"'Normal' personality inventories in clinical assessment: General requirements and the potential for using the NEO Personality Inventory": Reply.

Responds to comments by Y. S. Ben-Porath and N. G. Waller (see record 1992-25755-001), noting that (1) no self-report instrument can provide a complete clinical evaluation, but personality measures may contribute to the evaluation; (2) the use of validity scales is controversial and cannot supplant clinical judgment; (3) the NEO Personality Inventory embodies a hierarchical model of personality structure that can aid the interpretation of profiles; (4) anxiety, depression, and impulsiveness (inability to control urges) are all aspects of neuroticism; and (5) the time has come for a systematic reevaluation of all measures used in clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normal personality assessment in clinical practice: The NEO Personality Inventory.

Personality psychologists from a variety of theoretical perspectives have recently concluded that personality traits can be summarized in terms of a 5-factor model. This article describes the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO–PI), a measure of these 5 factors and some of the traits that define them, and its use in clinical practice. Recent studies suggest that NEO–PI scales are reliable and valid in clinical samples as in normal samples. The use of self-report personality measures in clinical samples is discussed, and data from 117 "normal" adult men and women are presented to show links between the NEO–PI scales and psychopathology as measured by D. N. Jackson's (1989) Basic Personality Inventory and L. Morey's (1991) Personality Assessment Inventory. The authors argue that the NEO–PI may be useful to clinicians in understanding the patient, formulating a diagnosis, establishing rapport, developing insight, anticipating the course of therapy, and selecting the optimal form of treatment for the patient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles meaningful? Differential item and facet functioning in the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

Measurement invariance is a prerequisite for confident cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in factor loadings and intercepts for the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (P. T. Costa, Jr., & R. R. McCrae, 1992) in comparisons of college students in the United States (N = 261), Philippines (N = 268), and Mexico (N = 775). About 40%–50% of the items exhibited some form of DIF and item-level noninvariance often carried forward to the facet level at which scores are compared. After excluding DIF items, some facet scales were too short or unreliable for cross-cultural comparisons, and for some other facets, cultural mean differences were reduced or eliminated. The results indicate that considerable caution is warranted in cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of positive impression management on the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised in a clinical population.

Sixty adults in outpatient psychotherapy completed the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised (NEO PI–R, P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992a). Half were instructed to fake good and half were given standard instructions. All completed the Interpersonal Adjective Scale–Revised, Big Five (J. S. Wiggins & P. D. Trapnell, 1997) under standard instructions, and their therapists completed the observer rating form of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. A comparison group of 30 students completed the NEO PI–R under standard instructions. Standard and fake-good participants obtained significantly different NEO PI–R domain scores. Correlations between the NEO PI–R and criterion measures were significantly lower for faking than for standard patients. Validity scales for the NEO PI–R (J. A. Schinka, B. N. Kinder, & T. Kremer, 1997) were moderately accurate in discriminating faking from standard patients, but were only marginally accurate in discriminating faking patients from students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality in adulthood: A six-year longitudinal study of self-reports and spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory.

Previous longitudinal studies of personality in adulthood have been limited in the range of traits examined, have chiefly made use of self-reports, and have frequently included only men. In this study, self-reports (N?=?983) and spouse ratings (N?=?167) were gathered on the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985b), which measures all five of the major dimensions of normal personality. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses on data from men and women aged 21 to 96 years showed evidence of small declines in Activity, Positive Emotions, and openness to Actions that might be attributed to maturation, but none of these effects was replicated in sequential analyses. The 20 other scales examined showed no consistent pattern of maturational effects. In contrast, retest stability was quite high for all five dimensions in self-reports and for the three dimensions measured at both times in spouse ratings. Comparable levels of stability were seen for men and women and for younger and older subjects. The data support the position that personality is stable after age 30. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiphasic measurement of child personality: Construction of content scales using the Personality Inventory for Children.

The application of objective test methodology to child personality is seen as having potential for improvement of similar problems in child care or treatment settings such as mental health centers, hospitals, and schools. Intuitive and statistical (internal consistency) procedures were combined to construct 10 scales for measuring child personality: Somatic Concern, poor Family Relations, Asocial Behavior, Aggression, poor Intellectual-Physical Development, Withdrawal, Anxiety, Reality Distortion, Excitement, and poor Social Skills. 4 independently collected samples were used in the construction of the content scales. These samples were designated as clinic (n = 73), psychotic (n = 60), normative (n = 2,386), and general abnormal (n = 198). A 5th sample, normal contrast, was drawn from the normative sample (n = 600). Ss were 5-16 yrs old. The scales were judged to be internally consistent, potentially applicable to clinical decision making, and to require empirical validation. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferential structure of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory: Construct validity of the Big Four personality clusters.

