Assessment

Brown, Tiffany A.; Sellbom, Martin

doi: 10.1177/10731911221075724pmid: 35144481

The current study aimed to examine the associations between Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) scales and the dimensional personality traits contained within the ICD-11 Personality Disorder diagnosis and DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) models. The sample consisted of 489 undergraduate students, with dimensional personality traits operationalized via the Comprehensive Assessment of Traits relevant to Personality Disorder (CAT-PD). A priori hypotheses were generated for which MMPI-3 scales would be most associated with each personality trait domain, as well as individual CAT-PD scales. Zero-order correlations and regression analyses were used to examine associations between a set of hypothesized MMPI-3 scale scores and CAT-PD scale scores. The results showed a pattern of meaningful correlations supporting the majority of hypotheses. Moreover, most hypothesized scales also incremented one another in regression models predicting hypothesized PD scale scores. These findings indicate that the MMPI-3 is well situated to aid clinicians in the assessment of personality trait dysfunction from a dimensional perspective.

Fortea, Lydia; Tortella-Feliu, Miquel; Juaneda-Seguí, Asier; De la Peña-Arteaga, Víctor; Chavarría-Elizondo, Pamela; Prat-Torres, Laia; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Lane, Sean P.; Radua, Joaquim; Fullana, Miquel A.

doi: 10.1177/10731911211065166pmid:

Jauk, Emanuel; Olaru, Gabriel; Schürch, Eva; Back, Mitja D.; Morf, Carolyn C.

doi: 10.1177/10731911221075761pmid: 35176900

Narcissism is a multifaceted construct commonly conceptualized as comprising grandiose and vulnerable aspects in a two-factor model. While the manifold correlates of these aspects imposed a challenge for research on the structure of narcissism, recent models converge in a three-factor structure of agentic-extraverted, antagonistic, and neurotic aspects, capturing variance in different conceptualizations and correlates of narcissism. We construct and validate a German adaptation of the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory (FFNI), a measure assessing these aspects based on the Five-Factor Model. In eight samples (N = 2,921), we found the German FFNI to align with both, two- and three-factor models. The factors display good criterion validity with other narcissism measures, (non-)clinical personality dimensions, interpersonal styles, and (mal-)adaptive adjustment. Neurotic and antagonistic narcissism discriminated between individuals with/without mental disorder diagnoses, and displayed a characteristic profile in incarcerated offenders. Since the FFNI is comprehensive but long, we constructed a 30-item brief form (FFNI-BF) optimizing the internal structure and external validity using ant colony optimization. The FFNI-BF displayed good psychometric characteristics and similar, in certain aspects even advantageous criterion validity. We conclude that the German FFNI validly measures key aspects of narcissism, and the FFNI-BF captures these in a concise manner.

Whiteside, Stephen P. H.; Riemann, Bradley C.; McCarthy, Denis M.

doi: 10.1177/10731911221077232pmid: 35187974

The current study extends the psychometric support for the Child Sheehan Disability Scale (CSDS) as a measure of impairment associated with childhood anxiety disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder. The CSDS was completed by 1,481 predominately Caucasian youth (55.4% female) ages 8 to 17 (M = 12.68, SD = 2.78) from primarily two-parent households and a parent across community, outpatient, intensive outpatient treatment, and residential settings. The results replicated and extended the previously found strong convergent validity, discriminant validity, and treatment sensitivity with a revised parent-report item in the larger sample. Moreover, the CSDS successfully differentiated between patients receiving treatment of different levels of intensity. These data were used to develop preliminary qualitative descriptors associating individual scores with a likely level of indicated treatment to enhance the clinical applicability of the CSDS. This study establishes the CSDS as one of the briefest and most rigorously evaluated measures of impairment associated with child anxiety. However, the performance of the CSDS must be examined in more representative samples before being applied to diverse populations.

Ray, James V.

doi: 10.1177/10731911221077230pmid: 35245976

Research is yet to examine whether the items of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) function equally well across race/ethnicity and gender. The current study applies an item response theory analysis to detect differential item functioning (DIF) of the YPI subscale across White, Black, and Hispanic youth and males and females among a sample of justice-involved youth. Significant DIF was detected for several items between Black youth and White youth and Black youth and Hispanic youth. Few incidences of DIF emerged between White and Hispanic youth and between males and females. The findings suggest that subscales of the YPI provide more information for White and Hispanic youth compared with Black youth. They also suggest that while there was significant DIF in the difficulty of items, the direction of DIF did not substantially favor one group or another. Thus, the findings suggest that the YPI produces comparable estimates of psychopathic traits for females and males and for White and Hispanic youth. However, the results raise concerns about comparing YPI subscale scores between White and Black youth and Hispanic and Black youth. The findings have important implications for the use of the YPI subscales among diverse samples.

