Indigenous Measures of Personality Assessment in Asian Countries: A Review.

This article reviews attempts to develop multidimensional personality measures in Asia and their applications in clinical assessment. Indigenous personality assessment measures in India, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan are examined. These early attempts have not yielded a comprehensive personality measure that integrates a theoretical framework and an empirical program of validation. The Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) is cited as an example to illustrate the process of developing an indigenous measure that meets the testing standards of established assessment instruments. On the basis of the research findings from the CPAI, the authors discuss the relevance of indigenous measures in clinical assessment in native cultures as well as in informing mainstream personality assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Money Management After Acquired Brain Dysfunction: The Validity of Neuropsychological Assessment.

Objective: To study the money management ability of people with acquired brain dysfunction (ABD) and its relationship to neuropsychological test performance. Subjects or Other Participants: 35 people with ABD and 15 matched controls without ABD. Main Outcome Measures: Case managers completed an experimenter-designed Money Management Survey (MMS), a staff-rating measure of the client's money management abilities. Results: In addition to the problems identified by controls, the group with ABD had other difficulties such as not leaving money aside for essentials and using automatic teller machines. Neuropsychological assessment demonstrated a modest ability to predict the overall MMS, however, the prediction of specific behaviors (problematic impulsive spending and paying the bills or rent late) was more successful. Conclusion: These results provide support for the use of the MMS and indicate that people with ABD have greater problems with specific aspects of money management than do controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Assessment in Asia: Introduction to the Special Section.

Psychological assessment with Asians is an important topic not only for psychologists from Asian countries but also for psychologists in multicultural societies with large populations of ethnic Asians. There is a dearth of information in the English language literature on psychological assessment for Asians. This special section is organized to review various forms of psychological assessment in Asia. The objectives of the special section are to inform test users and researchers of the issues related to cross-cultural validity of psychological assessment in Asia and to introduce examples of adapted and indigenously developed instruments that are culturally appropriate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-Analysis of Intellectual and Neuropsychological Test Performance in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Cognitive measures are used frequently in the assessment and diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this meta-analytic review, the authors sought to examine the magnitude of differences between ADHD and healthy participants on several commonly used intellectual and neuropsychological measures. Effect sizes for overall intellectual ability (Full Scale IQ; FSIQ) were significantly different between ADHD and healthy participants (weighted d = .61). Effect sizes for FSIQ were significantly smaller than those for spelling and arithmetic achievement tests and marginally significantly smaller than those for continuous performance tests but were comparable to effect sizes for all other measures. These findings indicate that overall cognitive ability is significantly lower among persons with ADHD and that FSIQ may show as large a difference between ADHD and control participants as most other measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The State of Psychological Assessment in Asia.

The collection of articles in this special section provides a much-needed examination of the state of psychological assessment in various Asian countries or societies. In particular, the contributors review and critique assessment of personality, depression and anxiety, children and adolescents, and neuropsychological evaluation. The reviews cover the use of, and research on, imported measures (Western derived) as well as indigenous measures that were developed locally. The articles make a valuable contribution toward understanding not only the state of assessment in Asia but also larger issues such as the universal applicability of assessment instruments and the cross-cultural validity of models of human behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coaching Clients to Take Psychological and Neuropsychological Tests: A Clash of Ethical Obligations.

The coaching of clients by attorneys on how to "beat" psychological tests in the context of personal injury or disability litigation poses a serious concern for the practice of psychological assessment. This article reviews the empirical literature with respect to the effects of coaching on psychological tests, discusses current ethical and legal standards relevant to coaching on psychological tests, and offers suggestions on how the field of assessment psychology might deal with this challenge. This review has important implications for all clinicians conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments in forensic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the MMPI-2 With Asian Populations.

Psychological tests developed in the United States are being widely adapted into other languages and cultures around the world. This article examines the generalizability and utility of personality assessment instruments across cultures and addresses methodological issues related to using personality questionnaires in countries different from the one in which they were developed. This article specifically highlights the application of objective psychological tests in Asia with special emphasis on the most widely used and internationally adapted personality instrument, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Effective strategies for translating, adapting, and standardizing questionnaires in languages and cultures different from their country of origin are reviewed. The history of several successful adaptations of the original MMPI and MMPI-2 is surveyed to illustrate the extensive research base for the test in Asia. Current research is summarized, and recommendations for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive Strengths and Weaknesses in Children and Adolescents Homozygous for the Galactosemia Q188R Mutation: A Descriptive Study.

