Taxonomy, assessment, and diagnosis of depression during adolescence.

Research on depressive phenomena during adolescence has focused on 3 separate constructs: depressed mood, depressive syndromes, and depressive disorders. Approaches to the assessment, taxonomy, and diagnosis of these 3 conceptualizations are reviewed. Each of the approaches is represented by different assessment tools measuring related but distinct aspects of depressive phenomena. The constructs share a common set of symptoms reflecting negative affectivity but differ in their inclusion of symptoms of anxiety, somatic problems, and disrupted concentration and in the duration and severity of the symptoms they include. Depressed mood, syndromes, and disorders are integrated as 3 levels of depressive phenomena in a hierarchical and sequential model, and moderating factors are hypothesized to account for the relationships among the 3 levels. The need for a stronger developmental focus to understand depressive phenomena during adolescence is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some better practices for measuring racial and ethnic identity constructs.

Racial and ethnic identity (REI) measures are in danger of becoming conceptually meaningless because of evaluators' insistence that they conform to measurement models intended to assess unidimensional constructs, rather than the multidimensional constructs necessary to capture the complexity of internalized racial or cultural socialization. Some aspects of the intersection of REI theoretical constructs with research design and psychometric practices are discussed, and recommendations for more informed use of each are provided. A table that summarizes some psychometric techniques for analyzing multidimensional measures is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family and individual difference predictors of trait aspects of negative interpersonal behaviors during emerging adulthood.

A latent trait-state-occasion (TSO) model (D. A. Cole, N. C. Martin, & J. H. Steiger, 2005) was used to isolate the trait and state components of negative interpersonal behaviors toward a friend or romantic partner during emerging adulthood. Results indicate that variance in negative interpersonal behaviors was due to nearly equal portions of Trait and Occasion factors. Variability in the trait aspects of negative interpersonal behaviors was then predicted by theoretically relevant constructs. In particular, mothers' negative behaviors during adolescence, adolescent core self-evaluations, negative emotionality, and feelings of security in close relationships had independent effects in predicting the enduring aspects of negative interpersonal behaviors. All told, these results indicate that TSO models can be helpful tools for understanding the developmental antecedents of the trait-like aspects of interpersonal processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the validity of the achievement motive in the presence of random measurement error.

The presence of random measurement error in indicators of theoretical constructs biases observed estimates of relations among those constructs. Correcting for this bias is particularly important when random measurement error is substantial or is substantially different for indicators of distinct constructs included in a theoretical model. Validity assessment in the case of thematic apperceptive measures of the achievement motive (TAT n Achievement) has been vulnerable to interpretive errors because these indicators of the achievement motive are typically much less reliable than indicators of other constructs to which the motive may be related, and no correction has been made for the bias introduced by such differential measurement error. A causal modeling approach to validity assessment for TAT n Achievement is presented that incorporates explicit true-score measurement models of theoretical constructs. Data from J. Veroff et al (1981) on 413 adult US males confirm the hypothesis that the achievement motive construct is positively related to work satisfaction. Evidence for the discriminant validity of story content as opposed to story length, an issue raised in the literature on the TAT, is also presented in this nomological network. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying artificial neural network models to clinical decision making.

Because psychological assessment typically lacks biological gold standards, it traditionally has relied on clinicians' expert knowledge. A more empirically based approach frequently has applied linear models to data to derive meaningful constructs and appropriate measures. Statistical inferences are then used to assess the generality of the findings. This article introduces artificial neural networks (ANNs), flexible nonlinear modeling techniques that test a model's generality by applying its estimates against "future" data. ANNs have potential for overcoming some shortcomings of linear models. The basics of ANNs and their applications to psychological assessment are reviewed. Two examples of clinical decision making are described in which an ANN is compared with linear models, and the complexity of the network performance is examined. Issues salient to psychological assessment are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural factors in the clinical assessment of Asian Americans.

In view of the growing interest in the influence of cultural factors in psychological assessment, this article critically evaluates assessment issues with Asian American populations. Examined are issues in (a) the extent and symptoms of psychopathology, (b) personality assessment, and (c) face-to-face clinical assessment. It is argued that, without understanding cultural factors, researchers and practitioners may draw inappropriate and invalid conclusions. Cultural factors are important not only in providing a context for interpreting assessment outcomes but also in suggesting appropriate conceptual and methodological strategies. Suggestions are made for improving assessment strategies and for testing the limitations and generality of constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure and validity of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool--Criminal Adjudication.

