Psychological Assessment

Elhai, Jon D.; Palmieri, Patrick A.; Biehn, Tracey L.; Frueh, B. Christopher; Magruder, Kathryn M.

doi: 10.1037/a0020643pmid: 21038970

We examined possible differences in the factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the basis of whether frequency or intensity symptom response formats were used to assess PTSD. Participants included 669 veterans recruited from an epidemiological study of four Veterans Affairs Medical Centers' primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. Confirmatory factor analysis using measurement invariance testing found that the frequency and intensity symptom formats were significantly different from each other on PTSD's factor structure parameters, including factor loadings, observed variable intercepts, and measurement errors. The only exception was for PTSD's effortful avoidance symptoms, which were associated with equivalent parameter estimates for both the frequency and intensity formats. Implications for the clinical assessment of PTSD and interpretation of the extant literature base on PTSD's factor structure are considered.

Tolin, David F.; Steenkamp, Maria M.; Marx, Brian P.; Litz, Brett T.

doi: 10.1037/a0020973pmid: 21038968

Although validity scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) have proven useful in the detection of symptom exaggeration in criterion-group validation (CGV) studies, usually comparing instructed feigners with known patient groups, the application of these scales has been problematic when assessing combat veterans undergoing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) examinations. Mixed group validation (MGV) was employed to determine the efficacy of MMPI–2 exaggeration scales in compensation-seeking (CS) and noncompensation-seeking (NCS) veterans. Unlike CGV, MGV allows for a mix of exaggerating and nonexaggerating individuals in each group, does not require that the exaggeration versus nonexaggerating status of any individual be known, and can be adjusted for different base-rate estimates. MMPI–2 responses of 377 male veterans were examined according to CS versus NCS status. MGV was calculated using 4 sets of base-rate estimates drawn from the literature. The validity scales generally performed well (adequate sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency) under most base-rate estimations, and most produced cutoff scores that showed adequate detection of symptom exaggeration, regardless of base-rate assumptions. These results support the use of MMPI–2 validity scales for PTSD evaluations in veteran populations, even under varying base rates of symptom exaggeration.

Forbey, Johnathan D.; Lee, Tayla T. C.; Handel, Richard W.

doi: 10.1037/a0020645pmid: 20804257

The current study examined empirical correlates of scores on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form (MMPI–2–RF; A. Tellegen & Y. S. Ben-Porath, 2008; Y. S. Ben-Porath & A. Tellegen, 2008) scales in a college setting. The MMPI–2–RF and six criterion measures (assessing anger, assertiveness, sex roles, cognitive failures, social avoidance, and social fear) were administered to 846 college students (nmen = 264, nwomen = 582) to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of scores on the MMPI–2–RF Specific Problems and Interest scales. Results demonstrated evidence of generally good convergent score validity for the selected MMPI–2–RF scales, reflected in large effect size correlations with criterion measure scores. Further, MMPI–2–RF scale scores demonstrated adequate discriminant validity, reflected in relatively low comparative median correlations between scores on MMPI–2–RF substantive scale sets and criterion measures. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Wygant, Dustin B.; Sellbom, Martin; Gervais, Roger O.; Ben-Porath, Yossef S.; Stafford, Kathleen P.; Freeman, David B.; Heilbronner, Robert L.

doi: 10.1037/a0020042pmid: 20919770

The present study extends the validation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Response Bias Scale (RBS; R. O. Gervais, Y. S. Ben-Porath, D. B. Wygant, & P. Green, 2007) in separate forensic samples composed of disability claimants and criminal defendants. Using cognitive symptom validity tests as response bias indicators, the RBS exhibited large effect sizes (Cohen's ds = 1.24 and 1.48) in detecting cognitive response bias in the disability and criminal forensic samples, respectively. The scale also added incremental prediction to the traditional MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF overreporting validity scales in the disability sample and exhibited excellent specificity with acceptable sensitivity at cutoffs ranging from 90T to 120T. The results of this study indicate that the RBS can add uniquely to the existing MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF validity scales in detecting symptom exaggeration associated with cognitive response bias.

Sellbom, Martin; Bagby, R. Michael

doi: 10.1037/a0020825pmid: 21133544

We examined the utility of the validity scales on the recently released Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2 RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008) to detect overreported psychopathology. This set of validity scales includes a newly developed scale and revised versions of the original MMPI-2 validity scales. We used an analogue, experimental simulation in which MMPI-2 RF responses (derived from archived MMPI-2 protocols) of undergraduate students instructed to overreport psychopathology (in either a coached or noncoached condition) were compared with those of psychiatric inpatients who completed the MMPI-2 under standardized instructions. The MMPI-2 RF validity scale Infrequent Psychopathology Responses best differentiated the simulation groups from the sample of patients, regardless of experimental condition. No other validity scale added consistent incremental predictive utility to Infrequent Psychopathology Responses in distinguishing the simulation groups from the sample of patients. Classification accuracy statistics confirmed the recommended cut scores in the MMPI-2 RF manual (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008).