Four studies investigated the dimensionality of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). In Study 1, four inferential dimensions and four clusters represented the NEO-FFI when 114 undergraduates freely sorted items into categories. Construct validity for four item-clusters derived from the inferential space was obtained in Study 2 based on self-report with 304 undergraduates. Study 3 validated these inferential clusters using self and peer reports for 420 undergraduates. Study 4 validated the cluster scales for predicting quality of life and significant social and cultural behaviours for 110 undergraduates. Implications for implicit personality theory, the number of dimensions issue in personality, and test construction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Usefulness of Measures of Normal Personality for Clinical Assessment: Evidence of the Incremental Validity of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

As a means of examining the incremental validity of a normal personality measure in the prediction of selected Axis I and II diagnoses, 1,342 inpatient substance abusers completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and were assessed with structured clinical interviews to determine diagnostic status. Results demonstrated that scores from the NEO-PI-R (a) were substantially related to the majority of diagnoses, accounting for between 8% and 26% of the variance in the diagnostic criteria; (b) explained an additional 3% to 8% of the variability beyond 28 selected MMPI-2 scale scores; (c) increased diagnostic classification an additional 7% to 23% beyond MMPI-2 scale scores; and (d) were significantly more useful when examined at the facet trait level than at the domain trait level. Implications for incorporating measures of normal personality into clinical assessment batteries are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating replicability of factors in the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: Confirmatory factor analysis versus Procrustes rotation.

Despite the empirical robustness of the 5-factor model of personality, recent confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) data suggest they do not fit the hypothesized model. In a replication study of 229 adults, a series of CFAs showed that Revised NEO-PI scales are not simple-structured but do approximate the normative 5-factor structure. CFA goodness-of-fit indices, however, were not high. Comparability analyses showed that no more than 5 factors were replicable, which calls into question some assumptions underlying the use of CFA. An alternative method that uses targeted rotation was presented and illustrated with data from Chinese and Japanese versions of the Revised NEO-PI that clearly replicated the 5-factor structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The utility of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory in an outpatient, drug rehabilitation context.

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO–PI–R) in a mostly African American clinical sample and determined if these qualities provided useful information about their motivational characteristics that were germane to treatment. Eighty-two men and 50 women entered a 6-week outpatient drug rehabilitation program, completed the NEO–PI–R, and received counselor ratings of personality at admission. The 99 who finished the program completed a 2nd NEO–PI–R. Counselors provided ratings of treatment responsiveness. The cross-observer, cross-method, cross-time correlations indicated that the NEO–PI–R can be a useful tool for organizing clinical information about clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A "common-language" version of the California Child Q-Set for personality assessment.

The California Q-Set (CCQ), a unique instrument used by professional observers to assess children's personalities, has contributed important information about the nature of personality development. Language-simplifying modifications are introduced to the items in the original CCQ for this assessment procedure to be used with a wide range of nonprofessional observers (e.g., parents with little formal education). Reliability and validity assessments show that the "common-language" version of the CCQ can be used with laypersons to yield reliable, valid, and valuable information about the links between personality functioning and problems in adaptive functioning in diverse populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and drunk driving: Identification of DUI types using the Hogan Personality Inventory.

200 persons arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), 30 social drinkers, 30 depressed patients, 30 incarcerated criminals, and 30 alcoholics completed the Hogan Personality Inventory ([HPI]; R. Hogan, 1986) and Court Reporting Network (CRN) interview. A cluster analysis of HPI scores for the DUI group revealed 5 personality types: Impulsive-Extravert, Normal, Neurotic-Introvert, Neurotic-Hostile, and Unassertive-Conformist. The types differed predictably on demographic variables, drinking behavior, and driving records as assessed by the CRN. The Impulsive-Extravert and Normal types had HPI profiles similar to social drinkers. The Neurotic-Introvert type most resembled depressed patients, and the Neurotic-Hostile type most resembled incarcerated criminals. Results clarify previous findings on DUI personality types and establish a basis for tailoring therapeutic treatments to different types of DUI offenders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive Impression Management and Its Influence on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: A Comparison of Analog and Differential Prevalence Group Designs.

