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Five multifactor models, in both orthogonal and oblique versions, and a single-factor model of the WAIS-R's factor pattern were examined by confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses of a data matrix constructed from the results for 90 neuropsychiatric patients. None of the models fits the data matrix in an absolute sense, even though all of the models represented an improvement over a null statistical model. For the multifactor models, the best results were obtained by oblique solutions, in which the degree of correlation between the factors varied from .71 to .93. The single-factor model fit nearly as well as, and in some instances better than, many of the multifactor models. The best-fitting model, viz., a three-factor oblique one, was only marginally better in its fit than two of the three two-factor models or the competing three-factor model.

Rorschach data has been useful in identifying the DSM Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and has potential for improving our understanding of this disorder. Recently, the DSM-IV BPD has been shown to be composed of 3 primary or core factors: Factor I-unstable self-other images. Factor II-deficits in affect and thought modulation, and Factor III-impulsive self-damaging actions. In a sample of outpatients with personality disorders. we explored the relationships among 6 psychoanalytically derived Rorschach scales (primitive aggression, oral dependency, self-other differentiation, splitting, devaluation, and projective identification), and the core BPD features. Significant correlations were found between 5 of the Rorschach variables and BPD total scores. Correlations between these 5 variables and the BPD core features showed that oral dependency needs were negatively associated with all 3 BPD core features, whereas the defenses of devaluation and splitting were positively associated with these core features. The clinical implications of these findings are reviewed.

A tripartite taxonomy of perceptual-cognitive errors on the Rorschach, abbreviated TRAUT, was reviewed. TRAUT classifies "autisms" as stemming from either an arrant disregard for the blot shapes (HYPO), an inordinate attention to unusual blot areas (HYPER), or an endorsement of counterfactual relationships among blot areas (RELER) included among Exner's Unusual Verbalizations. The scoring of HYPOs and HYPERs and the frequency of their occurrence among thought-disordered groups were determined by examining Rorschachs of inpatient schizophrenics, outpatient schizophrenics, borderline personality disorders, and Cluster A personality disorders. Because HYPOs and HYPERs yielded better differential diagnoses than RELERs among these four groups, it was suggested that such percepts should be scored routinely as a screen for thought disorder.

Five multifactor models, in both orthogonal and oblique versions, and a single-factor model of the WAIS-R's factor pattern were examined by confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses of a data matrix constructed from the results for 90 neuropsychiatric patients. None of the models fits the data matrix in an absolute sense, even though all of the models represented an improvement over a null statistical model. For the multifactor models, the best results were obtained by oblique solutions, in which the degree of correlation between the factors varied from .71 to .93. The single-factor model fit nearly as well as, and in some instances better than, many of the multifactor models. The best-fitting model, viz., a three-factor oblique one, was only marginally better in its fit than two of the three two-factor models or the competing three-factor model.

The current study examines the factor pattern of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for a sample of 151 neuropsychiatric inpatients (97 men, 54 women). As expected, these patients performed less well on all 11 of the subtests and ranged from .60 to 1.54 SD below normative standards. These patients were neither more variable nor were the intercorrelations among the subtests lower than those of the normative group. As in previous research, maximum likelihood factor analyses revealed the presence of a Verbal Comprehension dimension and a Perceptual Organization dimension, factors that were moderately correlated (.60). The stability of a two-factor solution for the WAIS in this population and its implications for the inclusion of the WAIS as a component of a neuropsychological assessment paradigm are discussed.

Two confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analytic models of the Personality Research Form-E are presented and discussed for the men's and women's standardization data (Jackson, 1974) (N = 215). The two models investigated were: (1) a six-factor model based on Jackson's conceptual framework for the Personality Research Form-E; and (2) the five-factor empirical model advanced by Fowler (1985). Overall, the patterns of correlations within each data matrix are highly similar, but the factor patterns, factor intercorrelations, as well as the error variances, do differ. The five-factor model was found to be more adequate generally, but produced no absolute fit to the data matrices, while the six-factor model invariably produced inaccurate estimates of the parameters. Comparisons of the completely estimated, Varimax-rotated factor loading matrices to that reported by Fowler found, on the whole, stronger similarity between matching factors for the women than for the men. The implications of this finding for the modelling of the PRF-E and its application in clinical contexts are considered at length.

