Psychological Assessment

Lima-Costa, Ariela Raissa; Bonfá-Araujo, Bruno; Pechorro, Pedro; Marcus, David K.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001135pmid: 35467907

Spitefulness is a personality trait characterized by an inclination to cause harm to others in a manner that also results in self-harm. Studies considering this trait have mostly been performed in individualistic cultures. Our aim was to adapt and accumulate statistical evidence for the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Spitefulness Scale (SS-BP), examining the functioning of the instrument in a collectivist culture. Study 1 adapted the instrument, investigated dimensionality, and examined item functioning and gender invariance in a sample of 766 participants (53.4% male) aged between 18 and 63 years old (M = 23.71; SD = 7.92). Study 2 examined the association of spitefulness with aversive and healthy personality traits (i.e., the dark triad, honesty–humility, emotionality, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness [HEXACO], antagonism, and disinhibition) in a sample of 288 individuals (mostly women 84.7%) between 18 and 71 years old (M = 41.82; SD = 13.04). Similar to the original instrument, the SS-BP was unidimensional and there was measurement invariance with respect to gender. Men were more spiteful than women. Spitefulness yielded large correlations with psychopathy, deceitfulness, and irresponsibility. The SS-BP appears to present adequate psychometric properties for Brazilian samples.

Pueyo, Natalia; Navarro, José-Blas; de la Osa, Núria; Penelo, Eva; Ezpeleta, Lourdes

doi: 10.1037/pas0001125pmid: 35298220

This longitudinal study aims to provide meaningful cutoff scores for total score of the teacher-rated Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) from the preschool age until early adolescence, separately by age and sex. The ICU cutoff scores were determined by using low/high trajectories of oppositional defiant problems (ODP) and conduct problems in a Spanish community sample of 620 children that were followed up between the ages of 3 and 13. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves with the two trajectories as criteria and ICU total score at each age as a predictor were estimated by sex separately, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was obtained. Average ICU cutoff scores of 26 for boys and 22 for girls were found to be of moderate utility for the prediction of high trajectories of each of ODP and conduct problems. They identified cases with an average sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 70% for boys and an average sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 72% for girls. The obtained cutoff scores might help clinical practitioners in their decision-making process when identifying low and high-risk groups of children.

Ogbaselase, Feven A.; Scelsa, Valerie L.; Stoppelbein, Laura; Becker, Stephen P.; Fite, Paula J.; Greening, Leilani; Luebbe, Aaron M.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001131pmid: 35357874

The Children’s Emotion Management Scales (CEMS) are widely used measures of children’s emotion regulation strategies in response to three specific emotions: sadness, anger, and worry. Original factor analyses suggested a three-factor subscale structure for each emotion: inhibition, dysregulation, and coping (Zeman et al., 2001, 2002, 2010). However, this factor structure had not been reexamined since it was originally developed, including within a racially diverse psychiatric sample. The present study attempted to address this gap for the Anger Management Scale and Sadness Management Scale separately, as well as testing the overarching structure of these two in combination. Participants included 302 children (ages 8–12; 70.4% boys; 55.72% African American; 39.3% White) from inpatient and outpatient centers and their primary caregivers. The three-factor structure replicated well with the Anger Management Scale and Sadness Management Scale separately in our sample. A bifactor model that included both higher order emotion factors (i.e., Anger and Sadness) and higher order strategy factors (i.e., Coping, Dysregulation, and Inhibition) best represented the overarching structure of the CEMS. Results from latent correlations and structural regressions showed that some of these factors were related to child-reported depressive symptoms and parent-reported disruptive behaviors, supporting the validity of the bifactor model conceptualization of scores on the CEMS.

Sousa, Rúben; Paulo, Marlene; Brazão, Nélio; Castilho, Paula; Rijo, Daniel

doi: 10.1037/pas0001133pmid: 35357875

Compassion toward others has been defined as the sensitivity to the suffering of others with the genuine commitment to relieve/prevent it. The Compassion Scale (CS) measures this construct and despite its relevance during adolescence, studies have been mostly conducted with adults. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Compassion Scale-Adolescents (CS-A) in community adolescents (n = 658; 409 girls) and in boys with behavioral disorders (n = 183), from 14 to 18 years old. Results showed the adequacy of a hierarchical-CFA measurement model, with a general score of compassion and four specific factors (i.e., Kindness, Common Humanity, Mindfulness and Indifference). Measurement invariance was tested across samples. Community girls presented higher levels of compassion when compared to boys. Also, behaviorally disturbed boys presented decreased levels of compassion when compared to community boys. Evidence for reliability and construct validity is also provided. The CS-A allows future research between genders in community adolescents. Additionally, future research exploring compassion using the CS-A, between community boys and samples of behaviorally disturbed boys, is now possible.

Walukevich-Dienst, Katherine; Morris, Paige E.; Tucker, Raymond P.; Copeland, Amy L.; Buckner, Julia D.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001128pmid: 35298216

Cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, is used by many individuals to treat medical and mental health conditions, despite limited support for the efficacy of CBD for these conditions. Identification of CBD-related outcome expectancies (i.e., beliefs concerning the anticipated effects of CBD) could be useful in understanding the etiology and maintenance of CBD use and/or be useful in administration or clinical trial research. Although there are several measures of cannabis outcome expectancies, cannabis comprises several active compounds (e.g., tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], CBD). Thus, cannabis outcome expectancies may not reflect CBD-specific outcome expectancies. Yet, no known CBD-specific outcome expectancy measure exists. The present study used a three-phase, mixed-methods approach to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Cannabidiol Outcome Expectancy Questionnaire (CBD-OEQ). The CBD-OEQ assessed endorsement (i.e., how much an individual agrees/disagrees with an expected outcome) and desirability ratings (i.e., how desirable an expected outcome is). The initial item pool was administered to 600 adults who endorsed having heard of or using CBD products. Factor analyses supported a 60-item, six-factor structure. There was an initial support for internal consistency and convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the CBD-OEQ subscale scores in the present sample. Desirability ratings explained minimal additional variance in CBD variables for most subscales, but moderated the relationship between endorsement ratings and use behaviors for Global Negative Effects and No Effect subscales. The newly developed CBD-OEQ could be used as both a research and a clinical tool.