Examination of the available literature regarding the development of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA) reveals 2 theoretical factor structures on which the MacCAT-CA was based: one in which 3 lower-order constructs are proposed (understanding, reasoning, appreciation) and one in which 2 higher-order constructs are proposed (competence to assist counsel and decisional competence). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with the MacCAT-CA's original normative sample (N = 729) to test both the relative fit of these 2 theoretical factor structures and models that combine the 2 factor structures. Analyses were also completed to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the MacCAT-CA. Results are discussed in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of the nomothetic nature of the MacCAT-CA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College student alcohol use in context: The utility of goal constructs.

Alcohol use occurs in the context of multiple goals that college students develop, pursue, and modify in their transition to adulthood. Consequently, the assessment of goal constructs provides a valuable tool for understanding the developmental context of college drinking. Conceptualizing student alcohol misuse in terms of its effects on valued goals has a number of advantages for understanding personality risk and protective factors, clarifying the contributions of social and environmental influences, and developing motivation-based interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparative-developmental approach to schizophrenia.

A comparative-development theory, in order to encompass schizophrenic processes, must introduce constructs which suggest a parallelism of various aspects of schizophrenia with the developmental patterns of childhood. The functions of emotion, perception, learning, thinking and language, socialization, and motor functions are examined from this viewpoint. By showing the essential similarity of structure between young children and schizophrenics, it is concluded that the approach is helpful in understanding schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gastrointestinal absorption of metals

Estimating gastrointestinal absorption remains a significant challenge in the risk assessment of metals. This presentation reviews our current understanding of the gastrointestinal absorption of lead (Pb) to illustrate physiological mechanisms involved in metal absorption, new approaches that are being applied to the problem of estimating metal absorption in humans, and issues related to integrating this information into risk assessment. Absorption of metals can be highly variable in human populations because it is influenced by a variety of factors that include the chemical form of the metal, environmental matrix in which the ingested metal is contained, gastrointestinal tract contents, diet, nutritional status, age, and, in some cases, genotype. Thus, in risk assessment models, gastrointestinal absorption is best described as a variable whose distribution is determined in part by the above multiple influences. Although we cannot expect to evaluate empirically each of the above factors in human populations, we can expect to achieve a sufficiently detailed understanding of absorption mechanisms to develop conceptual and, eventually, quantitative models of absorption that account for some aspects of individual variability. A conceptual model is presented of the physiological processes involved in the transfer of ingested metals from the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract to the blood circulation. Components of the model include delivery to the site(s) of absorption; distribution among intracellular and extracellular ligands and transcellular and paracellular pathways of transfer across the gastrointestinal tract epithelium. The gastrointestinal absorption of Pb is discussed in the context of this model.     

Today I'll use a condom, but who knows about tomorrow: A daily process study of variability in predictors of condom use.

Objective: Most models of health behavior change applied to condom use behavior have focused on individual differences in theoretical constructs to explain condom use or nonuse, while ignoring the possibility that day-to-day within-person changes in these constructs may contribute to understanding behavior. The goal of the present study was to investigate day-to-day variability in condom use attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions and assess the utility of this variability in predicting the likelihood of condom use each day. Design: A 30-day Web-based structured daily diary was used to collect daily reports of sexual behaviors and data on theoretical predictors of condom use behavior from sexually active college students (N = 116). Main Outcome Measures: The authors investigated whether condom use attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions vary day to day; whether this within-person variability predicts condom use behavior; and whether negative affective states explain this variability. Results and Conclusions: Within-person variability was found for each of the constructs. Within-person day-to-day changes in behavioral intentions and attitudes predicted the instances in which an individual used a condom and daily negative affect partially explained within-person day-to-day changes in behavioral intentions and self-efficacy. Implications for models of health behavior change and for behavior change interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring job stressors and strains: where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go

This article examines assessment approaches and specific measures used by job-stress researchers to characterize aspects of work and the working environment (potential job stressors) and workers' reactions to these working conditions (strains). Self-report instruments, observational approaches, and physiological indicators are described. Problematic areas (e.g., the use of overlapping stressor and strain measures) and contemporary issues affecting job stress assessment (e.g., negative affectivity) are discussed. Recommendations regarding instrument selection and measurement improvements are offered. It is concluded that closer attention to measurement-related issues is critical to the advancement of knowledge in the field. Important needs include the identification and more frequent use of objective measures, the increased use of triangulation strategies, and a careful examination of the adequacy of existing constructs and measures for capturing the demands of contemporary work.     

Drug use and intimate relationships among women and men: Separating specific from general effects in prospective data using structural equation models.

