H.R.A. De Mey

Utility of selected MMPI-2 scales in the outcome prediction for patients with chronic back pain

The predictive utility of selected scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) was examined in relation to a number of physical and psychosocial measures of treatment outcome in patients reporting chronic back pain. MMPI-2 scales assessing manifestations of emotional distress were considered: anxiety (Scale 7 [Pt]: Anxiety [ANX] and Obsessiveness [OBS]), depression (Scale 2 [D]: Depression [DEP]), and somatic discomfort (Scale 1 [Hs]: Lassitude-Malaise [Hy3], Somatic Complaints [Hy4], and Health Concerns [HEA]). The outcome results at 6-month follow-up for 120 patients who participated in a 4-week outpatient multimodal treatment program were examined. Results showed several of the selected scales to be predictive of less improvement, depending on the outcome measures used.

Cross-cultural replication of the five-factor model and comparison of the NEO-PI-R and MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales in a Dutch psychiatric sample.

The authors investigated cross-cultural replicability of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality as represented by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) in a sample of 423 Dutch psychiatric patients. Also, NEO-PI-R domain scales were compared with the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5; A. R. Harkness & J. L. McNulty, 1994) scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 2002). Principal-components analysis with procrustean rotation confirmed the hypothesized structural similarity of the present sample with the U.S. normative factor scores. All of the hypothesized relations between NEO-PI-R and PSY-5 scales were confirmed. The results provide evidence for cross-cultural replicability of the FFM and for validity of the NEO-PI-R and PSY-5 constructs in the psychological assessment of psychiatric patients.

Executive Functioning in College Students: Evaluation of the Dutch Executive Function index (EFI-NL)

The Executive Function Index (EFI) is a short self-report questionnaire for the assessment of executive functions (EF) as encountered in daily life. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the EFI (EFI-NL) in a college student sample (N = 376). Internal structure was analyzed using a principal components analysis with varimax rotation, followed by parallel analysis. This resulted in a five-factor solution accounting for 44.3% of the variance. Cronbachs alpha was acceptable for the EFI total score (α = 0.73), but internal scale consistencies were lower, ranging from 0.41 to 0.69. In comparison with the original United States sample both similarities and differences emerged. Although the five-factor structure as found in the U.S. sample did not provide a completely adequate fit for the present data, several equivalent factors were found. The (cross-cultural) differences were discussed against the background of possible disturbing factors, such as gender, age, and educational level. In general, the results lend support for the use of the EFI-NL as a self-report measure. However, replication of the factor structure and scale results in different samples is needed to disentangle the differential effects of age, gender, and item translation.

Decline of executive function in a clinical population: age, psychopathology, and test performance on the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).

This study presents a cross-sectional examination of the age-related executive changes in a sample of adults with a history of psychiatric illness using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. A total of 406 patients, aged 18 to 72 years old, completed executive function tests of working memory, strategic planning, and set shifting. Using current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition criteria, patients were diagnosed with: (a) affective disorders (N = 153), (b) substance-related disorders (N = 112), (c) personality disorders (N = 82), or (d) pervasive developmental disorders (N = 59). Test performances were compared to those of 52 healthy adults. Similar rates of age-related executive decline were found for patients and healthy participants. However, as adults with a history of psychiatric illness started out with significantly lower baseline levels of executive functioning, they may require less time before reaching a critical threshold where functional deficits emerge. Limitations as well as implications for future research were discussed.

Measuring Proximity Among Affect Profiles in Hermans' Self-Confrontation Method

In the Self-Confrontation Method (SCM), proximity relations among affect profiles of valuations are traditionally represented by means of Pearsons correlation coefficient. In this article, we address a variety of technical and practical problems when using a correlational measure as a means for studying the structure of a persons valuation system. We consider the difference between shape and distance measures of proximity in the context of the SCM and present some numerical examples that illustrate the drawbacks of using correlation. We corroborate these theoretical exercises with an empirical study using real SCM data, and elaborate on the advantages of using a Euclidean distance measure as an alternative to correlation.In the Self-Confrontation Method (SCM), proximity relations among affect profiles of valuations are traditionally represented by means of Pearsons correlation coefficient. In this article, we address a variety of technical and practical problems when using a correlational measure as a means for studying the structure of a persons valuation system. We consider the difference between shape and distance measures of proximity in the context of the SCM and present some numerical examples that illustrate the drawbacks of using correlation. We corroborate these theoretical exercises with an empirical study using real SCM data, and elaborate on the advantages of using a Euclidean distance measure as an alternative to correlation.