A comparison of the validity of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) Personality Disorder Prototypes using FFM self-report and interview measures.

Recent studies have demonstrated that personality disorders (PDs) can be assessed via a prototype-matching technique, which enables researchers and clinicians to match an individual's five-factor model (FFM) personality profile to an expert-generated prototype. The current study examined the relations between these prototype scores, using interview and self-report data, and PD symptoms in an outpatient sample (N = 115). Both sets of PD prototype scores demonstrated significant convergent validity with PD symptom counts, suggesting that the FFM PD prototype scores are appropriate for use with both sources of data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Validity of the Five-Factor Model Prototypes for Personality Disorders in Two Clinical Samples.

The authors examined the validity of D. R. Lynam and T. A. Widiger's (2001) prototypes for personality disorders (PDs) derived from the facets of the 5-factor model (FFM) of personality in 2 clinical samples. In the 1st sample (N = 94), there was good agreement between the prototypes generated by experts and the profiles reported by patients. These FFM PD similarity scores also demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with results from a semistructured interview and a self-report measure of Axis II pathology. In the 2nd sample (N = 132), the FFM PD similarity scores demonstrated excellent longitudinal stability and good predictive validity with regard to consensus ratings of PD features. The implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Challenges associated with a polythetic diagnostic system: Criteria combinations in the personality disorders.

Converging research on the diagnostic criteria for personality disorders (PDs) reveals that most criteria have different psychometric properties. This finding is inconsistent with the PD diagnostic system according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), which weights each criterion equally. The purpose of the current study was to examine the potential effects of using equal weights for differentially functioning criteria. Data from over 2,100 outpatients were used to analyze and score response patterns to the diagnostic criteria for 9 PDs within an item response theory framework. Results indicated that combinations that included the same number of endorsed criteria yielded differing estimates of PD traits, depending on which criteria were met. Moreover, trait estimates from subthreshold criteria combinations often overlapped with diagnostic (at-threshold or higher) combinations, indicating that there were subthreshold combinations of criteria that indicated as much or more PD than did some combinations at the diagnostic threshold. These results suggest that counting the number of criteria an individual meets provides only a coarse estimation of his or her PD trait level. Implications for the assessment of polythetically defined mental disorders and for the PD proposal for the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric properties of the Cognition Checklist with psychiatric outpatients and university students.

To provide further information about the psychometric characteristics of the Cognition Checklist (CCL), the CCL was administered to 1,907 outpatients who had various Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) disorders and 290 university students. Factor analyses supported the scoring of the CCL as 14-item Depression (CCL-D) and 12-item Anxiety (CCL-A) subscales in outpatients and partially supported such scoring in students. The convergent and discriminant validities of the subscales were high for the outpatient sample, but the CCL-A did not display discriminant validity in the student sample. Both subscales differentiated (1) students from outpatients and (2) the outpatients, by primary, secondary, and personality diagnostic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminant validity of the Psychopathy Checklist in a forensic psychiatric population.

The association between psychopathy and other mental disorders was investigated in 80 male forensic patients. Psychopathy was assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; R. D. Hare [see PA, Vol 67:2477]). Diagnoses of other mental disorders were based on Axis I and Axis II criteria listed in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) and on two standardized psychiatric rating scales. PCL diagnoses were significantly related only to antisocial and histrionic personality disorder (PD) and to nonalcohol substance abuse disorders. PCL ratings were also positively correlated with prototypicality ratings of antisocial, histrionic, and narcissistic PD and negatively correlated with ratings of avoidant PD. The results provide evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the PCL and are consistent with the view that psychopathy is a distinct clinical syndrome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Les inquiétudes chez les adolescents: Propriétés psychométriques de la version fran?ais du Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children.

This study assessed, among a French high-school student sample (N=614), the psychometric properties of an adaptation for children and adolescents of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The factor structure, internal consistency, convergent/discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability were investigated. The results show that the single factor scale has good psychometric properties. The French version seems to be a useful and appropriate tool for clinicians and researchers assessing the tendency to worry among adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric analyses of the Leyton Obsessional Inventory in patients with obsessive-compulsive and other anxiety disorders.

