Item Subtlety, Face Validity And The Structured Assessment Of Psychopathology

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of two concepts of disguise in the structured self-report assessment of psychopathology. Using the Basic Personality Inventory with samples of university students, a distinction was made between the concepts of face validity and item subtlety. Face validity was viewed as the contextual relevance of structured test items whereas item subtlety was conceptualized as the lack of an obvious substantive link between test item content and its underlying construct. Under normal test-taking conditions where honest self-report was encouraged, greater face validity and lower levels of subtlety were associated empirically with higher item criterion validity.;Scale desirability, construct desirability, construct accessibility, construct unity, and item-construct substantiveness were examined as possible moderating variables of the relationships of face validity and item subtlety to criterion validity. Analyses indicated that construct accessibility might mediate the relationship of item subtlety to criterion validity whereby with the more accessible constructs, subtle items tended to demonstrate greater empirical validity.;Next, the relative validities of subtle versus obvious and face valid versus non-face valid scales were examined under conditions in which test respondents were provided with advance test knowledge and motivation to distort self-presentation. Results indicated that, in general, scores under faking conditions proved to be less valid than in the case where honest self-report was encouraged. Furthermore, the disguised scales proved not to be any more valid than the transparent scales under conditions where faking was induced or where information concerning the nature of the test was supplied.;Results of these studies were interpreted as supporting a rational strategy of test construction emphasizing the use of relevant test item content. Data, in general, failed to support the utility of obscured approaches to the assessment of psychopathology and it was suggested that the onus of proof must switch to those who advocate the use of disguised strategies for structured measurement

Testing Models Relating Rejection, Depression, Interpersonal Needs, and Psychache to Suicide Risk in Nonclinical Individuals

Objectives: Using structural equation modeling, we tested a primary model of suicide risk and 3 competing, alternative models based on 4 psychological variables deemed important in the literature (perception of parental rejection, depression, interpersonal needs comprising perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and psychache), in a nonclinical sample of Portuguese adults. Method: A convenience sample of 203 adults (100men, 103women; aged18–65 years) participated in this study. Results: Analyses demonstrated that the proposed primary model had the best fit to the observed data. The differences in fit indexes for this model and one of the alternative models, however, were not substantial. Conclusion: Perceived parental rejection related directly to suicide risk and indirectly via depression and interpersonal needs. Depression linked indirectly to suicide risk via interpersonal needs and psychache. Interpersonal needs related directly to suicide risk and indirectly via psychache, which related directly to suicide risk

Suicide risk in a Portuguese non-clinical sample of adults

Background and Objectives: This exploratory study simultaneously tests the contribution of socio-demographic, clinical, distress, and personality variables for identifying suicide risk in a non-clinical sample. Methods: A convenience sample of 810 adults ranging in age from 19 to 67 years (M = 36.34, SD = 12.46) and living in various Portuguese regions participated. Their education varied from 6 to 21 years of schooling (M = 11.74, SD = 5.14). Participants responded to sociodemographic questions, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, the Center for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale, and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Results: In the present sample, 4.3% of participants indicated past suicide attempts, 27.9% reported some lifetime suicide ideation, and 6.4% indicated a past suicide plan. Depressive symptoms, having seen a psychologist or psychiatrist, self-criticism, and education discriminated between participants who had attempted suicide (n = 35) and those who had not attempted to die by suicide (n = 775). Depressive symptoms, having seen a psychologist or psychiatrist, self-criticism, psychiatric disease and age discriminated between participants who scored below (n = 650) and who scored equal to or above (n = 160) the cut-off score for the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Conclusions: Results have implications for the assessment of suicide risk

Assessing psychache as a suicide risk variable: Data with the Portuguese version of the psychache scale

Several studies have consistently related psychological pain to suicide risk. Psychache, according to Shneidman's perspective and measured by the Psychache Scale has been confirmed as an important variable in risk prediction. In the present study, we evaluated psychache as a construct related to suicide risk using data obtained with the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale translated from the original English version. A community sample of 628 individuals responded to the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale, the Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, the CES-D Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire. Results supported the unidimensional scoring of the Psychache scale, its ability to differentiate between individuals at-risk for suicide from individuals not at-risk, its relationship with different, but related, constructs and its ability to predict suicide ideation

The inter-item standard deviation (ISD): An index that discriminates between conscientious and random responders

