Search

The psychological test developed by Cassidy and Lynn to measure achievement motivation in 1989 can be used with adult employees in various countries because they are internally consistent. But it must be used with care because the items used are not simple in structure. The validity of the test must be further verified by psychometric analyses and experimental methods to make clear achievement motivation as a multidimensional psychological concept., Achievement motivation is a multidimensional concept defined as competition with a standard of excellence or as the desire of people to set and realize goals for themselves (Clark, Varadarajan, & [...]

Further validation of the Vengeance Scale was explored. Scores on the scale were significantly and positively correlated with measures of hypermasculinity and inversely correlated with personal values of kindness and self-control for 25 men; however, college women's scores did not correlate significantly with either kindness or self-control. Further research is needed to assess whether the scale is valid for men as well as women.

A free-format inventory of Life and Work Values, designed in Zimbabwe as a wide-spectrum instrument suitable for exploratory investigations in a variety of groups, was used to collect data from a sample of 926 education students in South Africa. Analysis showed that the inventory had high internal consistency across all groups sampled.

PATHOS is a concurrently valid screening instrument for identifying high-risk adolescents with overdose-related depression, hopelessness, premeditation, and suicidal intent. It can predict a high-risk group with 100% sensitivity, 57% specificity, and low false positive rate. These results prove that PATHOS is an important aid for non-psychiatric assessment. However, over-reliance on PATHOS for excluding not-high-risk adolescents is dangerous.

J. M. Wood, M. T. Nezworski and W. J. Stejskal's comment that the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach lacks interrater reliability is incorrect. The method of percentage of agreement approach provides empirical support for the system. Their criticism on validity of the measure is based only on 4 of the 54 variables that form the Structural Summary Rorschach data. Of the 48 articles published on Rorschach test, 34 are research reports and 24 of these involve data and findings from 36 unpublished studies. Thus, contrary to their belief, this system has a strong research base.

The test-retest reliability of the survey form of the Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version was examined over a 2-wk. interval. Three age groups of children participated in the study, 8- to 10-year-olds, 11- to 13-year-olds, and 14-to 16-year-olds (N = 106). For the total Obsessive scores, the test-retest Pearson correlation coefficients for the three age groups were .51, .75, and .83, respectively, which suggest that the temporal stability of the instrument is a function of age.

This report replicates an earlier validation study of the Adolescent Family Life Satisfaction Index using a sample of 111 subjects ages 13 to 18 years. Reliability was supported for the over-all instrument and subscales. Principal components factoring yielded two factors representing satisfaction with the Parental and Sibling subsystems. Correlations with scores on another instrument indicated concurrent validity of the instrument.

Russell's short form of the Booklet Category Test was administered to 26 diagnosed schizophrenic patients and 14 normal individuals along with a test of pre-morbid intelligence. IQ correlated significantly (inversely) with errors and in particular with Subtests 3, 4, and 6. Age related directly to errors, especially for Subtests 3, 4, and 5. The mean Cronbach coefficient alpha was .71, indicating moderate item homogeneity across subtests. In sum, the shortened form appears to be an efficient and effective measure of concept formation among schizophrenic individuals.

Confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL 7 of data from 578 organizational members on the 29 items of the Rahim Leader Power Inventory provided support for the convergent and discriminant validities of the instrument measuring the bases of leaders' power and their invariance across organizational levels.

The reliabilities of the Quantity/Frequency Patterns, Problems Resulting from Drinking, Knowledge of Alcohol, and Attitudes Toward Drinking subscales of the Student Alcohol Questionnaire were calculated. The Spearman-Brown reliability coefficients of the subscales were .84, .89, .85, and .27, respectively. Values of Cronbach alpha for the four subscales were .86, .92, .86, and .55, respectively.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the predictive validity of the GRE Advanced Psychology Test and to assess the effects of program area on the relationship between test scores and students, grades. Test scores were significantly correlated with grades for the entire sample of 293 (r=.41, p

In response to Stead and Watson (1992), we reassessed the construct validity of the Commitment to Career Choices Scale using an age-constrained sample from our aggregate date base. A confirmatory factor analysis yielded findings comparable to Stead and Watson's results, thereby suggesting that their findings were likely due to using a homogeneous sample with truncated scores. Given the theoretical importance of measuring the full range of the two commitment to career choices continua, it seems premature to delete items from the scales for research with South African university students. Alternatively, we encourage the use of norms to interpret scores from the scales.

Data from 462 members of the general public were used to evaluate Hong's Psychological Reactance Scale. A principal components analysis with varimax rotation yielded a four-factor solution which was almost identical to previous research findings with a sample of college students, thereby indicating factorial stability. Rehabilities for the scale were satisfactory so use is recommended.

The correlations of scores on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List--Revised with selected scales of the Adjective Check List for 43 college students are presented. The pattern of significant intercorrelations adds to the knowledge of validity for the MAACL--R.

Concurrent and discriminative validity of the MAACL--R scales were studied by means of correlations with selected MMPI experimental scales (AR, DR, HOS, Poor Morale, and ES) for a sample of 88 male VA alcoholicfs. Concurrent validity of Anxiety, Depression, Hostility and PASS, and discriminative validity of the Anxiety scale were confirmed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate preliminary internal consistency and split-half reliability estimates of the trait form of the Depression Adjective Check List-Form E (DACL-E), as well as to validate three specific adjectives. The sample consisted of 294 residents of 17 inner-city neighborhoods of a large midwestern city, selected through a modified cluster sampling procedure. The Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability estimates were similar in magnitude for both genders (.88 for males and .85 for females) and were at a level generally found to be reliable. Analyses of the three DACL-E adjectives - 'distressed,' 'safe,' and 'active' - were ralated, respectively, to fear of crime (p < .01), perception of one's safety (p < .01), and active participation in crime prevention activities (p < .001).

Information is provided on the reliability of random short forms of Wechsler's intelligence scales and on the reliability of short forms that reduce the number of items within subtests rather than the number of subtests. The results demonstrate how much better than random the most reliable short forms of the scales are. They also show that reducing the number of items within subtests rather than the number of subtests exacts a steep price in reliability.

Component studies, which involve comparisons between a treatment package and the treatment package without a theoretically important component or the treatment package with an added component, use experimental designs to test whether the component is necessary to produce therapeutic benefit. A meta-analysis was conducted on 27 component studies culled from the literature. It was found that the effect size for the difference between a package with and without the critical components was not significantly different from zero, indicating that theoretically purported important components are not responsible for therapeutic benefits. Moreover, the effect sizes were homogeneous, which suggests that there were no important variables moderating effect sizes. The results cast doubt on the specificity of psychological treatments.

There has been a recent increase in research devoted to the study of workaholism, specifically concerning issues of definition and measurement. The present investigation examined the test-retest stability of Spence and Robbins' measures of the components of workaholism (1992), one of two measures that has been fairly widely used. These measures were found to be relatively stable in a sample of early-career managers (n = 67) over a 12-wk. period.

To assess the psychometric properties of the Italian translation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), the scale was administered to 763 college undergraduates, Based on analyses using item-total correlations and t-tests for differences between the top and the bottom total score quartiles, all items from the English version of the BIS-11 were retained in the Italian version. Cronbach's [Alpha] for internal consistency was .79 and two-month test-retest reliability was .89. An exploratory principal-components analysis replicated the six first-order factors and three oblique second-order factors, consistent with the number identified in the English version. However, subfactor item loadings differed between the English and Italian versions. The overall item pool was consistent in being a homogeneous measure of impulsiveness, The BIS-11 total score was correlated significantly with aggression and ADHD measures. The BIS-11 also significantly differentiated between high and low levels of binge eating, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 815-828, 2001. Keywords: impulsiveness; personality; assessment; reliability; validity

This study was designed to assess the ability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC-R) to differentiate between outpatients with personality disorders with Substance-Related Disorders (SRDs) and without SRDs. MMPI-2 validity, clinical, and MAC-R scale scores were compared in an SRD Cluster B group (comprised of Narcissistic, Antisocial, Borderline, and Histrionic; n = 15), a non-SRD Cluster B group (n = 33), and a non-SRD group with personality disorders from Clusters A and C (n = 18). Results revealed that the substance-abusing Cluster B group scored significantly higher on the MAC-R (p [is less than] .0001) as well as the Psychopathic Deviate scale (p [is less than] .01). Dimensional analyses illustrated that MAC-R scores were related to the presence of an SRD diagnosis (rpb = .70, p [is less than] .0001) and diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (r = .60, p [is less than] .0001). Stepwise regression revealed that (in order of magnitude) the presence of a substance-abuse diagnosis followed by diagnostic criteria for Antisocial and Histrionic Personality Disorders were most related to MAC-R scores (R = .78, [R.sup.2] = .60). This indicates that the MAC-R may be more related to the presence of an SRD than has been suggested, and when used in outpatient settings as MacAndrew (1965) intended, the MAC-R may be useful as a screening device for assessing SRD among outpatients with Axis II psychopathology. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 801-813, 2001. Keywords: MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale; personality disorders; MMPI-2

Objective: The aims of this study are to demonstrate 1) the criterion validity of the Abel Assessment for sexual interest[TM] (AASI) based on its ability to discriminate between non child molesters and admitting child molesters, and 2) its resistance to falsification based on its ability to discriminate between liar-denier child molesters and non child molesters. Method: A group of 747 participants matched by age, race, and income was used to develop three logistic regression equations. The models compare a group of non child molesting patients under evaluation for other paraphilias to three groups: 1) a group of admitting molesters of girls under 14 years of age, 2) a group of admitting molesters of boys under 14 years of age, and 3) a group believed to be concealing or denying having molested. Results: Both of the equations designed to discriminate between admitting child molesters and non child molesters were statistically significant. The equation contrasting child molesters attempting to conceal or deny their behavior and non child molesting patients was also statistically significant. Conclusions: The models classifying admitting child molesters versus non child molesters demonstrate criterion validity, while the third model provides evidence of the AASI's resistance to falsification and its utility as a tool in the detection of child molesters who deny the behavior. Results of the equations are reported and suggestions for their use are discussed. [C] 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Logistic regression; Child molestation; Classification models; Falsification; Adult males

Construct validity of the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF) was assessed using a health services research approach, a mode of study that captures the naturalistic practice of health service providers. A sample of 395 couple/family cases with GARF scores assigned pre- and post-therapy by 222 community-based marriage and family therapists yielded these results: 1) pretreatment GARF scores were negatively correlated with severity of client problems; 2) GARF change scores were positively correlated with client reported changes in functioning; 3) GARF change scores were positively correlated with therapist-reported client change; 4) GARF change scores were positively correlated with client satisfaction; 5) pretreatment GARF scores were negatively correlated with number of therapy sessions; and 6) pretreatment GARF scores and client diagnoses showed no relationship. Given these results the GARF appears to have construct validity in community settings, and is a promising brief assessment tool for relational functioning.

In earlier research, Rossini, Wygonik, Barrett, and Friedman (1994) demonstrated that the Thurstone Test of Mental Alertness (TMA) is a valid, brief measure of intelligence by comparing it to the Wechsler Scale of Adult Intelligence-Revised, which was at that time the 'gold standard' of IQ assessment. Since that study, the WAIS has again been revised and reissued in a third edition, the WAIS-III. We assessed the relationship between scores on the Thurstone Test of Mental Alertness and this latest WAIS rest to see if there is still a predictive relationship between the two tests. Correlations between the two tests and the accuracy of TMA point estimates of IQ indicate that the Thurstone Test of Mental Alertness remains a viable brief measure of adult intelligence.

The Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) has been used in many studies of loss in pregnancy, including miscarriage, stillbirth, induced abortion, neonatal death, and relinquishment for adoption. This article describes 22 studies from 4 countries that used the PGS with a total of 2485 participants. Studies that report Cronbach's alpha for their own samples give evidence of very high internal consistency reliability. Evidence for the validity of the PGS is also reviewed, such as convergent validity seen in its association with measures of mental health, social support, and marital satisfaction. The standard errors of the means for the total scale and for the subscales reveal fairly consistent scores, in spite of very different samples and types of loss; computation of means and standard deviations for the studies as a whole permits us to establish normal score ranges. Significantly higher scores were found in studies that recruited participants from support groups and self-selected populations rather than from medical sources, and from U.S. studies compared with those in Europe.

The current article examines the development and validation of the Drinking Context Scale through the use of confirmatory factor analysis. The scale measures the self-reported likelihood of excessive drinking across a number of specific social--cognitive drinking contexts. Five-hundred-and-five college students adjudicated for breaking university drinking rules filled out the anonymous questionnaire. Three factors including convivial, intimate, and negative coping contexts were confirmed, and these factors demonstrated good reliability and evidence of concurrent validity with other substance abuse indices, including the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the College Alcohol Problem Scale. Implications for the DCS as an assessment tool for prevention and early intervention with young people are discussed. [C] 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Youthful drinking; Assessment; Substance abuse; Drinking context; Situational drinking; College students; Alcohol instruments; Confirmatory factor analysis

Brief, reliable, and valid assessment instruments are very important for clinical psychology research and practice. The possible equivalency of a short form and the long form of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List--Revised (MAACL-R; Zuckerman & Lubin, 1985) was studied by correlating both forms of the MAACL-R with the State Trait Personality Inventory (Spielberger, 1995); the Affect Balance Scale (Bradburn, 1969); and the Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, 1978). Reliability and validity of the two forms were equivalent. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57:411-416, 2001. Keywords: MAACL-R; negative affect; positive affect; short form; long form

This study examined the relationship between the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Third Edition (PPVT-III) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition (WAIS-III) using 40 adults who ranged in age from 18 to 41 (mean age of 22 years). Participants were administered the PPVT-III and WAIS-III in counterbalanced fashion to control for order effects. Results revealed that the PPVT-III score was related to the WAIS-III Verbal IQ (VIQ) and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores but unrelated to the Performance IQ (PIQ) score. In addition, analyses indicated that, while there were no significant differences between the PPVT-III score and WAIS-III mean FSIQ and PIQ scores, the PPVT-III mean score was significantly lower than the WAIS-III VIQ. Further analysis indicated that the PPVT-III adequately estimated WAIS-III FSIQ and VIQ scores for participants who were classified as Average or High Average on the WAIS-III. However, for participants in the Superior range, the PPVT-III tended to underestimate FSIQ and VIQ scores by approximately 10 points. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 417-422, 2001. Keywords: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test: test validity; cognitive ability; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Galen T. Trial Iowa State University Jeffrey D. James University of Illinois [a] The purpose of this study was to develop the Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC) to measure [...]

Development of the revised Anxiety Rating Scale(ARS-2), along with reporting concurrent validity coefficients were detailed in Cox and Robb (1998) The purpose of the current research was to demonstrate construct [...]

This study investigated construct validity of a short version of the Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale developed from an exploratory factor analysis in 1990 of the original version of Salamon and Conte's Life Satisfaction scale. First, a confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood method) was conducted on 149 adult and elderly Italians to assess whether the latent variable of the Life Satisfaction Short Form scale was adequately represented by one factor. Analysis showed a good fit for the proposed unidimensional model, the items achieved good internal consistency on the scale, and no age differences arose in the score for the Life Satisfaction factor. Second, the correlations between the items measuring Life Satisfaction and the Eysenck 1985 Lie scale indicated that the items on the Life Satisfaction Short Form are largely independent of social desirability for younger and older adults.

In the present study we report: (1) normative data on the Spanish version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI); and (2) empirical evidence related to differentiation between the constructs of anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety. A sample of 390 university students (ranging in age from 18 to 34 years) completed the ASI and Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Scale (STAI-T). The means and standard deviations for the Spanish version of the ASI are similar to the ones reported by Peterson and Reiss (Anxiety Sensitivity Index Manual, 2nd edition. Worthington, OH: International Diagnostic Systems, 1992) for the English version. Factor analysis of the joint ASI and STAI-T items yielded two different factors; the STAI-T items load onto one factor (i.e., the trait anxiety factor) and the ASI items load onto the other factor (i.e., the anxiety sensitivity factor). Findings provide empirical support for validation of the Spanish ASI and are consistent with a construct distinction between anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety. [C] 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Anxiety sensitivity; Trait anxiety; Anxiety Sensitivity Index; Factor analysis

Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is the researcher's workhorse for making inductive inferences. This method has often been challenged, has occasionally been defended, and has persistently been used through most of the history of scientific psychology. This article reviews both the criticisms of NHST and the arguments brought to its defense. The review shows that the criticisms address the logical validity of inferences arising from NHST, whereas the defenses stress the pragmatic value of these inferences. The author suggests that both critics and apologists implicitly rely on Bayesian assumptions. When these assumptions are made explicit, the primary challenge for NHST--and any system of induction--can be confronted. The challenge is to find a solution to the question of replicability.

The purpose of this article is to provide data on a recently developed instrument to measure the multidimensional nature of the bereavement process. In contrast to widely used grief instruments that have been developed using rational methods of instrument construction, the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC) was developed empirically from data collected from bereaved adults who had experienced the death of a loved one. Factor analysis of the HGRC revealed 6 factors in the normal trajectory of the grieving process: Despair, Panic Behavior, Blame and Anger, Detachment, Disorganization, and Personal Growth. Additional data are provided that support reliability and validity of the HGRC as well as its ability to discriminate variability in the grieving process as a function of cause of death and time lapsed since death. Empirical support is also provided for Personal Growth as an integral component of the bereavement process. The article concludes by considering the substantive as well as psychometric findings of this research for such issues as traumatic grief, anticipatory grief, change in the bereaved person's self-schema, and spiritual and existential growth.

The reliability of the Italian version of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was assessed in a group of 26 schizophrenic patients and their parents. In both groups, internal consistency indices were satisfactory and mean PBI scores at test and retest were stable. The test-retest reliability coefficients for the PBI scales of parents ranged from .65 to .67, those of the patients from .32 (paternal-protection score) to .67 (maternal-care score). The less satisfactory test-retest reliability of patients' paternal protection score was due to minor intra-category rather than inter-category variations in their ratings. This suggests difficulties with a four-point rating scale, which might depend partly on the generally poor schooling of the sample, but it may also reflect uncertainty of schizophrenic patients concerning fathers controlling behavior. Further studies should pay attention to this factor. Patients' PBI mean scores are compatible with an affection-less control rearing style, while those of their parents, characterized by similar poor care but less control, are consistent with a pattern of weak parental bonding. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 119-129, 2001. Keywords: schizophrenic patients; parental bonding; reliability; parents of schizophrenic patients