Sexual Experiences Survey: A research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization.

Developed a survey capable of reflecting hidden cases of rape and of documenting a dimensional view of sexual aggression/sexual victimization. This survey examines degrees of coercion used or experienced in sexual activity. Results obtained from 3,862 university students support a dimensional view. The viability of a survey approach to sample selection for future rape research is discussed. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalized social phobia. Reliability and validity

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability and validity of DSM-III-R "generalized" social phobia by examining interrater agreement and comparing patients with generalized and "nongeneralized" social phobia on demographic characteristics, clinical variables, and familial social phobia. DESIGN: Two senior clinicians classified 129 patients attending an anxiety clinic as having DSM-III-R social phobia that is generalized (fears most social situations) or nongeneralized (less than most) based on independent narrative review. RESULTS: Good reliability was achieved (kappa = 0.69). Patients with generalized social phobia were more often single, had earlier onsets of social phobia, had more interactional fears, and had higher rates of atypical depression and alcoholism. Familial social phobia was more common among patients with generalized social phobia than patients with nongeneralized social phobia and controls, with no difference between the latter two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Generalized social phobia (1) can be distinguished reliably from nongeneralized social phobia, (2) is a valid subtype, and (3) may characterize a familial form of the disorder.     

Reliability and behavior domain validity: Reformulation and historical critique.

Determination of the reliability of psychological scales has remained a problem over the last 50 years because of a rigid adherence to unobjective and unrealistic postulates about the nature of measurement. From the general form of the reliability of an unstratified composite several computational formulae are derived. These derivations make no assumptions about underlying factors or of statistically equivalent test-samples but rather are derived on the basis of the objective principles of domain sampling. 27 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation: Reliability and validity.

Developed a modified version of the Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation (MSSI) for use by paraprofessionals. Modifications included prompt questions, a standardized sequence of administration, modification of the rating points, development of initial screening scores, and selection of items based on internal consistency and relationships with clinical ratings. In 2 studies, 163 psychiatric patients were administered the MSSI and other measures including the Beck Depression Inventory. The MSSI demonstrated excellent internal consistency and interrater reliability, correlated highly with clinician's ratings of suicidal ideation and risk, and discriminated between suicide attempters and nonattempters prior to hospitalization. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of the Jesness Inventory: A caution.

A 1-wk test–retest interval was used with 59 delinquent and 68 nondelinquent White male adolescents in studying the Jesness Inventory. The data show that the 10 individual subscales were unstable and that the Asocial Index had moderate stability for broad classification but not for specific raw scores. The Asocial Index, which is the major predictor of delinquency, failed to distinguish accurately the delinquents from the nondelinquents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trusting problem gamblers: Reliability and validity of self-reported gambling behavior.

The retest reliability and validity of self-reported gambling behavior were assessed in 2 samples of problem gamblers. Days gambled and money spent gambling over a 6-month timeframe were reliable over a 2- to 3-week retest period using the timeline follow-back interview procedure (N=35; intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] ranged from .61 to .98). Gamblers did, however, report significantly more gambling at the 2nd interview. Agreement with collaterals was fair to good overall (ICCs ranged from .46 to .65) with no clear pattern of either over- or underreporting by gamblers. Spouses did not show greater agreement with gamblers compared with nonspouses, and greater agreement was not found for collaterals who were more versus less confident in their reports. The results are generally supportive of the use of self-reported gambling in studies of problem gamblers, assessed face to face and by telephone, although suggestions for further research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary: Reliability and validity of uniqueness scoring in creativity assessment.

Commentary on an article by P. J. Silvia et al. (see record 2008-05954-001) which discusses the topic of divergent thinking. In Study 1, Silvia et al. (2008) criticized the uniqueness scoring of Wallach and Kogan (1965). The uniqueness scoring has a virtue that single rater may be enough to rate, and it is characterized by the assignment of points to uncommon responses in a pool of sample's responses. The first criticism for uniqueness scoring is that uniqueness scores increase as a subject produces more responses, resulting in confounding of uniqueness and fluency. The second criticism relates to the ambiguity of statistical rarity pursued by uniqueness scoring in that uniqueness does not guarantee creativity. When a mundane unique response is misperceived as creative, reliability is threatened. Some bizarre, grotesque, or inappropriate responses in the pool of responses may be assigned a point, causing the validity to be threatened. The third criticism raised by the authors is that the uniqueness scoring system penalizes large samples in that it is less probable for a response in a larger sample of people to appear unique. However, the subjective scoring system has other deficits and is never free from the first two criticisms. The third criticism is, however unfounded; rather, the uniqueness scoring system is in a better position to capture the construct of creativity through better accessibility to large samples. The authors' (Silvia et al., 2008) three criticisms will be discussed one by one. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire.