Lin, Li-Chung; Yao, Grace

doi: 10.1037/pas0001122pmid: 35298219

The brief version of the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life Questionnaire, called WHOQOL-BREF, is an internationally applicable measurement for quality of life (QOL) and is widely used in medical and psychological research. Consistent factor structure across countries is essential for the WHOQOL-BREF. However, poor construct validity was found in Lin and Yao’s systematic review study. Few studies have investigated this issue. To fill this gap, this study is the first to examine the factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF using a meta-analysis approach through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and social network analysis (SNA). Sixteen studies published from 1998 to April 2021 were selected from two well-known academic databases: PsycINFO and MEDLINE. The findings from EFA revealed that four- and five-factor models are acceptable. Because of the weak factor structure of the five-factor model, leading to difficulty in explaining the measurement outcome, the four-factor model was chosen. All 24 items, except Item 8, were loaded on the theoretically designed factors. The theory-based four-factor model proposed by the WHOQOL group was validated. Our results not only provide additional insight into the factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF but also facilitate its international applicability and comparability.

Goodman, Zachary T.; Timpano, Kiara R.; Llabre, Maria M.; Bainter, Sierra A.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001127pmid: 35377689

The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ; Broadbent et al., 1982) is an established and commonly used self-report measure of cognitive errors experienced in daily life, capturing perceived difficulties with forgetfulness, distractibility, and thinking blunders. Despite frequent use in clinical research and established associations with psychological and neuropsychological disorders, the psychometric properties and construct validity of the CFQ remain ambiguous. This study sought to critically assess the factor structure and external validity of the CFQ. A sample of 839 people (62% female) between 16 and 85 years of age (M = 44.12, SD = 19.54) was drawn from the Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample. Previously published CFQ factor structures were compared via confirmatory factor analysis and the unique variance explained by each factor was assessed. Next, we related the CFQ latent variables to neuropsychological tasks and symptom measures of depression, anxiety domains, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. A single-factor model was best supported by the data, indicating that the CFQ represents a global measure of subjective cognitive difficulties rather than errors in specific domains. Scores on the CFQ did not predict poorer performance on objective neuropsychological tasks but were related to a range of psychological distress symptoms. Subscales derived from previously published factor structures may provide misleading impressions of the construct validity of the CFQ and are not recommended for use in future research or clinical contexts.

Kumar, Sruthy S.; Merkin, Alexander G.; Numbers, Katya; Sachdev, Perminder S.; Brodaty, Henry; Kochan, Nicole A.; Trollor, Julian N.; Mahon, Susan; Medvedev, Oleg

doi: 10.1037/pas0001129pmid: 35357876

As depression is common in older people and confers significant risk for dementia, its accurate assessment is essential. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is a widely used assessment tool for measuring depression in aged populations, and its psychometric properties have been recently improved using Rasch analysis. However, its temporal reliability and ability to distinguish between dynamic and enduring symptoms of depression have not been examined using the appropriate methodology. Generalizability theory (G theory) is a suitable method to distinguish between enduring and dynamic symptoms of depression and to evaluate the reliability of the GDS-15 scores and sources of measurement error. We applied G theory to the longitudinal GDS-15 data of 354 participants from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study, collected biennially over 10 years, from individuals aged 70 years and older. The GDS-15 demonstrated strong reliability and generalizability of its test scores in measuring enduring symptoms of depression (Ga = 0.82, Gr = 0.90) across the sample population and occasions, and indicated that depression scores significantly increased over time. In addition, three identified dynamic symptoms of depression, namely helplessness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in activities, did not affect the overall reliability of the GDS-15. Thus, the GDS-15 is a reliable measure for assessing enduring symptoms of depression and can be used to evaluate the efficacy of depression treatments and monitor depression levels over time in older adults.

Khan, Humza; Rauch, Andrew A.; Obolsky, Maximillian A.; Skymba, Haley; Barwegen, Kearston C.; Wisinger, Amanda M.; Ovsiew, Gabriel P.; Jennette, Kyle J.; Soble, Jason R.; Resch, Zachary J.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001137

Huen, Jenny Mei Yiu; Yip, Paul Siu Fai; Osman, Augustine; Leung, Angel Nga Man

doi: 10.1037/pas0001134pmid: 35467908

The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), a 4-item instrument for assessing and screening suicide-related thoughts and behaviors, has been translated into several different languages. In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the SBQ-R and a new Chinese version of the instrument (C-SBQ-R) for college student samples. We used the culture, comprehension, and translation bias (CCT) procedure to examine the responses of independent Chinese college student samples who completed the C-SBQ-R (N1 = 298) and the SBQ-R (N2 = 292) and a U.S. college student sample (N3 = 320) who completed the SBQ-R. We found that the samples’ C-SBQ-R and SBQ-R scale scores showed acceptable internal consistency reliability estimates, factor structures, and concurrent validity estimates. Measurement invariance was established across groups differing in (a) language but not culture, (b) culture but not language, and (c) both language and culture. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis results showed that the cutoff score of 7 was similar for both the C-SBQ-R and the SBQ-R in screening for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors. Our findings provided empirical support that the psychometric properties of the C-SBQ-R and the SBQ-R are similar; both could be used to assess the suicide-related thoughts and behaviors constructs.