Factor Structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory: Validity and Implications for Clinical Assessment.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by impulsive antisocial deviance in the context of emotional and interpersonal detachment. A factor analysis of the subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) yielded evidence for 2 factors. One factor showed relations with external criteria mirroring those of the emotional-interpersonal facet of psychopathy, including high dominance, low anxiety, and venruresomeness. The other factor showed relations paralleling those of the social deviance facet of psychopathy, including positive correlations with antisocial behavior and substance abuse, negative correlations with socioeconomic status and verbal ability, and personality characteristics including high negative emotionally and low behavioral constraint. Findings support using the PPI to assess these facets of psychopathy in community samples and to explore their behavioral correlates and genetic-neurobiological underpinnings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategic, method, and stylistic variance in the MMPI.

"Strategic variance arises in the assessment of an S's communality with respect to a normative group on a dimension defined by contrast with a criterion group. Method variance is due to the idiosyncratic nature of the total item pool in regard to the proportion of true and false keyings and the distribution of item popularity values. (Stylistic variance includes dispositions to agree (acquiescence) or disagree (cautiousness) with neutral statements, independently of item content." In these terms, relevant research with the MMPI is reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for malingering in a criminal-forensic sample with the Personality Assessment Inventory.

In this study, the authors examined how overreporting of psychopathology indices on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; L. C. Morey, 1991) performed as screening measures for malingering in a sample of 166 defendants undergoing pretrial court-ordered evaluations in the federal criminal justice system. Using results from the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS; R. Rogers, R. M. Bagby, & S. E. Dickens, 1992) as the criterion measure of malingering, the authors found that the Negative Impression scale (NIM) was the most effective PAI screening measure (cut score ≥ 81T). NIM performed as well as an established comparison measure from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989; Infrequency [F] cut score ≥ 95T), supporting the use of either of these indices as reasonable screening measures to identify potential malingerers for subsequent evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further evidence of the divergent correlates of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory factors: Prediction of institutional misconduct among male prisoners.

Recent evidence suggests that 2 largely orthogonal dimensions underpin the latent construct assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996): Fearless Dominance (PPI-I) and Impulsive Antisociality (PPI-II). Relatively few data exist on the correlates of these 2 dimensions in offender samples, however. The present study examines the criterion-related validity of these 2 dimensions among male prison inmates (N = 131) in relation to the prediction of 3 categories of institutional maladjustment: aggressive misconduct, nonaggressive misconduct, and any misconduct. PPI-II significantly predicted each criterion type, with effect sizes of moderate magnitude, whereas PPI-I was essentially unrelated to these outcome measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI): Findings from a large incarcerated sample.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; S. O. Lilienfeld, 1990; S. O. Lilienfeld & B. P. Andrews, 1996) with a community sample has suggested that the PPI subscales may comprise 2 higher order factors (S. D. Benning, C. J. Patrick, B. M. Hicks, D. M. Blonigen, & R. F. Krueger, 2003). However, substantive and structural evidence raises concerns about the viability of this 2-factor model, particularly in offender populations. The authors attempted to replicate the S. D. Benning et al. 2-factor solution using a large (N = 1,224) incarcerated male sample. Confirmatory factor analysis of this model resulted in poor model fit. Similarly, using the same EFA procedures as did S. D. Benning et al., the authors found little evidence for a 2-factor model. When they followed the recommendations of J.-W. van Prooijen and W. A. van der Kloot (2001) for recovering EFA solutions, model fit results provided some evidence that a 3-factor EFA solution could be recovered via confirmatory factor analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire profiles of veterans with traumatic combat exposure: Externalizing and internalizing subtypes.