Children and adolescents (n = 25) with galactosemia homozygous for the common Q188R mutation (substitution of glutamine codon 188 with arginine) were group matched for sex and age with healthy control participants (n = 20). Participants were administered an abbreviated neuropsychological battery by a doctoral-level psychologist. Results indicate that children and adolescents with galactosemia function generally within the low average IQ range, with a small standard deviation (indicating a relatively homogeneous IQ profile), and have many features suggestive of left-hemisphere dysfunction. Word retrieval difficulties are a primary component of the galactosemia profile. In addition, participants with galactosemia have less well-developed executive functions. Child and parental reports of behavioral symptoms differ; parents reported that their children had more internalizing symptoms than the children with galactosemia self-reported. Cognitive complications in galactosemia appear to emerge even in well-treated children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive screening in geriatric rehabilitation.

Objective: To aid rehabilitation psychologists' selection of brief measures of cognition for use in geriatric rehabilitation. Design: Literature review of neuropsychological screening measures that have been used and researched in geriatric rehabilitation, along with some newer instruments that have potential efficacy. Conclusions: All of the cognitive screening measures reviewed have varying degrees of strength and weakness in a geriatric rehabilitation setting. Thus, choosing the appropriate instrument often hinges on both pragmatic (e.g., administration time, nature of the referral, availability of population-specific norms) and psychometric concerns. Although tests are valuable tools, the lack of available research for many tests must be corrected before the practicing clinician can feel comfortable using them as integral aspects of geriatric rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book review: Cognitive Rehabilitation: An Integrative Neuropsychological Approach.

Review of book McKay Moore Sohlberg and Catherine A. Mateer, Cognitive Rehabilitation: An Integrative Neuropsychological Approach. New York: The Guilford Press, 2001, 512 pp., ISBN 1-57230-613-0. Reviewed by Gail Eskes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological Assessment of Executive Functions in Women: Effects of Age and Education.

The cognitive processes underlying age-related alterations in tests assumed to reflect frontal lobe functions were investigated with a card sorting test and an alternate semantic fluency task. The tests were administered to 133 healthy women belonging to 3 age groups (range = 50-92 years) classed according to 2 education levels. The results revealed a negative association between total word fluency and perseveration in the sorting test. Aging similarly affected performance in both education groups in some components of the tasks (atypical word fluency and sensitivity to distraction). However, aging did not affect performance to the same extent in each education group in other components (particularly those reflecting switching abilities and strategies). This quasi-experimental approach provides useful tools to identify specific processing mechanisms underlying executive functions in normal aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Detection of Cognitive Impairment Among Substance-Abusing Patients: The Accuracy of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery-Screening Module.

In this investigation, the authors examined the classification accuracy of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery-Screening Module (NAB-SM; R. A. Stern & T. White, 2003) in detecting the presence of general cognitive impairment among substance-abusing patients. The NAB-SM and the Neuropsychological Screening Battery (NSB; R. K, Heaton, L. L. Thompson, L. M. Nelson, C. M. Filley, & G. M. Franklin, 1990), which has been shown to discriminate reliably between cognitively impaired and unimpaired substance-abusing patients, were each administered to 84 detoxified substance-abusing patients entering residential treatment. Using participants' performance on the NSB as the criterion measure, the authors found that 30 patients (36%) were cognitively impaired; using the NAB-SM, they classified 32 patients (38%) as cognitively impaired. Levels of agreement and diagnostic efficiency between the 2 batteries were excellent, suggesting the NAB-SM can discriminate accurately between cognitively impaired and unimpaired substance-abusing patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute Neuropsychological Changes in Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

This study examined the impact of different dialysis treatments on the neuropsychological (NP) functioning of 145 end-stage renal disease patients. Hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients were administered an NP test battery and measures of mood on 2 consecutive days (pre- and 24 hr postdialysis). Biochemistry was assessed at each session. Results indicated significant improvements in NP functioning (attention, concentration, verbal and visual memory, and psychomotor speed) in HD patients 24 hr postdialysis. No such fluctuations were found in PD patients. Although biochemical changes were found in the HD patients at the same time points, these were not consistently related to the NP changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the basic traits associated with psychopathy: Development and validation of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment.

