Lynne Steinberg

The sexual desire inventory: Development, factor structure, and evidence of reliability

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a self-administered questionnaire to measure sexual desire. In the development phase, items were generated and pilot-tested with 24 subjects. Based on these data, items were deleted, added, or modified. Next, in Study One, the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI) was administered to 197 females and 117 males. Factor analyses revealed that the SDI was multifactorial; however, none of the generated factor solutions up to five factors yielded a good fit. Interpretation of the factors led to revisions of the SDI. It was hypothesized that sexual desire might consist of two related dimensions; dyadic sexual desire and solitary sexual desire. Items on the SDI were modified to measure these two dimensions, and the revised SDI was administered to 249 females and 131 males. Factor analysis supported the presence of these two dimensions. Internal consistency estimates using Cronbachs alpha revealed coefficients of .86 for dyadic sexual desire and .96 for solitary sexual desire, providing preliminary evidence for the reliability of the SDI. The implications of these findings are discussed.

A TAXONOMY OF ITEM RESPONSE MODELS

A number of models for categorical item response data have been proposed in recent years. The models appear to be quite different. However, they may usefully be organized as members of only three distinct classes, within which the models are distinguished only by assumptions and constraints on their parameters. “Difference models” are appropriate for ordered responses, “divide-by-total” models may be used for either ordered or nominal responses, and “left-side added” models are used for multiple-choice responses with guessing. The details of the taxonomy and the models are described in this paper.

A Response Model for Multiple-Choice Items

We introduce an extended multivariate logistic response model for multiple choice items; this model includes several earlier proposals as special cases. The discussion includes a theoretical development of the model, a description of the relationship between the model and data, and a marginal maximum likelihood estimation scheme for the item parameters. Comparisons of the performance of different versions of the full model with more constrained forms corresponding to previous proposals are included, using likelihood ratio statistics and empirical data.

New tricks for an old measure: The development of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief (BIS-Brief)

The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS), a 30-item self-report measure, is one of the most commonly used scales for the assessment of the personality construct of impulsiveness. It has recently marked 50 years of use in research and clinical settings. The current BIS-11 is held to measure 3 theoretical subtraits, namely, attentional, motor, and non-planning impulsiveness. We evaluated the factor structure of the BIS using full information item bifactor analysis for Likert-type items. We found no evidence supporting the 3-factor model. In fact, half of the items do not share any relation with other items and do not form any factor. In light of this, we introduce a unidimensional Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief (BIS-Brief) that includes 8 of the original BIS-11 items. Next, we present evidence of construct validity comparing scores obtained with the BIS-Brief against the original BIS total scores using data from (a) a community sample of borderline personality patients and normal controls, (b) a forensic sample, and (c) an inpatient sample of young adults and adolescents. We demonstrated similar indices of construct validity that is observed for the BIS-11 total score with the BIS-Brief score. Use of the BIS-Brief in clinical assessment settings and large epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders will reduce the burden on respondents without loss of information.

Context and serial-order effects in personality measurement : limits on the generality of measuring changes the measure

It has recently been argued that the process of measuring personality constructs changes the consistency of responses to items. E. S. Knowles (1988) showed that items appearing later in a questionnaire are more related to total score than items appearing earlier. J. C. Hamilton and T. R. Shuminsky (1990) offered empirical support for the hypothesis that level of self-awareness is responsible for this serial-order effect. The present study investigated the generality of the proposition that measuring personality constructs using a self-report questionnaire changes the construct measured. With techniques of item response theory (IRT), it was found that the findings of previous investigations may be explained by more specific item-context effects due to both the items content and serial position. These findings are discussed within the framework that uses IRT to test hyoptheses about item-context effects and personality measurement.

The consequences of pairing questions: Context effects in personality measurement.

The effect of context on responses to questions has been a prominent focus in social and political survey research. However, little investigation of context effects has been done for the measurement of psychological constructs. A measure of anger experience and expression in development uses vignettes describing interpersonal situations that provoke varying degrees of anger and require respondents to indicate their affective and/or expressive response to the situation. In this study, the consequences of pairing the two questions for each vignette are investigated. Pairing the anger-experience and likelihood-of-expression questions changes the items context. Item response theory analysis similar to that used to detect differential item functioning was performed. For some of the items, responding to a single or paired question affected the extremity of responses. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for personality measurement.

An Item Response Theory for Personality and Attitude Scales: Item Analysis Using Restricted Factor Analysis

This paper describes the applicability of item re sponse theory to attitude scale development and pro vides an illustration derived from a study of the pro pensity toward jealousy in romantic relationships. The item analysis model used is identical to the factor analysis model, so factor analytic criteria are used to evaluate the scale. These criteria may be used to de cide whether the scale may be scored as a measure of a single variable and whether a simple sum or a weighted sum of the item responses serves as an opti mal test score. Estimates of the reliability of the scale based on the item response model are also described.

When Friends Make You Blue: The Role of Friendship Contingent Self-Esteem in Predicting Self-Esteem and Depressive Symptoms:

This research examines the role of friendship contingent self-esteem (FCSE), or self-esteem that is dependent on the quality of one’s friendships, in predicting depressive symptoms. In Study 1, the authors developed a measure of FCSE. Both FCSE and others’ approval correlated with self-esteem and depressive symptoms, but when entered simultaneously in a regression equation, only FCSE significantly predicted self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Study 2 showed that dependency and close friendship competence predicted depressive symptoms only for those high in FCSE. In Study 3, a diary study, FCSE predicted self-esteem instability. Self-esteem instability, in turn, predicted depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a three-way interaction of rumination, FCSE, and the valence of the event predicted momentary self-esteem. Findings are discussed with regard to the importance of considering FCSE when investigating interpersonal risk for depression.

Assessing the MMPI-based Cook-Medley Hostility Scale: The implications of dimensionality.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- (MMPI-) based Cook-Medley Hostility scale (Cook & Medley, 1954) historically has been used to investigate links between personality factors and health outcomes. We assessed the dimensionality of 27 Cook-Medley items previously found to predict mortality using full-information maximum likelihood factor analysis. The factor analyses revealed that these items serve as indicators for several constructs, with some factors apparently reflecting word usage rather than a meaningful psychological dimension. Our analyses indicate that the psychological meaning of these (sub)scales is ambiguous and differs according to the respondents gender. The findings are discussed in the context of evidence to support the construct validity of the scale and the implications of dimensionality for making inferences concerning the link among scale scores, personality factors, and health outcomes.

An item response theory analysis of the DSM-IV borderline personality disorder criteria in a population-based sample of 11- to 12-year-old children.

Although a growing body of empirical literature provides some support for the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in youth, little is known about the internal structure of BPD and the performance of the individual diagnostic criteria, especially in younger samples. We used item response theory (IRT) methods to investigate the psychometric properties of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) BPD criteria in a large, population-based sample (n = 6,339) of young adolescents from the United Kingdom (ages 11 to 12). BPD was assessed using the Childhood Interview for DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder (CI-BPD; Zanarini, Horwood, Waylen, & Wolke, 2004). A single underlying dimension adequately accounted for covariation among the BPD criteria. Each criterion was found to be discriminating to a degree comparable to what has been reported in adult studies. BPD criteria were most informative within a range of severity of BPD pathology between +1 and +3 standard units. Five criteria were found to exhibit differential item functioning (DIF) between boys and girls. However, DIF balanced out for the total interview score. Despite the controversy associated with applying the borderline construct to youth, the current findings provide psychometric evidence in favor of doing so.