Psychological Assessment

Malec, James F.; Ivnik, Robert J.; Hinkeldey, Nancy S.

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.82pmid: N/A

The Visual Spatial Learning Test (VSLT) is a visuospatial memory measure requiring little fine motor dexterity. A series of studies assessed the validity of the VSLT. The VSLT correlated moderately with other memory measures but was not correlated with verbal intelligence. Both exploratory and cross-validation factor analyses that included the VSLT identified 3 factors: (a) Visuospatial Memory loaded by VSLT measures, (b) General Intelligence/Attention, (c) Verbal Memory. Analysis of VSLT and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) data of temporal lobectomy patients found that right and left groups differed significantly for VSLT relative to AVLT performances in a manner consistent with the side of the temporal resection. VSLT performances showed expected decrements across the age span from 55 to 92 years in a group of neurologically and psychiatrically normal elderly adults. Results support the concurrent, construct, and discriminatory validity of the VSLT but also challenge distinctions between verbal and visuospatial memory.

Rogers, Richard; Gillis, J. Roy; Dickens, Susan E.; Bagby, R. Michael

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.89pmid: N/A

The Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) was constructed to assess specific strategies identified in the clinical literature for the evaluation of malingering. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the discriminant and concurrent validity of the SIRS. Study 1, with a simulation design, compared 40 simulators with 34 outpatient and 41 community controls using the SIRS, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and M test. Test results established (a) a high level of discriminability between simulators and controls, and (b) general support for hypothesized relationships of SIRS with MMPI validity indicators and M Test scales. Study 2, with a known-groups comparison design, compared 25 suspected malingerers with 26 psychiatric inpatients from the same assessment unit. Nine of the 13 SIRS scales effectively discriminated between the two groups in the expected direction with excellent interrater reliability. In general, suspected malingerers in Study 2 endorsed similar response patterns as simulators in Study 1.

Ruehlman, Linda S.; Karoly, Paul

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.97pmid: N/A

While acknowledging the potential significance of negative interpersonal transactions for psychological functioning, researchers have only recently turned their attention to assessment. To date, investigators have relied on single-item measures or incompletely developed unidimensional scales. This article describes the construction and preliminary validation of the Test of Negative Social Exchange (TENSE) on the basis of 2 independent samples (N = 878). An exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 revealed 4 subscales: Hostility/Impatience, Insensitivity, Interference, and Ridicule. A 4-factor model was confirmed using LISREL analysis in Study 2. The TENSE subscales were found to possess good test–retest reliability, internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity. Scores on the TENSE predicted satisfaction with life, depression, and anxiety. Finally, evidence emerged concerning the relative independence of negative social exchange and social support.

Sutker, Patricia B.; Bugg, Franlynn; Allain, Albert N.

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.105pmid: N/A

Reports indicate a high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in former World War II (WWII) and Korean Conflict prisoners of war (POWs), but little information is available on the utility of psychometric instruments for assessment of PTSD among survivors of severe trauma. This study determined the extent to which a psychometric battery, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised, selected scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), including the Keane, Malloy, and Fairbank (1984) PTSD scale and PTSD decision rule; the Beck Depression Inventory; and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) distinguished PTSD and non-PTSD diagnosed groups. POW survivors assigned diagnoses of PTSD (n = 121)differed significantly from their nondiagnosed counterparts (n = 40)on most indices of personality and mood functioning. Group differentiation was achieved with 77% effectiveness by discriminant function entry of four variables, scores on the STAI A-Trait scale and MMPI scales Sc, F, and PTSD.

Holden, Ronald R.; Fekken, G. Cynthia; Cotton, Dorothy H. G.

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.111pmid: N/A

We examined the relationships between relative standing on dimensions of psychopathology and the speed of processing test items corresponding to each dimension. Using differential response latencies for items on the Basic Personality Inventory, mean decision times for endorsing items correlated negatively with both relevant self-report scale scores and criterion ratings generated by significant others. Mean response latencies for rejecting items correlated positively with both corresponding self-report scale scores and external criteria. Effect size was dependent on the structural homogeneity of the dimension. Results generalized across both samples of students and psychiatric patients and were interpreted as supporting an information-processing model of psychopathology.

Thelen, Mark H.; Farmer, Janet; Wonderlich, Stephen; Smith, Marcia

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.119pmid: N/A

The Bulimia Test was revised (BULIT–R) to accommodate the DSM–III–R criteria of bulimia nervosa. A 28-item, self-report, multiple-choice scale was developed by comparing responses of clinically identified female bulimics with those of female college students. Cross-validation was performed on independent samples of bulimic and college control subjects. The BULIT–R was a good predictor of group membership. The scale was then completed by female college students, and a stratified sample of these subjects was retested and interviewed approximately 2 months later. The results of retesting and diagnostic judgments based on interviews showed that the BULIT–R was a reliable and valid predictor of bulimia nervosa in a nonclinical population. The BULIT–R correlated highly with 2 other measures of bulimia, indicating a high degree of construct validity.

Sattler, Jerome M.

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.125pmid: N/A

This study investigated whether 11 WISC and WISC–R Information and Comprehension subtest items cited by 2 federal judges were more difficult for Black children than for White children. In addition, 14 buffer items from these 2 subtests were also studied. The subjects were 224 Black children and 224 White children attending the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades in regular classes. Twelve of the 25 items were found to be significantly more difficult for the Black children than for the White children. Of these 12 items, 6 had been ones singled out by the judges; consequently, the accuracy of the judges was at a chance level. There is no simple explanation to account for the pattern of findings. However, the findings do indicate that an armchair inspection of items on intelligence tests cannot provide reliable data about differential item difficulty levels between ethnic groups.

LoBello, Steven G.; Gulgoz, Sami

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.130pmid: N/A

The factor structure of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised was explored through the analysis of data compiled during the standardization of the instrument. Principal-axis analysis revealed a substantial general-ability factor across all age groups. Varimax rotation provided a 2-factor solution that generally supported the grouping of individual subtests into separate Verbal and Performance scales. The 2-factor solution was also found to be conceptually adequate throughout the entire age range of the test.

Spruill, Jean

doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.1.133pmid: N/A

Comparisons were made between scores on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: 4th Edition (Binet IV) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS–R) for 2 groups of mentally retarded adults. There were no significant differences in Wechsler IQs or Binet Standard Age Scores (SASs) between the young adults (under age 24 years, n = 32) or older adults (age 24 years or older, n = 38), and the 2 groups were combined for further analyses. Significant but low correlations were found between the Wechsler IQs and Binet SASs. The Binet IV SASs were significantly below WAIS–R IQ scores. There was considerable variation in the 4 area SASs, and the Composite SAS most often resembled the lowest Area SAS. The implications of the findings were discussed, and caution was urged in using the Binet IV to evaluate mentally retarded adults.