This study used the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; A. Tellegen, in press) to identify personality-based subtypes of posttraumatic response. Cluster analyses of MPQs completed by combat veterans revealed subgroups that differed on measures relating to the externalization versus internalization of distress. The MPQ profile of the externalizing cluster was defined by low Constraint and Harmavoidance coupled with high Alienation and Aggression. Individuals in this cluster also had histories of delinquency and high rates of substance-related disorder. In comparison, the MPQ profile of the internalizing cluster was characterized by lower Positive Emotionality, Alienation, and Aggression and higher Constraint, and individuals in this cluster showed high rates of depressive disorder. These findings suggest that dispositions toward externalizing versus internalizing psychopathology may account for heterogeneity in the expression of posttraumatic responses, including patterns of comorbidity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficiency of a Strategy for Detecting Back Random Responding on the Personality Assessment Inventory.

The efficiency of a new strategy to identify back random responding (BRR) on the Personality Assessment Inventory (L. C. Morey, 1991) was studied using random manipulations of item responses from community (904 adult nonpatients) and clinical (1,079 adult patients) respondents. The strategy involved a comparison of short-form and full-instrument T scores on 2 scales found to be particularly sensitive to BRR in a recent study. This strategy was found to be reasonably sensitive and specific to even relatively low levels of BRR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of overreporting of psychopathology on the Personality Assessment Inventory: A meta-analytic review.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (L. C. Morey, 1991) includes 3 measures for identifying overreporting of psychopathology: the Negative Impression scale (NIM), Malingering Index (MAL), and Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF). Meta-analysis revealed that each measure was a strong predictor of uncoached (NIM, d = 1.48, k = 23; MAL, d = 1.15, k = 19; RDF, d = 1.13, k = 15) and coached malingering (NIM, d = 1.59, k = 8; MAL, d = 1.00, k = 6; RDF, d = 1.65, k = 3). For uncoached malingering, effects were larger in simulation than criterion groups studies, for identifying feigning of severe mental disorders than mood/anxiety disorders, and when feigners were compared to unimpaired honest respondents as opposed to patients. Cut scores of NIM ≥ 81 and MAL ≥ 3 resulted in the highest overall classification rates for identifying feigning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquiescence and the vanishing variance component.

An experimental (reversal) group took both the MMPI and a reversed form of the MMPI. A control (reliability) group took the MMPI twice. All tests were scored on 67 scales, with keying reversed for the reversed MMPI. Only trivial proportions of the response variance were found to be attributable to acquiescence for any of the uniformly keyed scales employed. Included were the scales most often suggested as measures of acquiescence: A, R, B, Bn, Rb, Acq, At, Dy-3, Deviant True, Deviant False, and Total True. Conclusion: acquiescence is an unimportant determinant of MMPI responses, including responses to items on "acquiescence" scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The convergence and predictive validity of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory and the Personality Assessment Inventory among individuals with chronic pain.

Objective: To explore the convergence, redundancy, and validity of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in a chronic pain treatment setting. Participants: Data from intake (N=235) and follow-up (N=187) for individuals with an average of 9 years of chronic pain who participated in a 20-day integrative treatment program were analyzed. Outcome Measures: Oswestry Disability Index, Beck Depression and Anxiety inventories, Rand Short-Form Health Survey, and clinician-rated ability to stand and carry. Results: Conjoint factor analyses suggested that the MPI and PAI combine to tap five orthogonal factors: Negative Affect, Support, Externalizing, Physical Dysfunction, and Impulsivity. MPI and PAI scales significantly related to various aspects of client functioning, although these scales were more limited in predicting clinician-rated markers and change during treatment. Conclusion: Results support the combined use of the MPI and PAI to understand patient heterogeneity and predict treatment outcome in chronic pain samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taxometric analyses of borderline personality features in a large-scale male and female offender sample.

Few studies to date have examined the extent to which borderline personality features are best construed as representing an underlying dimension or a discrete class or taxon. The authors conducted taxometric analyses using a large-scale sample of male (n = 787) and female (n = 368) prison inmates who had completed the Personality Assessment Inventory (L. C. Morey, 2007). Analyses based on the 4 subscales of the Borderline Features Scale offered compelling support for a dimensional structure in both the full sample and the female subsample--even after controlling for the potentially confounding effects of negative response distortion. Theoretical and pragmatic implications of these findings are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The detection of malingered pain-related disability with the Personality Assessment Inventory.