An oblique, five-factor model of a modified Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery is presented. One hundred fifty-one neuropsychiatric inpatients (94 men, 57 women) were examined on 44 neuropsychological indices. Five correlated dimensions (r = .25), viz., Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Sensory-attention, Primary Motor, and Tactile-spatial abilities, were identified by maximum likelihood factor analyses of this correlation matrix. These findings are quite similar to those reported earlier by Fowler, Richards, Berent, and Boll (1985, 1987) and Royce, Yeudall, and Bock (1976). The factors may be broadly categorized using the distinction made by Lezak (1983) for verbal, nonverbal, and mental activity variables. MANOVAs revealed systematic relationships between simple-weighted factor scores and: (1) the overall level of cognitive functioning (p less than .01), as well as (2) psychiatric diagnosis (p less than .01). Implications of these findings for understanding the impact of neuropsychiatric disorders on the structure of abilities for such patients are developed.

The pattern and level of performance on the WAIS-R and the Luria-Nebraska's Intelligence, Memory, and Motor Scales were examined for 93 neurologically impaired adults. Maximum likelihood factor analyses of the WAIS-R indicated the presence of strongly correlated (.72) Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization dimensions. Comparisons of these factors to those of the standardization group revealed an acceptable level of similarity (.94) for Verbal Comprehension, but not for Perceptual Organization (.53). Canonical correlations between WAIS-R factor scores and the three Luria-Nebraska scaled scores accounted for 82% of the total variance. Each set of procedures evidently is indexing the same theoretical constructs. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the measurement models that underlie clinical neuropsychology are discussed.

Presented for 64 Ss a replication of the Family Environment Scale's maximum likelihood factor structure for which the two-factor, Varimax-rotated solution was found to be stable when the correlations among the subscales were corrected for the effects of social desirability response bias. As reported previously (Fowler, 1981), the first bipolar dimension, “cohesion vs. conflict,” measures relationship-centered concerns, while the second bipolar axis, “organization-control,” reflects basic system-maintenance properties of family activity. These two factors are comparable to others reported in small-group research, parent-child interaction studies, and human communication investigations. A comprehensive statistical model of the Family Environment Scale can be constructed where the semantic space of the 10 subscales reflects the two supraordinate concepts of “interpersonal cohesion” and “control.” It is not yet known to what extent the modeling of this impression-space can be expanded to reveal dependencies on imminent (familial and individual) cognitive and personality schemata.

The pattern and level of performance on the WAIS-R and the Luria-Nebraska's Intelligence, Memory, and Motor Scales were examined for 93 neurologically impaired adults. Maximum likelihood factor analyses of the WAIS-R indicated the presence of strongly correlated (.72) Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization dimensions. Comparisons of these factors to those of the standardization group revealed an acceptable level of similarity (.94) for Verbal Comprehension, but not for Perceptual Organization (.53). Canonical correlations between WAIS-R factor scores and the three Luria-Nebraska scaled scores accounted for 82% of the total variance. Each set of procedures evidently is indexing the same theoretical constructs. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the measurement models that underlie clinical neuropsychology are discussed.

Presented for 64 Ss a replication of the Family Environment Scale's maximum likelihood factor structure for which the two-factor, Varimax-rotated solution was found to be stable when the correlations among the subscales were corrected for the effects of social desirability response bias. As reported previously (Fowler, 1981), the first bipolar dimension, "cohesion vs. conflict," measures relationship-centered concerns, while the second bipolar axis "organization-control," reflects basic system-maintenance properties of family activity. These two factors are comparable to others reported in small-group research, parent-child interaction studies, and human communication investigations. A comprehensive statistical model of the Family Environment Scale can be constructed where the semantic space of the 10 subscales reflects the two supraordinate concepts of "interpersonal cohesion" and "control." It is not yet known to what extent the modeling of this impression-space can be expanded to reveal dependencies on imminent (familial and individual) cognitive and personality schemata.