Validity rates of the Personality Assessment Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in a VA Medical Center Setting

In this study, we compared protocol validity rates between the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) in a veteran population. Veterans (N=472) were administered both instruments as part of routine psychological evaluations. Profile validity was based on previously published criteria. When applying primary validity indicators, inpatients produced significantly fewer invalid PAI profiles (37%) than MMPI-2 profiles (63%). We found similar results among outpatients for which we considered 47% of MMPI-2 profiles invalid compared to only 21% of PAI profiles. When applying both primary and supplementary validity indicators, both inpatients and outpatients continued to produce fewer invalid PAI profiles than MMPI-2 profiles. We discuss factors that may be related to the differences in validity rates.     

Visual analysis of gait as a cue to identity

For humans, the ability to discriminate between, and to identify, others is paramount. The most obvious way this is accomplished is by means of face recognition. However, this is not the only method available. The present article reports on two experiments designed to see whether gait can be used as a reliable cue to identity. Experiment One showed that the human visual system was sophisticated enough to learn to identify six individuals on the basis of their gait signature under conditions of simulated daylight, simulated dusk and point‐light displays. It thus appeared that gait‐related judgements could be made, and furthermore, that these judgements were possible without reliance on shape information. Experiment Two suggested that even under adverse viewing conditions involving a single brief exposure, humans could identify a target from a ‘walking identity parade’ at greater than chance levels. These results emerged regardless of the lighting conditions, and were largely independent of the gender of the target walker. As such, the present results suggest that gait could be used as a reliable means of discriminating between individuals, and the importance of such an identity cue, in conditions in which the face is obscured, are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spirituality and Women's Midlife Development

This qualitative study describes midlife spiritual practices of 2 groups of minority women, 1 lesbian/bisexual group and 1 Black group. Each group attended 3 focus group meetings in New York City. Grounded theory was used for data analysis. Implications for counselors working with middle‐aged women were discussed.     

Use of Gilliam Asperger's disorder scale in differentiating high and low functioning autism and ADHD

Little is known about the validity of Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS), although it is widely used. This study of 199 children with high functioning autism or Asperger's disorder, 195 with low functioning autism, and 83 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed high classification accuracy (autism vs. ADHD) for clinicians' GADS Quotients (92%), and somewhat lower accuracy (77%) for parents' Quotients. Both children with high and low functioning autism had clinicians' Quotients (M=99 and 101, respectively) similar to the Asperger's Disorder mean of 100 for the GADS normative sample. Children with high functioning autism scored significantly higher on the cognitive patterns subscale than children with low functioning autism, and the latter had higher scores on the remaining subscales: social interaction, restricted patterns of behavior, and pragmatic skills. Using the clinicians' Quotient and Cognitive Patterns score, 70% of children were correctly identified as having high or low functioning autism or ADHD.     

Factors in the modification by isolation of electroconvulsive shock-produced retrograde amnesia in the rat.

It has been demonstrated that placing rats in a sensory-restricted environment during the electronconvulsive shock- (ECS) retention interval following 1-trial appetitive learning will prevent or eliminate ECS-produced retrograde amnesia. The first study replicated this finding with a 1-trial aversive learning task, indicating that this effect is not task specific. The second study attempted to determine whether illumination or the restricted environment was the crucial factor in this penomenon. Rats placed in the light during the ECS-retention interval, whether restricted or in the colony, demonstrated retrograde amnesia after ECS. However, rats left in the dark during this interval demonstrated little, if any, retention deficit particularly if this condition was combined with sensory isolation. These studies further indicate that manipulation of the general environment of the animal after ECS can alter ECS-produced retention losses.     

Sexually aggressive and nonaggressive men: sexual arousal and judgments in response to acquaintance rape and consensual analogues

Self-identified sexually aggressive (SA) and nonaggressive (NA) college men listened to audiotape analogues of consensual sexual intercourse and acquaintance rape. Phallometric and decision-latency methodology was used to examine sexual arousal and decisions to stop sexual advances in each scenario. Both groups showed increases in penile response to the consensual scenario. Consistent with the inhibition model of sexual aggression, the SA group showed greater sexual arousal and failed to inhibit responding when force was introduced in the rape, whereas the NA group exhibited less arousal and greater inhibition to force. The SA group allowed the rape to continue significantly longer than the NA group. These effects were greatly magnified in SA men who endorsed high calloused sexual beliefs, implying that a cognitive set that justifies sexual aggression and lacks victim empathy may disinhibit sexual arousal and potentiate coercive decision making.     

Gender and ethnic differences in the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem.

Gender and ethnic differences in the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem were examined to assess the degree to which these variables change in relation to each other over time. Difference scores (between Time 1 and Time 2, 1 week apart) were obtained using the Self-Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1979) and the Body Esteem Scale (S. L. Franzoi & S. A. Shields, 1984) for 163 White women, 140 White men, 55 Black women, and 37 Black men. The results indicated that the correlation of the difference scores was stronger for the group of White women than for the other 3 groups, suggesting that changes in self-esteem parallel changes in body esteem more for White women than for White men, Black men, and Black women. The findings are discussed in relation to the prevalence of bulimia nervosa among White women.     

Learning, attention, writing, and processing speed in typical children and children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, and oppositional-defiant disorder.

Learning, attention, graphomotor, and processing speed scores were analyzed in 149 typical control children and 886 clinical children with normal intelligence. Nonsignificant differences were found between control children and children with anxiety, depression, and oppositional-defiant disorder. Control children performed better than children with ADHD and autism in all areas. Children with ADHD and autism did not differ, except that children with ADHD had greater learning problems. Attention, graphomotor, and speed weaknesses were likely to coexist, the majority of children with autism and ADHD had weaknesses in all three areas, and these scores contributed significantly to the prediction of academic achievement.