Participants (n = 22) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) as part of an authentic job application. Protocols produced by this group were compared with "analog" participants (n = 23) who completed the NEO PI-R under standard instructions and again under instructions designed to mimic the test-taking scenario of the job applicants (the "fake-good" condition). Participants completing the NEO PI-R under fake-good instructions and the job applicants scored lower on the Neuroticism and higher on the Extraversion scales than did the participants responding under standard instructions. Analog participants in the fake-good condition scored higher on the Extraversion and lower on the Agreeableness scales than did the job applicants. These results suggest that outcomes from analog designs are generalizable to real-world samples where response dissimulation is probable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Associations among NEO personality assessments and well-being at midlife: Facet-level analyses": Correction to Siegler and Brummett (2000).

Reports an error in "Associations among NEO personality assessments and well-being at mid-life: Facet-level analyses" by Ilene C. Siegler and Beverly H. Brummett (Psychology and Aging, 2000[Dec], Vol 15[4], 710-714). The article contained an error in the journal title for the Schmutte and Ryff (1997) reference. The correct reference is: Schmutte, P. S., & Ryff, C. D. (1997). Personality and well-being: Reexamining methods and meanings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 549-559. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2000-16635-013.) The association between well-being and personality was examined in 2,379 middle-aged adults. Measures that parallel C. D. Ryff's (1989) psychological model were selected to assess well-being. The 30 facet scales of the NEO-PI–R were used to measure personality. More than 83% of the facet–well-being correlations within the domains of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness reached statistical significance, whereas, less than half of the correlations within the domains of Agreeableness and Openness were significant. The facets within each domain demonstrated different patterns of associations with the well-being measures, indicating that facet-level assessments yield additional information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Identification of special education needs with the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC): A hierarchical classification model": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by R. B. Kline et al (Psychological Assessment, 1993[Sep], Vol 5[3], 307–316). A correction was made to the 1st classification rule in Figure 2. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1994-16019-001.) Psychologists who test children for possible special education placement are obliged to incorporate parental input into the assessment process. This investigation studied the utility of a multidimensional, parent-informant questionnaire, the PIC, as a screening measure for the need for special education services. PIC profiles from children in regular classrooms and classrooms for the learning disabled, emotionally impaired, and mentally impaired were used in discriminant function analyses to develop a set of hierarchical classification rules. Results of analyses within both a derivation and a replication sample indicated reasonable high correct classification rates for these rules. Also, results within a 3rd sample of African-American and White children matched for IQ suggest absence of classification bias by race. Implications of these results for use of the PIC in school assessments are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Comparative practice of psychological assessment by clinical psychologists": Reply.

Replies to comments by J. Hunsley (see record 83:28521) on the original article by C. E. Watkins et al (see record 1995-23048-001) on the practice of psychological assessment by clinical psychologists. While Watkins et al feel that Hunsley raises some valid points, they contend that he goes too far in referring to their conclusions as inaccurate, not warranted, and as having effects that could be unfortunate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Addiction proneness" and personality in heroin addicts.

Carried out a carefully controlled comparison of the personality characteristics of heroin addict (n = 27) and nonaddict (n = 20) offenders to avoid methodological problems associated with earlier studies. Ss had a minimum of a 6th-grade education and IQs in the normal range. Age at 1st arrest, educational achievement test scores, number of prior arrests, IQ, religion, and marital status were used as covariates in a statistical control design; blind data collection and scoring procedures were employed; and the 2 groups were compared on 34 personality variables. Significant differences were obtained on 7 variables but upon examination were interpreted as failing to provide sufficient support for the addictive personality hypothesis. Results underscore the importance of careful control in studies of this nature. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting police officer performance using the Inwald Personality Inventory: An illustration from Appalachia.

Psychologists in rural areas are sometimes called on to assist in police officer selection. In the present study, the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) was used to predict police officers' performance. Ratings for 33 officers hired over 4 years, along with IPI scores, were tested statistically. Four variables—elevated scores on the Driving Violations and Lack of Assertiveness scales and lowered scores on the Type A and Rigid Type scales—significantly predicted officers who were rated poorly or terminated. Although the specific findings may not generalize to other rural areas, this exploratory study suggests that the IPI may be useful in such evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further assessment of the HEXACO Personality Inventory: Two new facet scales and an observer report form.

The HEXACO Personality Inventory (HEXACO-PI) operationalizes the six factors obtained from lexical studies of personality structure in several languages. In this study, psychometric properties of the HEXACO-PI were assessed using a community adult sample and also using observer reports, thereby extending the previous investigation relying only on self-reports from a college student sample. In addition to examining the original 24 HEXACO-PI facet scales, the authors also examined two new facet scales--Altruism versus Antagonism and Negative Self-Evaluation--that assess constructs located interstitially among the factors of the HEXACO space. The HEXACO-PI again showed favorable psychometric properties in terms of reliability and factor structure and also showed high levels of self/observer agreement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)