A new self-report assessment of the basic traits of psychopathy was developed with a general trait model of personality (five-factor model [FFM]) as a framework. Scales were written to assess maladaptive variants of the 18 FFM traits that are robustly related to psychopathy across a variety of perspectives including empirical correlations, expert ratings, and translations of extant assessments. Across 3 independent undergraduate samples (N = 210–354), the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA) scales proved to be internally consistent and unidimensional, and were strongly related to the original FFM scales from which they were derived (mean convergent r = .66). The EPA scales also demonstrated substantial incremental validity in the prediction of existing psychopathy measures over their FFM counterparts. When summed to form a psychopathy total score, the EPA was substantially correlated with 3 commonly used psychopathy measures (mean r = .81). Finally, in a small male forensic sample (N = 70), the EPA was significantly correlated with scores on a widely used self-report psychopathy measure, disciplinary infractions, alcohol use, and antisocial behavior. The EPA provides an opportunity to examine psychopathy and its nomological network through smaller, more basic units of personality rather than by scales or factors that blend these elements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Neuropsychological assessment of memory in the elderly": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Neuropsychological assessment of memory in the elderly" by Donald E. Read (Canadian Journal of Psychology Revue Canadienne de Psychologie, 1987[Jun], Vol 41[2], 158-174). On p. 171: The last sentence of the first paragraph should read "This finding has now been replicated in a follow-up study with the same subjects (Read, 1986)." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1988-30166-001.) Administered 3 tests designed for the neuropsychological assessment of older people. The tests focus on evaluating the storage abilities of the brain for both explicit and implicit aspects of memory. Ss were volunteers in 3 age groups: 89 males and 153 females (aged 50–59 yrs); 122 males and 181 females (aged 60–69 yrs); and 77 males and 112 females (aged 70–79 yrs). The tests were (1) the Supermarket Test, designed to measure both immediate and delayed episodic memory for test items, plus episodic recall of the spatial location of the same items; (2) the Visual Closure Test, designed to measure implicit and explicit memory; and (3) the Sequential Geometric Design Test, designed to measure visuoperceptual ability and nonverbal memory. Findings show the tests to work well with patients suffering from mild to severe memory loss and with those in the early stages of dementia. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessor Cognitive Processes in an Operational Assessment Center.

The purpose of this study was (a) to provide additional tests of C. E. Lance, Newbolt, et al.'s (2000) situational specificity (vs. method bias) interpretation of exercise effects on assessment center postexercise dimension ratings and (b) to provide competitive tests of salient dimension versus general impression models of assessor within-exercise evaluations of candidate performance. Results strongly support the situational specificity hypothesis and the general impression model of assessor cognitive processes in which assessors first form overall evaluations of candidate performance that then drive more specific dimensional ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological decline in frontotemporal lobar degeneration: A longitudinal analysis.

Few studies have assessed whether the patterns of neuropsychological impairment in patients with different frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) subtypes remain distinct over the duration of their illness or devolve into a common, undifferentiated neuropsychological state. A longitudinal neuropsychological analysis was obtained over 100 months assessing executive control, language/naming, and visuoconstruction in 441 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and four FTLD subtypes, i.e., a social comportment/dysexecutive (SOC/EXEC) disorder; progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA); semantic dementia (SemD); and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Initial group differences on each measure were maintained over the duration of illness, including several double dissociations. For example, AD patients exhibited a decline in 'animal' fluency; PNFA patients had difficulty on tests of executive control, SemD maintained their impairment on tests of naming, and CBD had presented with performance on visuoconstructional tests. None of the group by neuropsychological task interactions evaluating longitudinal decline was significant, suggesting that performance does not converge onto a common subtype over time. These data indicate that distinct patterns of neuropsychological impairment are maintained longitudinally, reflecting the unique anatomic distribution of relative disease burden in AD and FTLD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the Differential Ability Scales for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The validity of the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) was assessed among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a matched control sample. The sample included 45 children with ADHD (69% with comorbidity) and 45 controls matched by age, gender, ethnicity, and parental educational level. Multivariate analysis of variance univariate test results and d ratios yielded statistically and clinically significant group differences on the Recall of Digits and Recall of Objects-Immediate diagnostic subtests. Discriminant function analyses indicated that the three Diagnostic Subtests accurately classified 67% of the sample with 69% correctly identified as controls and 64% correctly identified as ADHD. Recall of Digits was found to make the most significant contribution overall to the discriminant function. At a cutoff score of 40, Recall of Digits yielded high specificity and low sensitivity and moderate positive predictive power. Implications of results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological test performance in soldiers with blast-related mild TBI.

This exploratory study was conducted to increase understanding of neuropsychological test performance in those with blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The two variables of interest for their impact on test performance were presence of mTBI symptoms and history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Forty-five soldiers postblast mTBI, 27 with enduring mTBI symptoms and 18 without, completed a series of neuropsychological tests. Seventeen of the 45 met criteria for PTSD. The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (Frencham, Fox, & Mayberry, 2005; Spreen & Strauss, 1998) was the primary outcome measure. Two-sided, 2-sample t tests were used to compare scores between groups of interest. Presence of mTBI symptoms did not impact test performance. In addition, no significant differences between soldiers with and without PTSD were identified. Standard neuropsychological assessment may not increase understanding about impairment associated with mTBI symptoms. Further research in this area is indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)