This article presents the use of specific paths in structural equation models (SEMs) that allow separation and tests of both unique and common (latent) aspects of measured variables. Cross-sectional studies have established that problems in intimate relationships are related to drug use, but the direction of these effects is unclear and is best addressed by using SEMs with prospective data. Reciprocal effects between constructs of polydrug use and relationship quality were examined for 307 young women and 117 young men over a 4-yr period while social conformity was controlled for. No cross-lagged effects were found between latent constructs, except for polydrug use, which increased later divorces for women. However, specific paths allowed tests of types of drug use and relationship quality as both predictors and consequences. There were 8 effects for women and 6 for men from specific measures of drug use that adversely affected aspects of relationship quality. Conversely, only one effect was found from relationship quality to drug use variables for both genders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The approaches to learning of student nurses in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

In recent years during a period of change in nurse education, there has been an increased interest in educational theory and nurse educators have examined and questioned the fundamental principles upon which the system of education is constructed. In nurse education it is likely that no single theory of learning can account for all aspects of learning and there are reflections of many learning theories in the nursing curriculum. The literature in the area of student learning is complex and wide ranging and is poorly represented in the nurse education literature. In recognition of a lack of understanding and clarity on learning approaches in nurse education during a period of unprecedented change in Irish and United Kingdom (UK) nurse education, this paper aims to highlight the importance of understanding student nurse learning. A study is described which investigated the approaches to learning of student nurses from the Republic of Ireland, who were receiving a traditional apprenticeship training, and student nurses from Northern Ireland in a Project 2000 programme. On comparative statistical analysis significant differences were identified between the two groups in their approaches to learning. It is concluded that students' constructs of learning in nurse education are primarily dependent on their interpretation of the demands of the task, on assessment, teaching and the learning environment. The study provides nurse educationalists with important evaluative information from the students' perspective. It suggests that the way forward is to identify the significant contextual factors influencing student learning and to incorporate them into the nursing curriculum. Such an approach will serve to focus the system on variability in the quality of learning rather than on stability in human attributes.     

Using comparison data to differentiate categorical and dimensional data by examining factor score distributions: Resolving the mode problem.

Factor-analytic research is common in the study of constructs and measures in psychological assessment. Latent factors can represent traits as continuous underlying dimensions or as discrete categories. When examining the distributions of estimated scores on latent factors, one would expect unimodal distributions for dimensional data and bimodal or multimodal distributions for categorical data. Unfortunately, identifying modes is subjective, and the operationalization of counting local maxima has not performed very well. Rather than locating and counting modes, the authors propose performing parallel analyses of categorical and dimensional comparison data and calculating an index of the relative fit of these competing structural models. In an extensive Monte Carlo study, the authors replicated prior results for mode counting and found that trimming distributions' tails helped. However, parallel analyses of comparison data achieved much greater accuracy, improved base rate estimation, and afforded consistency checks with other taxometric procedures. Two additional studies apply this approach to empirical data either known to be categorical or presumed to be dimensional. Each study supports this new method for factor-analytic research on the latent structure of constructs and measures in psychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental models of learning to read Chinese words.

What is the nature of learning to read Chinese across grade levels? This study tested 199 kindergartners, 172 second graders, and 165 fifth graders on 12 different tasks purportedly tapping constructs representing phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing, and subcharacter processing. Confirmatory factor analyses comparing alternative models of these 4 constituents of Chinese word reading revealed different patterns of metalinguistic underpinnings of children's word recognition across grade levels: The best-fitting model for kindergartners represented a print–nonprint dichotomy of constructs. In contrast, 2nd graders showed a fine-grained sensitivity to all 4 hypothesized constructs. Finally, the best-fitting model for 5th graders consisted of a phonological sensitivity construct and a broad lexical morphological–orthographic processing construct. Findings suggest that Hong Kong Chinese children progress from a basic understanding of print versus nonprint to a diversified sensitivity to varied word-reading skills, to a focus on meaning-based word recognition, to the relative exclusion of phonological sensitivity in more advanced readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ten-year stability and latent structure of the DSM–IV schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

Evaluation of the validity of personality disorder (PD) diagnostic constructs is important for the impending revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Prior factor analytic studies have tested these constructs in cross-sectional studies, and models have been replicated longitudinally, but no study has tested a constrained longitudinal model. The authors examined 4 PDs in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders study (schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive) over 7 time points (baseline, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 4 years, 6 years, and 10 years). Data for 2-, 4-, 6- and 10-year assessments were obtained in semistructured interviews by raters blind to prior PD diagnoses at each assessment. The latent structure of the 4 constructs was differentiated during the initial time points but became less differentiated over time as the mean levels of the constructs dropped and stability increased. Obsessive-compulsive PD became more correlated with schizotypal and borderline PD than with avoidant PD. The higher correlation among the constructs in later years may reflect greater shared base of pathology for chronic personality disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)