Stockdale, Keira C.; Olver, Mark E.; Wong, Stephen C. P.

doi: 10.1037/a0020044pmid: 20804258

The present study investigated the predictive accuracy of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV; A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, 2003) for youth and adult recidivism, with respect to gender, ethnicity, and age, in a sample of 161 Canadian young offenders who received psychological services from an outpatient mental health facility. The PCL: YV significantly predicted any general, nonviolent, and violent recidivism in the aggregate sample over a 7-year follow-up; however, when results were disaggregated by youth and adult outcomes, the PCL: YV consistently appeared to be a stronger predictor of youth recidivism. The PCL: YV predicted youth recidivism for subsamples of female and Aboriginal youths, and very few differences in the predictive accuracy of the tool were observed for younger vs. older adolescent groups. Both the 13-item (i.e., D. J. Cooke & C. Michie, 2001, 3-factor) and the 20-item (i.e., R. D. Hare, 2003, 4-factor) models appeared to predict various recidivism criteria comparably across the aggregate sample and within specific demographic subgroups (e.g., female and Aboriginal youth). The Antisocial facet contributed the most variance in the prediction of adult outcomes, whereas the 3-factor model contributed significant incremental variance in the prediction of youth recidivism outcomes. Potential implications concerning the use of the PCL: YV in clinical and forensic assessment contexts are discussed.

Watkins, Marley W.

doi: 10.1037/a0020043pmid: 21133545

The structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition (WISC–IV; D. Wechsler, 2003a) was analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis among a national sample of 355 students referred for psychoeducational evaluation by 93 school psychologists from 35 states. The structure of the WISC–IV core battery was best represented by four first-order factors as per D. Wechsler (2003b), plus a general intelligence factor in a direct hierarchical model. The general factor was the predominate source of variation among WISC–IV subtests, accounting for 48% of the total variance and 75% of the common variance. The largest 1st-order factor, Processing Speed, only accounted for 6.1% total and 9.5% common variance. Given these explanatory contributions, recommendations favoring interpretation of the 1st-order factor scores over the general intelligence score appear to be misguided.

Holm-Denoma, Jill M.; Richey, J. Anthony; Joiner, Thomas E.

doi: 10.1037/a0020132pmid: 20822258

Although the latent structure of various eating disorders has been explored in previous studies, no published studies have examined the latent structure of theoretically relevant variables that have been shown to cut across eating disorder diagnoses. The current study examined 3 such variables (dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness) among undergraduate women using the taxometric method. The 5 items from the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire's Dietary Restraint subscale were used as dietary restraint indicators, whereas items from the Eating Disorders Inventory Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness subscales were used as indicators of body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness, respectively. As hypothesized, MAXCOV (maximum covariance) and MAMBAC (mean above minus below a cut) analyses suggested that all 3 variables are dimensional; therefore, individuals with high levels of reported dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness appear to differ in degree, but not in kind, from those with lower levels. Implications for prevention, assessment, classification, and treatment are discussed.

Parker, James D. A.; Eastabrook, Jennifer M.; Keefer, Kateryna V.; Wood, Laura M.

doi: 10.1037/a0020256pmid: 20804260

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994; Bagby, Taylor, & Parker, 1994) is the most widely used self-report measure of the alexithymia construct. The TAS-20 comprises 3 factors that assess difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking. Although the instrument is being increasingly used with adolescent respondents, the psychometric properties of the TAS-20 have not been systematically evaluated in preadult populations. In the present study, we examined measurement invariance of the factor structure, internal reliability, and mean levels of responses on the TAS-20 in groups of younger adolescents (aged 13–14 years), middle adolescents (aged 15–16 years), and older adolescents (aged 17–18 years), as well as in a comparison group of young adults (aged 19–21 years). Formal readability analysis of the TAS-20 assessment was also conducted. Results revealed systematic age differences in the factor structure and psychometric properties of the TAS-20, with the quality of measurement progressively deteriorating with younger age. Much of this effect could be attributed to the reading difficulty of the scale. The use of the TAS-20 with teenage respondents is not recommended without appropriate adaptation and further psychometric validation. Several adaptation strategies are discussed.

Gresham, Frank M.; Elliott, Stephen N.; Kettler, Ryan J.

doi: 10.1037/a0020255pmid: 20804259

Base rate information is important in clinical assessment because one cannot know how unusual or typical a phenomenon is without first knowing its base rate in the population. This study empirically determined the base rates of social skills acquisition and performance deficits, social skills strengths, and problem behaviors using a nationally representative sample of children and adolescent ages 3–18 years. Using the national standardization sample of the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales (N = 4,550) across 3 informants (teacher, parent, and student) and across 3 broad age groupings (3–5 years, 5–12 years, and 13–18 years), these base rates were computed. Results showed that the base rates for social skills acquisition deficits and problem behaviors are extremely low in the general population. Base rates for social skills performance deficits and social skills strengths were considerably higher, with students in the 5- to 12-year-old age group reporting fewer performance deficits and more social skills strengths than older children (13–18 years). Teachers and parents reported more performance deficits and fewer social skills strengths across all age groups than students in the 5- to 12-year-old age group. These results are discussed in terms of the utility of base rate information in clinical decision making.