Evaluated the psychometric properties of the Leyton Obsessional Inventory (LOI). In particular, internal consistency and intercorrelation of subscales were examined, as well as convergent, divergent, and discriminative validity. In a sample of 77 patients with primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) diagnoses of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n?=?18) or alternative anxiety disorders (n?=?59), internal consistency of the 4 LOI subscales (Symptom, Trait, Resistance, Interference) was strong, and subscale intercorrelations suggested the presence of a single construct. Analyses of convergent and divergent validity, including the SCL-90 and Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) subscales, supported the specificity of the LOI. In addition, OCD and non-OCD patients differed significantly in Symptom, Interference, and Resistance scores. Discriminant function analyses revealed that Interference and Symptom subscales were the strongest predictors of group membership, together accounting for 57% of the variance. Classification data indicated that 88% of patients in the OCD and non-OCD groups were classified correctly according to LOI scores. An LOI Interference cutoff score of 15 may be optimal for identifying OCD and non-OCD groups. Implications of the data for use of the LOI in assessing OCD are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of the MMPI-2 restructured clinical (RC) and clinical scales in a substance abuse treatment sample.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) restructured clinical (RC) scales were designed to assess the underlying distinctive core components of the MMPI-2 clinical scales in order to enhance discriminant and convergent validity. Analyses utilizing inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment samples (Tellegen et al., 2003) have demonstrated improvements in the psychometric functioning of the RC scales in comparison with the original clinical scales. The current study extends these analyses by comparing the RC and original clinical scales in a sample of 1,284 men assessed at intake to a substance abuse treatment program in a VA setting. Results indicate that the RC scales demonstrate a general improvement in psychometric properties, with some increases in convergent and discriminant validity compared to their clinical scale counterparts. These results replicate Tellegen et al.'s (2003) findings in a different type of treatment setting and with different criteria, and complement their report by examining the validity of scales RC3 and RC9, for which Tellegen et al. (2003) did not have appropriate criteria. Implications for deliverers of psychological services in public sector settings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease

Using emerging international guidelines, stringent procedures were used to develop and evaluate Canadian-French, German and UK translations/adaptions of the 50 item, parent-completed Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF50). Multitrait analysis was used to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity of the hypothesized item sets across countries relative to the results obtained for a representative sample of children in the US. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to estimate the internal consistency reliability for each of the health scales. Floor and ceiling effects were also examined. Seventy-nine percent of all the item-scale correlations achieved acceptable internal consistency (0.40 or higher). The tests of the item convergent and discriminant validity were successful at least 87% of the time across all scales and countries. Equal item variance was observed 90% of the time across all countries. The reliability coefficients ranged from a low of 0.43 (parental time impact, Canadian English) to a high of 0.97 (physical functioning index, Canadian French) across all scales (median 0.80). Negligible floor effects were observed across countries. Noteworthy ceiling effects were observed, as expected, for the hypothesized physical scales (mean effect 73%). Conversely, fewer ceiling effects were observed for the psychosocial scales (range 3-17% behaviour-parental emotional impact). The item-scaling results obtained in these pilot studies support the psychometric properties of the American-English CHQ-PF50 and its respective translations.     

Convergent and discriminant validity of personality disorder prototypic acts.

The diagnosis of personality disorders is problematic, largely because of low interrater reliability. One proposal has been to increase the behavioral specificity of the diagnostic criteria by using prototypic acts. However, the methodology by which prototypic acts have been selected has relied solely on face validity. The convergent and discriminant validity of prototypic acts for the schizoid, histrionic, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorders was assessed in this study, using a sample of patients who were diagnosed with personality disorder symptomatology after a semistructured interview. It was demonstrated that some acts might indeed be useful as either inclusion or exclusion criteria but that others lacked convergent and/or discriminant validity. The results are discussed regarding the limitations of prototypic acts and the methodology by which they are developed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating the discriminant and convergent validity of developmental constructs: Another look at the concept of egocentrism.

Reviews and reanalyzes an application by M. E. Ford (see record 1980-05161-001) of the multitrait-multimethod matrix developed by D. Campbell and D. Fiske (see record 1960-00103-001) to correlational data on the concept of egocentrism. The criteria by which reliability is evaluated, the interpretation of negative evidence in convergent/discriminant validation, and task selection and scoring are examined. Problems associated with statistical control of age in developmental data and with age-appropriate assessment are also outlined. To avoid both false-negative and false-positive conclusions in construct validation research, developmentalists should give greater weight to psychometric considerations in task construction, data collection, and meta-analyses. It is suggested that the correlational data in the literature cannot support an evaluation of either convergent or discriminant validity of the concept of egocentrism. Separate sets of egocentrism tasks for assessing spatial, affective, and cognitive/communicative egocentrism in early, middle, and later childhood are suggested as a way of approaching the validation process. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric properties of the Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey in Canadian university women.

The Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS) is a 30-item questionnaire for longitudinal assessment of disordered eating symptoms among community children and adults. This cross-validation study evaluated the MEBS's psychometric properties among 423 Canadian university women. Generally, we observed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and convergent and discriminant validity, although performance of the Compensatory Behavior subscale was relatively weak. Further, we observed acceptable congruence with the original factor structure in this sample, but confirmatory factor analysis indicated the original factor structure fit these data poorly. An alternative model is presented. We interpret these mixed results as largely supporting the MEBS's reliability and validity as a brief measure of disordered eating symptoms among female undergraduates. Further evaluation of its factor structure is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping through emotional approach: Scale construction and validation.