Objective: This study presents and evaluates a method to detect malingered pain-related disability (MPRD) using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), a multiscale self-report instrument with a number of useful applications in pain assessment. Method: In this study PAI scores from respondents in a chronic pain clinic (N = 317) and college students instructed to feign chronic pain (N = 152) were compared. Results: Although existing PAI validity indicators demonstrated strong effects in discriminating actual pain and MPRD cases, these indicators were not sufficiently sensitive to feigned pain to recommend for clinical practice. A discriminant function was developed and cross-validated, which improved upon the sensitivity of the other indicators and yielded an overall hit rate of 88% for detecting individuals instructed to malinger pain-related disability. Conclusion: These data suggest that this new PAI indicator holds some promise for more effective detection of MPRD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory–Revised: Preferential correlates of fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity.

Although the construct of psychopathy is frequently construed as a unitary syndrome, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) and its revision, the PPI-R (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005), are composed of 2 scales, termed Fearless Dominance (FD) and Self-Centered Impulsivity (SCI), which appear to reflect orthogonal dimensions. In this study, we examined the construct validity of the FD and SCI scales of the PPI-R as markers of these constructs with a range of theoretically relevant correlates assessed across multiple domains in a sample of 200 forensic psychiatric inpatients. Results were generally, though not uniformly, consistent with hypothesized relationships: The SCI scale positively and selectively predicted anger and hostility, impulsivity, total psychiatric symptoms, drug abuse or dependence, antisocial behavior, and violence risk, whereas FD predicted anger, depression, anxiety symptoms (negatively), and alcohol abuse or dependence (positively). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correspondence between self-report and interview-based assessments of antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is associated with suicide, violence, and risk-taking behavior and can slow response to first-line treatment for Axis I disorders. ASPD may be assessed infrequently because few efficient diagnostic tools are available. This study evaluated 2 promising self-report measures for assessing ASPD--the ASPD scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4; S. E. Hyler, 1994) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; L. Morey, 1991, 2007)--as well as the ASPD module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II (SCID-II; M. B. First, R. L. Spitzer, M. Gibbon, J. B. W. Williams, & L. S. Benjamin, 1997). The measures were administered to 1,345 offenders in court-mandated residential substance abuse treatment programs and prisons. PDQ-4 and PAI scores related strongly to SCID-II symptom counts (rs = .67 and .51, respectively), indicating these measures convey useful clinical information about the severity of offenders' ASPD pathology. The dimensional association between the measures was relatively invariant across gender, race, and site, although differences in mean scores were observed. Levels of agreement of the SCID-II with the PDQ-4 (κ = .31) and PAI (κ = .32) in classifying participants as ASPD was limited. Alternative thresholds for both self-report measures were identified and cross-validated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What is the latent structure of alcohol use disorders? A taxometric analysis of the Personality Assessment Inventory Alcohol Problems Scale in male and female prison inmates.

Three indicators derived from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Alcohol Problems scale (ALC)—tolerance/high consumption, loss of control, and negative social and psychological consequences—were subjected to taxometric analysis—mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC), maximum covariance (MAXCOV), and latent mode factor analysis (L-Mode)—in 1,374 federal prison inmates (905 males, 469 females). Whereas the total sample yielded ambiguous results, the male subsample produced dimensional results, and the female subsample produced taxonic results. Interpreting these findings in light of previous taxometric research on alcohol abuse and dependence it is speculated that while alcohol use disorders may be taxonic in female offenders, they are probably both taxonic and dimensional in male offenders. Two models of male alcohol use disorder in males are considered, one in which the diagnostic features are categorical and the severity of symptomatology is dimensional, and one in which some diagnostic features (e.g., withdrawal) are taxonic and other features (e.g., social problems) are dimensional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding general and specific connections between psychopathology and marital distress: A model based approach.

