve as a moderator between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress. Among a sample of Latino adults (N = 669), moderated mediational analyses revealed that acculturative stress mediated the perceived discrimination-psychological distress relationship, and that the link between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress was moderated by Anglo behavioral orientation but not Latino behavioral orientation. The findings are discussed within a stress and coping perspective that identifies the psychological consequences associated with perceived discrimination and acculturative stress.     

A comparative study of general intelligence in Spanish and Moroccan samples

The aim of this study is to fill a gap in intelligence research by presenting data for the average IQ in Morocco and for a comparable sample in Spain. Adult samples were administered the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) (Raven, Court, & Raven, 2001) and scored for the total test and for the three sub-factors of gestalt continuation, verbal-analytical reasoning and visuospatial ability identified by Lynn, Allik, and Irwing (2004). The total test and the three factors have shown satisfactory reliability. Our results for the Moroccan sample show significant relationship between general intelligence factor, gestalt continuation and visuospatial ability with education level and income. Conversely, these variables have been shown to be independent for the Spanish sample. This sample obtained significantly higher scores for the four factors assessed than the Moroccan one. These differences have been found also comparing samples with the same education levels. Finally, the errors percentage for Moroccans has been higher than for Spaniards in all the items, suggesting that the level of difficulty was higher for the Moroccan sample.     

Naturalistic Moral Realism and Moral Disagreement: David Copp’s Account

To enhance the plausibility of naturalistic moral realism, David Copp develops an argument from epistemic defeaters aiming to show that strongly a priori synthetic moral truths do not exist. In making a case for the non-naturalistic position, I locate Copp??s account within the wider literature on peer disagreement; I identify key points of divergence between Copp??s doctrine and conciliatorist doctrines; I introduce the notion of ??minimal moral competence??; I contend that some plausible benchmarks for minimal moral competence are grounded in substantive moral considerations; and I discuss two forms of spinelessness that Copp??s moral naturalism could result in.