Although random responding is prevalent and increases Type II errors, most psychologists avoid trying to identify it because the means to do so are extremely limited. We propose the inter-item standard deviation (ISD), a statistical index of response variance, is suited for this task. We hypothesized that random responders produce large ISDs because they respond to items all over a measure’s response range, whereas conscientious responders produce small ISDs because they respond to items more consistently. We administered a questionnaire containing the NEO-FFI-3 and an embedded validity scale to 134 university students. Another 134 responders were created using a random number generator. For all 268 responders, the ISD was calculated for each of the NEO-FFI-30 s five subscales and an aggregated ISD was calculated by averaging the five ISD indexes. Results showed that (1) random responders produce significantly larger ISDs than conscientious responders, (2) the ISDs were strongly correlated with the embedded validity scale and with one another, and (3) the ISDs correctly identified responders with greater than 80% classification accuracy. The mean ISD yielded greater than 95% classification accuracy. This study shows that responders can be identified by quantifying inter-item response variance.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC

Self-criticism, intensity of perceived negative life events, and distress: Results from a two-wave study

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether changes in the maladaptive personality trait of selfcriticism and changes in the interaction between this trait and the intensity of perceived negative life events predict changes in distress over a period of five months. A final sample of 207 young adults participated, responding to the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, the Life Experiences Survey, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results demonstrated that changes in self-criticism predicted changes in distress over and beyond the prediction associated with assessing the intensity of perceived negative life events. Further, changes in selfcriticism and perceived negative life events interacted in the prediction of changes in distress. Findings are discussed in terms of personality characteristics of self-critical individuals and of the construct of resilience

Modulation of immunity by macrophages

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22754/1/0000309.pd

The use of 35S and Tnos expression elements in the measurement of genetically engineered plant materials

An online survey was conducted by the International Life Sciences Institute, Food Biotechnology Committee, on the use of qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and Agrobacterium tumefaciens Tnos DNA sequence elements for the detection of genetically engineered (GE) crop plant material. Forty-four testing laboratories around the world completed the survey. The results showed the widespread use of such methods, the multiplicity of published and in-house methods, and the variety of reference materials and calibrants in use. There was an interest on the part of respondents in validated quantitative assays relevant to all GE events that contain these two genetic elements. Data are presented by testing two variations each of five published real-time quantitative PCR methods for 35S detection on eight maize reference materials. The results showed that two of the five methods were not suitable for all the eight reference materials, with poor linear regression parameters and multiple PCR amplification products for some of the reference materials. This study demonstrates that not all 35S methods produce satisfactory results, emphasizing the need for method validation

Portuguese Version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised: Validation Data and the Establishment of a Cut-Score for Screening Purposes

The aim of the present study is to provide validation data regarding the Portuguese version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire Revised in nonclinical individuals. Two studies were undertaken with two different nonclinical samples in order to demonstrate reliability, concurrent, predictive, and construct validity, and in order to establish an appropriate cut-score for nonclinical individuals. A sample of 810 community adults participated in Study 1. Results from this study provided information regarding scale internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and concurrent validity. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis established a cut-off score to be used for screening purposes with nonclinical individuals. A sample of 440 young adults participated in Study 2, which demonstrated scale score internal consistency and 5-month predictive validity. Further, 5-month test-retest reliability was also evaluated and the correlations of SBQ-R scale scores with two other measures that assess constructs related to suicidality, depression and psychache, were also performed. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to demonstrate the robustness of the result obtained in Study 1. Overall, findings supported the psychometric appropriateness of the Portuguese Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revis

Portuguese Version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised Validation Data and the Establishment of a Cut-Score for Screening Purposes

The aim of the present study is to provide validation data regarding the Portuguese version of the Suicidal Behaviors QuestionnaireRevised in nonclinical individuals. Two studies were undertaken with two different nonclinical samples in order to demonstrate reliability, concurrent, predictive, and construct validity, and in order to establish an appropriate cut-score for nonclinical individuals. A sample of 810 community adults participated in Study 1. Results from this study provided information regarding scale internal consistency, confirmatory factor analysis, and concurrent validity. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis established a cut-off score to be used for screening purposes with nonclinical individuals. A sample of 440 young adults participated in Study 2, which demonstrated scale score internal consistency and 5-month predictive validity. Further, 5-month test-retest reliability was also evaluated and the correlations of SBQ-R scale scores with two other measures that assess constructs related to suicidality, depression and psychache, were also performed. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to demonstrate the robustness of the result obtained in Study 1. Overall, findings supported the psychometric appropriateness of the Portuguese Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised