Alfred H Sellers

COWAT Metanorms Across Age, Education, and Gender

Norms for the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT; Benton & Hamsher, 1976) have been published as summary statistics from many relatively small samples. The purpose of this study was to combine statistics from these samples to produce metanorms broken down by age, gender, and level of education. Means and standard deviations of letters F, A, and S (FAS) totals from normative samples and samples of normal controls were gathered from a wide variety of research studies and then stringently selected based on factors such as adequacy of the sample and presence of the appropriate statistics. The resulting aggregate statistics for FAS totals suggest differences may exist in verbal fluency task performance, depending on a persons age, gender, and level of education.

The Detection of Malingered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with MMPI-2 Fake Bad Indices

This investigation explored the effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) simulation on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) responses, to detect malingered from genuine PTSD. Sixty-four adult PTSD outpatients at a child sexual abuse (CSA) survivor treatment program were compared with 85 adult college students instructed and trained to malinger PTSD. MMPI-2 overreporting indices examined were F, I F-Fb l, F-K, F(p), Ds2, O-S, OT, and FBS. A stepwise discriminant analysis identified F(p), F-K, and O-S as the best malingering predictors. A predictive discriminant analysis yielded good hit rates for the model, with impressive cross-validation results. Cutoff scores were assessed for the models predictors. Clinical implications for detecting malingered PTSD using the MMPI-2 are discussed.

A comparison of psychological/psychiatric symptomatology of women and men sexually abused as children.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in symptomatology among sexual abuse survivors utilizing a standardized measure of specific symptom patterns, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). METHOD Gender differences in symptomatology of adults sexually victimized as children were examined. Participants were 162 women and 25 men entering an outpatient treatment program for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a university-based community mental health center. Symptomatology was measured using the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). RESULTS Although no differences appeared when examining the raw data, the results changed dramatically once the data were converted into T-scores and epidemiological SCL-90-R gender differences were taken into account. The findings indicate that men exhibited significantly more interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety than women in relation to their respective normative samples. CONCLUSIONS The use of nonclinical T-scores in this study allows for the interpretation that men survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have higher levels of symptomatology than women survivors when compared to their respective normative samples.

Masculinity ideology among Russian and U.S. young men and women and its relationships to unhealthy lifestyles habits among young Russian men.

One aim of this study was to further investigate the empirical support for the social constructionist perspective on gender roles. A 2nd aim was to explore the relationship between Russian men’s endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and their engagement in behaviors that may put their health at risk. Russian respondents endorsed traditional masculinity ideology, developed for a U.S. sample, to a higher degree than did their American counterparts. Overall, women endorsed a less traditional perspective of masculinity ideology for men; however, this result was more pronounced among U.S. participants. Using a modification of the Susceptibility to Stress Scale (L. H. Miller, A. D. Smith, & B. L. Mehler, 1988), results yielded 1 variable associated with unhealthy lifestyle habits among Russian men: lower socioeconomic status.

NEUROCOGNITIVE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF DEMENTING DISEASES: ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIA, VASCULAR DEMENTIA, FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA, AND MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Similarities in presentation of Dementia of Alzheimers Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder, pose differential diagnosis challenges. The current study identifies specific neuropsychological patterns of scores for Dementia of Alzheimers Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder. Neuropsychological domains directly assessed in the study included: immediate memory, delayed memory, confrontational naming, verbal fluency, attention, concentration, and executive functioning. The results reveal specific neuropsychological comparative profiles for Dementia of Alzheimers Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder. The identification of these profiles will assist in the differential diagnosis of these disorders and aid in patient treatment.

Validation of the Novaco Anger Scale in an Incarcerated Offender Population

Many attempts have been made to construct measures that assess different aspects of anger. The Novaco Anger Scale (NAS) was developed to assess anger and predict violent behavior. Validity research on the NAS to date has yielded promising results. However, few studies have examined the NAS among incarcerated offenders. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the NAS; investigated its relationships to anger, social desirability, and personality; and evaluated its factor dimensions using confirmatory factor analytic procedures in a sample of male and female incarcerated adults. Results indicated that the theoretically derived scales of the NAS demonstrated both reliability and validity in these groups of offenders. Furthermore, the correlations between the NAS and anger measures were significant. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Development and Validation of a Role-Play Test for Assessing Crisis (Hostage) Negotiation Skills

The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the construction of a role-play test (RPT), which is based on actual negotiated encounters by the Crisis Negotiation Unit of the FBI and employed specifically for evaluation and training of negotiation skills, and (b) provide preliminary validational support for the RPT. The first part of the study includes an overview of RPT item development and the role of active-listening skills, and the second part involves the validation of the RPT. Both groups were also administered self-report measures of social problem-solving skills and emotional empathy. Results indicate that in comparison to experts, nonexpert negotiators show deficiencies across active-listening skill categories. Relationships between use of active listening and emotional empathy are observed.

The Law Enforcement Officer Stress Survey (LEOSS): Evaluation of Psychometric Properties.

This study establishes the reliability and validity of the Law Enforcement Officer Stress Survey (LEOSS), a short early-warning stress-screening measure for law enforcement officers. The initial phase of LEOSS development employed the behavioral-analytic model to construct a 25-item instrument specifically geared toward evaluation of stress in this population. The purpose of the present study was to examine psychometric properties of the LEOSS. Results indicate this instrument has good levels of internal consistency, testretest reliability, and validity. Potential applications of the LEOSS in clinical and research contexts are discussed. The next phase of research on the LEOSS is discussed, and suggestions for directions that future research in this area might take are offered.

Identifying subtypes of women survivors of childhood sexual abuse: An MMPI‐2 cluster analysis

This paper investigated subtypes of women childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors through a cluster analysis of their Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) clinical and validity scales. Participants were 117 women in outpatient treatment for CSA aftereffects at a university-affiliated community mental health center. Three well-fitting MMPI-2 cluster solutions were evaluated with discriminant analyses and MANOVAs; a 5-cluster solution was deemed optimal. Follow-up analyses demonstrated significant between-cluster differences on the Impact of Event Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Dissociative Experiences Scale, and nearly all Symptom Checklist-90-Revised subscales. No differences emerged when comparing clusters on the Family Environment Scale and their CSA characteristics. Implications were considered for research and clinical practice, using the MMPI-2 with CSA survivors.

Differences in young children's IQs on the Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence-revised as a function of stratification variables.

The normative sample (N = 1700) of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R), stratified on age, gender, ethnicity, geographic region, education, and occupation of childrens parents, served as the database with which to examine the associations of demographic characteristics with Verbal Intelligence Quotients (VIQs), Performance Intelligence Quotients (PIQs), and Full Scale Intelligence Quotients (FSIQs) among young children. A 3-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and follow-up analyses of variance (ANOVAs) found significant effects of parent education and ethnicity, but not childs gender, on IQ. A separate 2-way MANOVA and follow-up ANOVAs found significant interaction effects between region and ethnicity on IQ. Parent education showed the largest association with all 3 IQs, whereas gender and age showed the least. The meaning of the hierarchy of the stratification variable associations with IQ is discussed.