The development and psychometric properties of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ), a self-report measure of memory ability (Self-Efficacy Level) and confidence (Self-Efficacy Strength), are described. The MSEQ was rationally constructed using 50 memory items with face and content validity. The MSEQ and its alternate versions were examined in three experiments with younger and older adult samples. Satisfactory estimates of internal consistency and test–retest stability were obtained. Canonical correlation analyses provided preliminary support for the MSEQ's criterion and construct validity. Although additional psychometric work is needed, this initial investigation of the MSEQ suggests that it may be a useful tool for research on memory self-evaluation in adult age groups. Reliability and validity are strong, the questionnaire shows expected adult age differences in self-evaluation, and the theoretical framework of self-efficacy provides useful hypotheses regarding developmental changes and individual differences in self-evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive assessment of depression: Reliability and validity of three measures.

456 undergraduates completed the Beck Depression Inventory, an automatic thoughts questionnaire (ATQ), the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and an interpretation inventory (II). Comparison of the ATQ, DAS, and II in terms of their internal reliability and concurrent validity showed that the ATQ was a more satisfactory instrument for measuring depression. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive personality: Reliability, validity, and relation to dysthymia.

The reliability and validity of K. Schneider's (1958) construct of depressive personality was evaluated in a sample of 177 outpatients, who were administered structured diagnostic and family history interviews, an extensive battery of inventories, and a 6-mo follow-up assessment. The criteria for depressive personality had moderate to good interrater reliability, internal consistency, and test–retest stability, and the assessment of depressive personality traits was not influenced by patients' clinical states. In addition, preliminary support for the convergent and discriminant validity of the depressive personality construct was obtained. Although there were significant relations between the depressive personality and diagnoses of dysthymia from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) and DSM-III—Revised (DSM-III—R), the depressive personality was not entirely subsumed by existing mood disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of standardized case management simulations.

Examined the reliability and validity of 3 computerized case management simulations in counseling, similar to patient management problems in medicine. The simulations depicted a 40-yr-old female with chronic back pain, a 22-yr-old female with a personality disorder, and a 51-yr-old male with alcoholism. The simulations were administered to a criterion sample of 15 experienced counseling practitioners (mean age 35.7 yrs) and to 3 additional samples (n?=?15 in each) representing high, moderate, and low levels of professional training/experience. The mean ages of these 3 groups were 27.7, 25.6, and 24.1 yrs, respectively. Alternate forms reliability coefficients were moderately high, and coefficients for composite scores based on all 3 simulations were somewhat higher. Significant relations were found between performance on the simulations and levels of training and experience. Results support the potential usefulness of standardized case management simulations in evaluating clinical problem-solving skills. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Maine Scale of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenia: Reliability and validity.

Examined the Maine Scale (MS) in 3 studies (131 18–60 yr old hospitalized psychiatric patients) in which adequate test–retest and independent interrater reliabilities were obtained. In an examination of construct validity, high scores on the Nonparanoid subscale were associated with external locus of control; poor performance on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Vocabulary, the Expanded Similarities Test, and the Embedded Figures Test; conceptual overinclusion; slow RT; deviant word associations; and poor recall of word associations. In an examination of concurrent validity, the MS Paranoid and Nonparanoid subscales correlated significantly with the corresponding subscales of the Symptom Rating Scale and the Symptom-Sign Inventory. The MS subscales also correlated significantly with the Weighted Symptom-Sign Inventory and the New Haven Schizophrenia Index but were better able to discriminate between paranoid and schizophrenic categories than any of the other scales. Factor analyses showed a schizophrenic and paranoid factor in both studies. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binge eating disorder: Reliability and validity of a new diagnostic category.

Examined the reliability and validity of binge eating disorder (BED), which has been proposed for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). The interrater reliability of the BED diagnosis compared favorably with that of most diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R). To assess validity, the authors compared obese individuals with and without BED and bulimia nervosa patients. BED Ss differed from the non-BED obese group on variables related to dieting and weight histories but did not differ significantly on other important variables, including measures of psychopathology. When compared with bulimia nervosa patients, Ss with BED had significantly less psychopathology and reported significantly less dietary restraint. This study lends some support to the concept of BED but suggests that additional studies of the characteristics of this disorder at different degrees of obesity would be useful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual variability in affect: Reliability, validity, and personality correlates.

This article gives an overview of previous work on affect variability, discusses the methodological shortcomings of research on affect variability, and presents the results of an empirical study of intraindividual variability in primary emotions across time. The results of a daily assessment study using structural equation modeling and nonlinear regression analyses showed that intraindividual variability in affect is a multidimensional construct that is sufficiently stable to be considered a psychological trait and can be reliably measured by the intraindividual standard deviation. Intraindividual variability showed convergent validity with mean level scores and neuroticism but was sufficiently distinct to be considered a unique trait. This was particularly true of intraindividual variability in positive emotions; only about 10% of the variance could be accounted for by mean affect levels and the variables of the 5-factor model of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of a smoking timeline follow-back interview.

Smokers with past major depressive disorder participating in a smoking cessation treatment study were interviewed at 6, 26, and 29 weeks postquit to retrospectively assess their smoking behavior using the timeline follow-back (TLFB) method. Participants also completed calendars by self-monitoring the number of cigarettes smoked each day for two 4-week periods over the 26-week follow-up. The 3- and 20-week test-retest reliabilities of the smoking TLFB interview were high. Agreement between participants' daily monitored smoking calendars and their self-reports from the TLFB interview was also high, providing strong evidence for the validity of the TLFB method for smoking. A smoking TLFB interview provides the opportunity to assess patterns of change in smoking and cessation longitudinally over extended time frames. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of the Kopas Personnel Test Battery.

"For a sample of 88 plant protection officers, the seven tests in the battery were uncorrelated with one another, and correlations with Supervisory Ratings were negligible. The multiple correlation was .348. In two independent samples, the internal consistency reliabilities of the six non-performance tests… ranged from .58 to .93. In another sample, test-retest reliabilities ranged from .40 to .87." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A psychometric study of the Adult Attachment Interview: Reliability and discriminant validity.

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) stimulates Ss to retrieve and evaluate attachment-related autobiographical memories and has increasingly been used to predict the quality of parent–child interactions and infant–parent attachment relationships. Its reliability and discriminate validity, however, have not yet been examined. In this study, 83 mothers were interviewed twice, 2 mo apart, by different interviewers so that the instrument's test–retest reliability and potential interviewer effects can be evaluated. To examine the AAI's discriminate validity, tests were administered for autobiographical memory, intelligence, and social desirability. The reliability of the AAI classifications was quite high over time (78% on the level of the 3 main categories κ?=?.63) and across interviewers. The unresolved category was less stable. The AAI classifications turned out to be independent on non-attachement-related memory, verbal and performance intelligence, and social desirability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of an audiovisual taxonomy of pain behavior: Reliability and discriminant validity.

Developed a pain behavior taxonomy derived from patients', spouses', and health care providers' nominations of pain behaviors. 71 chronic low back pain patients and 40 controls (Ss' mean age 38.25 yrs) were videotaped while undergoing a sequence of movements involving sitting, standing, walking, bending, and exercising, and a brief standardized interview component. Two observers rated each S's videotape employing a 16-category observational rating system that included verbal and nonverbal pain behaviors. Seven of the pain behavior categories, including guarding, bracing, position shifts, partial movement, grimacing, limitation statements, and sounds, had acceptable reliabilities and frequencies and were selected for inclusion in a discriminant analysis. Ss were randomly divided into 2 groups, and analysis on the 1st subsample indicated that partial movement, limitation statements, sounds, and position shifts accounted for 75% of the variance in group membership and correctly classified 94.4% of the patients and 95.2% of the controls. On cross-validation, the same 4 categories identified in the initial discriminant function correctly classified 88.9% of the Ss in the 2nd subsample. The utility of this pain behavior observational recording system is discussed in reference to both patient assessment and treatment outcome research. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of scales for assessing behavior in epilepsy.

Behavior Rating Scales for Epilepsy (BRSE), developed to assess 8 characteristics that have been attributed to patients with epilepsy, were rated from a semistructured interview with 79 outpatients (aged 19–69 yrs) with epilepsy and from an independent interview with a friend or relative of each patient. Patients and observers also completed the Bear and Fedio Inventory (BFI) for assessing behavior change in epilepsy. Interrater reliability estimates exceeded .75 for 5 BRSE scales. Convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated for all but 2 BRSE scales when comparing patient with observer-based rating. BRSE results showed correspondence with BFI-Observer scores for most scales but not with BFI-Patient scales. BFI-Observer scores also showed little association with BFI-Patient scores. The BRSE shows promise as a time-efficient, psychometrically sound assessment instrument for further research on behavioral aspects of epilepsy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)