Psychological Assessment

Scholaske, Laura; Sari, Nida E.; Ziegler, Matthias

doi: 10.1037/pas0001205pmid: 36633981

Psychological stress experiences play a major role in the development of ethnic health disparities. Investigating such relationships often requires the use of questionnaires in different languages, however, this involves the risk of biased measurements. Such biases may be even more likely to occur the closer the construct being measured is to cultural experiences. We adapted the culture, comprehension, and translation bias (CCT) procedure (Bader et al., 2021) to test three language-related item biases in the measurement of stress experience among people of Turkish origin in Germany (i.e., language choice, comprehension, and translation bias) in the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Multidimensional Acculturative Stress Inventory (MASI). One thousand three hundred four adult persons of Turkish origin living in Germany participated in an online survey with a quasi-experimental design: participants either chose the German version, were assigned the German version, or were assigned the Turkish version of the study questionnaire. Participants completed the 10-item PSS, 25-item MASI, and other measures, and provided sociodemographic data. The adapted CCT procedure revealed none of the language-related biases for the PSS, whereas for the MASI a language choice bias could be demonstrated for one item, a comprehension bias for one item, and a translation bias for five items. The results suggest that language-related item biases are trait-specific and that the CCT procedure is suitable for testing other item biases beyond those tested by Bader et al. Testing such item biases may improve the study of stress experiences in the context of ethnic health disparities.

Bart, Thomas A.; Su, Charlie C.; Gonzalez Zapata, Deisy; Alsup, Clare; Hricovec, Megan M.; Callahan, Jennifer L.; Ruggero, Camilo J.; Cicero, David C.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001207pmid: 36951691

Two of the most commonly used psychosis screening measures are the Prodromal Questionnaire–Brief (PQ-B) and the Youth Psychosis at Risk Questionnaire–Brief (YPARQ-B). Both scales have considerable support for the reliability and validity of their scores for use with English- and Spanish-speaking participants, with measurement equivalence established across a subset of demographic characteristics. However, measurement invariance has not been examined across several important demographic variables, including native language, language of the scales used with Hispanic participants, education, occupation, income, birth country, and generation status. In the present study, (N = 1,191) measurement invariance was examined for each of these variables across three samples (ns = 505, 714, and 126). The PQ-B total scores and YPARQ-B were found to demonstrate configural and scalar invariance, while PQ-B Distress scores displayed configural, metric, and scalar invariance across most tested demographic variables. Psychosis scores were associated with social determinants of health (SDoH) including major and everyday experiences of discrimination, food insecurity, financial insecurity, acculturation, and ethnic identity. The associations between psychosis and SDoH were mostly consistent across groups. Compared to White-non-Hispanic participants, Hispanic participants had higher scores on all psychosis measures and tended to have higher scores on discrimination, food and housing insecurity, affirmation aspects of ethnic identity, and acculturative stress. Despite differences in psychosis levels, the groups did not differ in history of treatment. Overall, these results provide strong evidence that the PQ-B and YPARQ provide equivalent, nonbiased, valid, and reliable scores in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic participants in both English and Spanish.

Woods, William C.; Edershile, Elizabeth A.; Ringwald, Whitney R.; Sharpe, Brinkley M.; Himmelstein, Philip H.; Newman, Michelle G.; Wilson, Stephen J.; Ellison, William D.; Levy, Kenneth N.; Pincus, Aaron L.; Creswell, J. David; Wright, Aidan G. C.

doi: 10.1037/pas0001210pmid: 36656726

Interpersonal theory organizes social behavior along dominant (vs. submissive) and warm (vs. cold) dimensions. There is a growing interest in assessing these behaviors in naturalistic settings to maximize ecological validity and to study dynamic social processes. Studies that have assessed interpersonal behavior in daily life have primarily relied on behavioral checklists. Although checklists have advantages, they are discrepant with techniques used to capture constructs typically assessed alongside warmth and dominance, such as affect, which typically rely on adjective descriptors. Further, these checklists are distinct from the methodologies used at the dispositional level, such as personality inventories, which rarely rely on behavioral checklists. The present study evaluates the psychometric performance of interpersonal adjectives presented on a visual analog scale in five different samples. Validity of the Visual Interpersonal Analog scale (VIAS) approach to momentary assessment was evaluated by comparing its performance with an interpersonal behavior checklist and by examining associations among the VIAS Warmth and Dominance scales and other momentary and dispositional constructs. Results were generally consistent with an existing interpersonal behavior checklist at the within-person level but diverged somewhat at the dispositional level. Across the five samples, the VIAS generally performed as hypothesized at both the within- and between-person levels.

Jenkins-Guarnieri, Michael; McEuin, Courtney; Smolenski, Derek; Hosey, Ryan; Macobin, Brian; Prins, Annabel

doi: 10.1037/pas0001208pmid: 36633979

There is a clear need to improve the measurement of posttraumatic symptoms in veterans seeking trauma-focused treatment. We evaluated the structure and psychometric performance of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5) in a naturalistic sample of veterans engaging in evidence-based therapy in a Veterans Affairs (VA) PTSD outpatient clinic. We collected data from 500 sequential patients at the beginning and end of treatment, evaluating the PCL-5 factor structure followed by psychometric analyses. Results align with recent research following rigorous methods and advanced statistical techniques in suggesting a unidimensional factor structure for the PCL-5, with indications for its items representing a general factor with no clear support for multiple factors or subscales aligned with specific symptom clusters. In addition, psychometric analyses suggest a wider range of potential cutoff scores predicting PTSD diagnosis that may be specific to this population or setting. Given the remaining research questions surrounding the PCL-5 and its structure and functioning specifically, as well as the evolving conceptualizations of PTSD as a psychological disorder, further research is needed to guide clinical practice and future research.

Puente-López, Esteban; Pina, David; López-Nicolás, Rubén; Iguacel, Isabel; Arce, Ramón

doi: 10.1037/pas0001209pmid: 36633978

The Inventory of Problems–29 (IOP-29) is a 29-item self-administered symptom validity test (SVT) that assesses the credibility of clinical presentations related to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression/anxiety, psychosis, cognitive impairment and combination thereof. To date, no publications have summarized the classification accuracy of the IOP-29 using a bivariate meta-analytical approach that preserves the two-dimensional nature of the estimators. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review and bivariate diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis of the IOP-29 according to the relevant guidelines. Twenty-one independent samples were included, with a total sample size of 4,163 participants. The results indicated that the IOP-29 is able to discriminate adequately between instructed simulators and healthy controls/clinical patients. Using the recommended cutoff (False Disorder Probability Score [FDS], ≥.50), a sensitivity of 82% was achieved, maintaining specificity at 93% (false positive rate of 7%). The language of the test and the type of comparison group have been identified as possible sources of heterogeneity. Specificity decreases for the non-English version of the IOP-29, for the FDS ≥ .30, and also decreases for studies using clinical controls, for all three cutoff scores. In general, our findings support the usefulness of the IOP-29 as an SVT; however, most of the included studies use a simulation design and have been coauthored by the test authors. Likewise, about half of the studies did not include bona fide patient controls but only nonclinical controls. The results obtained are highly promising, but further research, especially that using the criterion group paradigm, is recommended.

Clark, Caron A. C.; Cook, Kaitlyn; Wang, Rui; Rueschman, Michael; Radcliffe, Jerilynn; Redline, Susan; Taylor, H. Gerry

doi: 10.1037/pas0001202pmid: 36633982

Despite the critical importance of attention for children’s self-regulation and mental health, there are few task-based measures of this construct appropriate for use across a wide childhood age range including very young children. Three versions of a combined go/no-go and continuous performance task (GNG/CPT) were created with varying length and timing parameters to maximize their appropriateness for age groups spanning early to middle childhood. As part of the baseline assessment of a clinical trial, 452 children aged 3–12 years (50% male, 50% female; 52% White, non-Hispanic, 27% Black, 16% Hispanic/Latinx; 6% other ethnicity/race) completed the task. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that all task versions assessed two latent factors, labeled response inhibition and sustained attention. Versions for older children elicited lower overall accuracy while equating levels of inhibitory demand. All versions showed limited floor and ceiling effects, as well as developmental sensitivity. Boys showed higher commission error rates and children from lower income households showed lower performance across multiple task metrics. Task metrics, especially d prime and accuracy summary scores, correlated with parent-reported executive function and externalizing behavior. Task scores show promise as valid and sensitive indicators of inhibition and sustained attention across heterogeneous pediatric age groups.

Waschl, Nicolette; Khng, Kiat Hui; Bull, Rebecca; Ng, Ee Lynn; Sun, He; Chan, Wei Teng

doi: 10.1037/pas0001188pmid: 36633980

Executive functions (EFs) correlate positively with many developmental outcomes, and ecologically valid measures of EFs may be more predictive of some outcomes than performance-based measures. Accordingly, there is a need to evaluate short EF rating scales, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-2nd Edition Screener, Teacher Report (BRIEF2-TS). Data from 1,322 kindergarten children in Singapore (50% girls; 61.3% Chinese, 10.6% Malay, 16.3% Indian, 4.0% other ethnicity, and 7.8% did not report their ethnicity), followed for 3 years, were used to examine the multilevel factor structure, gender and longitudinal invariance, reliability, and concurrent and predictive validity of BRIEF2-TS scores. Results indicated a two-factor within-level structure (11 items; cognitive and emotional–behavioral regulation) that was at least partially invariant across gender and time. Concurrent validity with direct EF measures and ratings of self-regulation, and predictive validity for socioemotional and academic skills were good. Overall, BRIEF2-TS scores showed evidence for good validity and reliability. Future research should consider correlates of the between-level structure and further consider structure and validity in clinical samples.

Horwitz, Adam G.; Zhao, Zhuo; Sen, Srijan

doi: 10.1037/pas0001219pmid: 36757996

Mental health care is built around patient recall and report of clinical symptoms. However, memories of events and experiences rely on cognitive heuristics that influence our recall. The peak-end bias, which refers to the tendency for the most intense and proximate aspects of an experience to disproportionately influence our memory, has been understudied in the context of mental health symptoms and may unduly influence self-reported symptoms, even in the context of standardized assessments. To determine whether the peak-end bias applies to the report of depressive symptoms on the standardized Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9) assessment, we compared two scores from daily mood assessments collected over a 2-week period from 4,322 medical interns (56% women; 60% non-Hispanic White). The peak-end-mood score, which averaged the single lowest and most recent mood scores over 2 weeks had a significantly stronger correlation with the PHQ-9 than the mean-mood score, which averaged all mood scores during the 2 weeks. Likelihood ratio tests and fit statistics provided further support that the peak-end-mood score was a significantly better predictor of depression than the mean-mood score. Results were consistent when limiting the sample to those with mild-to-severe depressive symptoms, and when only examining the two primary mood items as the dependent variable. These findings provide evidence for a modest peak-end recall bias for mood and depressive symptoms. There may be benefits to implementing intermittent assessment strategies to support clinical decision-making.