Fairbrother, Nichole; Albert, Arianne; Keeney, Cora; Tchir, Devan; Cameron, Rose B.

doi: 10.1177/10731911211063223pmid: 34969305

Screening for perinatal-occurring obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is rare. We sought to evaluate the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) as a screening tool for perinatal OCD and compare the screening accuracy of the DOCS with the commonly recommended Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). English-speaking, pregnant individuals aged 19+ (N = 574) completed online questionnaires and diagnostic interviews to assess for OCD prenatally and twice postpartum. The DOCS total score demonstrated the highest level of accuracy. Neither the EPDS-Full nor the three-item Anxiety subscale of the EPDS (EPDS-3A) met the criteria of a sufficiently accurate screening tool for OCD at any of the assessment points. Findings provide support for the DOCS as a screening tool for perinatal OCD and indicate a need for disorder-specific screening for perinatal anxiety and their related disorders (AD). Generalizability of findings is limited to Canada only. Future research would benefit from comparisons with measures of perinatal OCD (e.g., the Perinatal Obsessive-Compulsive Scale).

Mancini, Vincent O.; Heritage, Brody J.; Preece, David; Cohodes, Emily M.; Gross, James J.; Gee, Dylan G.; Finlay-Jones, Amy

doi: 10.1177/10731911221082708pmid: 35272507

Caregivers play a crucial role in supporting the development of their children’s emotion regulation. This study validated the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire in a sample of 491 caregivers (M = 32.89 years) of young children ≤ 5 years. Exploratory structural equation modeling provided evidence of the instrument’s ability to assess parental support for 10 distinct emotion regulation strategies that match the intended design of the instrument. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct caregiver profiles characterized by above-average support for strategies that previously have been shown to be predictive of adaptive outcomes, maladaptive outcomes, or mixed-outcomes, respectively. Results add to existing literature that suggests the PACER is a valid and reliable assessment of caregiver-implemented support of emotion regulation strategies for children ≤ 5 years old. Evidence of distinct caregiver profiles highlights opportunities for prevention and intervention efforts to bolster extrinsic support for adaptive emotion regulation strategies. This instrument may be well-suited to capturing changes throughout the early developmental period, in addition to monitoring caregiver-facing interventions promoting optimal emotion regulation in children.

Bottomley, Jamison S.; Smigelsky, Melissa A.

doi: 10.1177/10731911221081139pmid: 35272500

Bereavement has been associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including mortality, particularly among those who experience the sudden loss of a close other. With rising rates of sudden death in the United States, fueled by an alarming increase in fatal overdose deaths, identifying bereavement-related needs among the sudden-death bereaved is essential. The present study investigated the factor structure, internal reliability, and validity of the Sudden Bereavement Needs Inventory (SBNI) in a sample of sudden loss survivors (i.e., fatal overdose, suicide, and sudden-natural loss; N = 403). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-factor structure, with items reflecting pragmatic, informational, spiritual, relational, meaning, and emotional needs. SBNI factors showed adequate internal consistency, with significant associations between SBNI scores, loss characteristics, and mental health outcomes (e.g., prolonged grief symptoms, meaning-making, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms, and anxiety), supporting the scale’s validity and highlighting the potential applicability of the instrument in both research and clinical contexts. Future research should examine test–retest reliability of the SBNI, particularly through the lens of understanding whether and how bereavement needs change over time.

Caiado, Brígida; Canavarro, Maria Cristina; Moreira, Helena

doi: 10.1177/10731911221082038pmid: 35272501

The Emotion Expression Scale for Children (EESC) is a 16-item self-report questionnaire assessing children’s difficulties in emotion expression (i.e., poor emotion awareness and reluctance to express emotions). Considering the inconsistent findings regarding its factorial structure and dimensionality, this study aims to explore the factor structure and psychometric properties of the EESC in a sample of 286 Portuguese children (8–12 years). Three competing models were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (correlated two-factor model, one-factor model, and bifactor model). The bifactor model provided a better fit than the competing models, and the results suggested a strong general factor of “difficulties in emotion expression.” The validity of the EESC was also indicated by its positive correlations with variables assessing child anxiety, depression, and behavioral avoidance and its negative correlation with mindfulness skills. The EESC is a valid measure of children’s difficulties in emotion expression and the use of its total score is recommended.

Otto, Christiane; Kaman, Anne; Barkmann, Claus; Döpfner, Manfred; Görtz-Dorten, Anja; Ginsberg, Claudia; Zaplana Labarga, Sara; Treier, Anne-Katrin; Roessner, Veit; Hanisch, Charlotte; Koelch, Michael; Banaschewski, Tobias; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike

doi: 10.1177/10731911221082709pmid: 35301874

Affective dysregulation (AD) in children is characterized by persistent irritability and severe temper outbursts. This study developed and evaluated a screening questionnaire for AD in children. The development included the generation of an initial item pool from existing instruments, a Delphi rating of experts, focus groups with experts and parents, and psychometric analyses of clinical and population-based samples. Based on data of a large community-based study, the final screening questionnaire was developed (n = 771; 49.7 % female; age M = 10.02 years; SD = 1.34) and evaluated (n = 8,974; 48.7 % female; age M = 10.00 years; SD = 1.38) with methods from classical test theory and item response theory. The developed DADYS-Screen (Diagnostic Tool for Affective Dysregulation in Children—Screening Questionnaire) includes 12 items with good psychometric properties and scale characteristics including a good fit to a one-factorial model in comparison to the baseline model, although only a “mediocre” fit according to the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). Results could be confirmed using a second and larger data set. Overall, the DADYS-Screen is able to identify children with AD, although it needs further investigation using clinical data.