Four studies demonstrate the psychometric adequacy and validity of scales designed to assess coping through emotional approach. In separate undergraduate samples, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of dispositional (Study 1) and situational (Study 3) coping item sets yielded 2 distinct emotional approach coping factors: emotional processing (i.e., active attempts to acknowledge and understand emotions) and emotional expression. The 2 scales yielded high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. A study (Study 2) of young adults and their parents established the scales' interjudge reliabilities. Longitudinal (Study 3) and experimental (Study 4) research supported the predictive validity of the emotional approach coping scales with regard to adjustment to stressful encounters. Findings highlight the utility of functionalist theories of emotion as applied to coping theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analyzing the convergent and discriminant validity of states and traits: Development and applications of multimethod latent state-trait models.

The analysis of convergent and discriminant validity is an integral part of the construct validation process. Models for analyzing the convergent and discriminant validity have typically been developed for cross-sectional data. There exist, however, only a few approaches for longitudinal data that can be applied for analyzing the construct validity of fluctuating states. In this article, the authors show how models of latent state-trait theory can be combined with models of multitrait-multimethod analysis to develop a model that allows for analyzing convergent and discriminant validity in time: the multimethod latent state-trait model. The model allows for identifying different sources of variance (trait consistency, trait-method specificity, occasion-specific consistency, occasion-specific method specificity, and unreliability). It is applied to the repeated measurement of depression and anxiety in children, which was assessed by self and teacher reports (N = 375). The application shows that the proposed models fit the data well and allow a deeper understanding of method effects in clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and construct contamination of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale—Long Form.

The Racial Identity Attitude Scale—Long Form (RIAS–L; J. E. Helms & T. A. Parham, 1996) is likely to be the instrument of choice in future research on African American racial identity development, but little is known about its psychometric properties. RIAS-L data from 275 African American community members and students were collected, and a series of analyses (i.e., correlations, multiple regressions, and confirmatory modeling) was conducted to explore convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, results were mixed, generally revealing limited support for the RIAS-L's convergent and discriminant validity and highlighting concerns regarding the Preencounter and Encounter subscales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergent and discriminant validity for areas and methods of rating job satisfaction.

A study to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of 4 rating methods and 5 areas of job satisfaction. Measures were administered to 133 randomly selected employees from 2 companies. A rating method employing a series of 6 faces ranging from a scowl to a smile and a direct graphic rating method were best according to the criteria of convergent and discriminant validity. All areas adequately satisfied both criteria, but the pay, promotions, and supervision areas showed somewhat greater discriminant validity than the work and people areas. The greater appropriateness of the convergent and discriminant criteria, as compared to other possible criteria, for demonstrating the validity of areas and measures of job satisfaction is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the original Ontario Child Health Study scales

This article presents evaluative information on the use of the original Ontario Child Health Study scales to serve as original-level measures of conduct disorder, hyperactivity and emotional disorder among children in the general (non clinic) population. Problem checklist assessments were obtained from parents and teachers of children aged six to 16 and youth aged 12 to 16 drawn from a general population (n = 1,751); and a mental health clinic sample (n = 1,027) in the same industrialized, urban setting. The results showed that the original OCHS scales possess adequate psychometric properties to be used as original-level measures of disorder. Correlations between individual items and their hypothesized scales were very strong, indicating convergent validity, while correlations between the same items and other (non hypothesized) scales were lower, indicating discriminant validity. Item analyses indicated that individual scale items possess both convergent and discriminant validity. Although the scales were skewed to the positive end of the continuum, they demonstrated good internal consistency (all estimates > or = 0.74) and test-retest (all estimates > or = 0.65) reliability. Finally, three different validity analyses confirmed hypotheses about how the original OCHS scales should perform if they provide useful measures of disorder.     

Psychometric properties of eating disorder instruments in Black and White young women: Internal consistency, temporal stability, and validity.

Most of the major instruments in the eating disorder field have documented psychometric support only in predominantly White samples. The current study examined the internal consistency, temporal stability, and convergent and discriminant validity of a variety of eating disorder measures in Black (n = 97) and White (n = 179) female undergraduates. Internal consistency coefficients were good (>.76) for all measures for both groups. Temporal stability across 5 months was also adequate in both groups, but with evidence for dietary restraint and subjective binge eating being less stable in Black women (e.g., for the Restraint subscale of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire [TFEQ], r = .63 for Black women and r = .82 for White women). Scores on the bulimic symptoms and dietary restraint instruments converged and diverged in a theoretically consistent pattern. Findings suggest these eating disorder measures are reliable (internally consistent; temporally stable over 5 months) and that the bulimic symptom measures of the Bulimia Test-Revised, the Bulimia subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory, and the dietary restraint measures from the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and TFEQ demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity in Black college women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)