Marital distress is linked to many types of mental disorders; however, no study to date has examined this link in the context of empirically based hierarchical models of psychopathology. There may be general associations between low levels of marital quality and broad groups of comorbid psychiatric disorders as well as links between marital adjustment and specific types of mental disorders. The authors examined this issue in a sample (N = 929 couples) of currently married couples from the Minnesota Twin Family Study who completed self-report measures of relationship adjustment and were also assessed for common mental disorders. Structural equation modeling indicated that (a) higher standing on latent factors of internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) psychopathology was associated with lower standing on latent factors of general marital adjustment for both husbands and wives, (b) the magnitude of these effects was similar across husbands and wives, and (c) there were no residual associations between any specific mental disorder and overall relationship adjustment after controlling for the INT and EXT factors. These findings point to the utility of hierarchical models in understanding psychopathology and its correlates. Much of the link between mental disorder and marital distress operated at the level of broad spectrums of psychopathological variation (i.e., higher levels of marital distress were associated with disorder comorbidity), suggesting that the temperamental core of these spectrums contributes not only to symptoms of mental illness but to the behaviors that lead to impaired marital quality in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal relations of children’s effortful control, impulsivity, and negative emotionality to their externalizing, internalizing, and co-occurring behavior problems.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relations of effortful control (EC), impulsivity, and negative emotionality to at least borderline clinical levels of symptoms and change in maladjustment over four years. Children’s (N = 214; 77% European American; M age = 73 months) externalizing and internalizing symptoms were rated by parents and teachers at 3 times, 2 years apart (T1, T2, and T3) and were related to children’s adult-rated EC, impulsivity, and emotion. In addition, the authors found patterns of change in maladjustment were related to these variables at T3 while controlling for the T1 predictor. Externalizing problems (pure or co-occurring with internalizing problems) were associated with low EC, high impulsivity, and negative emotionality, especially anger, and patterns of change also related to these variables. Internalizing problems were associated with low impulsivity and sadness and somewhat with high anger. Low attentional EC was related to internalizing problems only in regard to change in maladjustment. Change in impulsivity was associated with change in internalizing primarily when controlling for change in externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical utility of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2) in the assessment of substance use disorders among Chinese men.

This study examined the clinical utility of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Inventory (CPAI-2) in differentiating the personality characteristics of Chinese men with substance use disorders from other psychiatric patients and normal control participants. The CPAI-2 profile of 121 Chinese men with substance use disorders was contrasted with that of a matched psychiatric comparison group (n = 172) and a normal comparison group (n = 187). Multivariate analyses of variance and logistic regression results supported the utility of the CPAI-2 clinical scales, especially Pathological Dependence, Antisocial Behavior, and Depression, for assessing substance use disorders. The Pathological Dependence scale (cutoff T score of 64) achieved good sensitivity and specificity. Apart from the universal personality traits related to neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness found in Western studies, the indigenously derived CPAI-2 personality scales, including Family Orientation and Harmony, highlighted deficits in social adjustment and interpersonal relationship as important cultural features in the personality characteristics of these participants. The study provided a cross-cultural extension to research on the relationship between personality and substance use disorders and could assist clinicians in considering culturally relevant treatment approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensional Models of Psychopathology: Research Agenda and Clinical Utility.

This commentary emphasizes the implications for a mental health research agenda that stem from the papers in this special section on dimensional models of psychopathology. These include the need to extend dimensional models to a wider range of psychopathology; the relationship of the dimensions described in these papers, largely based on symptom and self-report measures, to findings from current research in genetics, neuroimaging, and other domains of neuroscience; the need for new scales that can assess the entire range of relevant dimensions with modern psychometric techniques; and ways to employ these dimensions in applied clinical situations. It is concluded that hierarchical dimensional models offer powerful ways of organizing our thinking about psychopathology and will serve to guide many promising avenues of future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)