Philipp Yorck Herzberg

Validation and Standardization of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (gad-7) in the General Population

Background:The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) is a practical self-report anxiety questionnaire that proved valid in primary care. However, the GAD-7 was not yet validated in the general population and thus far, normative data are not available. Objectives:To investigate reliability, construct validity, and factorial validity of the GAD-7 in the general population and to generate normative data. Research Design:Nationally representative face-to-face household survey conducted in Germany between May 5 and June 8, 2006. Subjects:Five thousand thirty subjects (53.6% female) with a mean age (SD) of 48.4 (18.0) years. Measures:The survey questionnaire included the GAD-7, the 2-item depression module from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and demographic characteristics. Results:Confirmatory factor analyses substantiated the 1-dimensional structure of the GAD-7 and its factorial invariance for gender and age. Internal consistency was identical across all subgroups (α = 0.89). Intercorrelations with the PHQ-2 and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were r = 0.64 (P < 0.001) and r = −0.43 (P < 0.001), respectively. As expected, women had significantly higher mean (SD) GAD-7 anxiety scores compared with men [3.2 (3.5) vs. 2.7 (3.2); P < 0.001]. Normative data for the GAD-7 were generated for both genders and different age levels. Approximately 5% of subjects had GAD-7 scores of 10 or greater, and 1% had GAD-7 scores of 15 or greater. Conclusions:Evidence supports reliability and validity of the GAD-7 as a measure of anxiety in the general population. The normative data provided in this study can be used to compare a subjects GAD-7 score with those determined from a general population reference group.

Separating Optimism and Pessimism: A Robust Psychometric Analysis of the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R)

The internal structure of the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R, German version; M. F. Scheier, C. S. Carver, & M. W. Bridges, 1994) was analyzed in a sample of 46,133 participants who ranged in age from 18 years to 103 years. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that dispositional optimism, as measured by the LOT-R, is bidimensional, consisting of an Optimism and a Pessimism factor. Consistent with previous results, there were small to moderate negative correlations between Optimism and Pessimism, but the strength of the association continuously decreased with age. The relative independence of the 2 dimensions occurred in both genders and across different age groups of patients with different medical disorders.

Dimensionality and Norms of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale in a German General Population Sample

This study analyzed the dimensionality of the German version of Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale (RSES) in a nationally representative population sample of 4,988 subjects (46.4% males; aged 14–92 years). Using confirmatory factor analysis, one- and two-dimensional models were tested. Results suggest that the RSES is a two-dimensional scale comprising the highly correlated components positive and negative self-evaluation, which constitute a unitary construct of global self-esteem at the second-order level. In order to obtain a more conclusive solution, an item response theory (IRT) analysis (partial credit model) was conducted. Results lend support to a one-dimensional view of the RSES. Furthermore, psychometric properties and norm values based on the representative sample are reported. Analyses revealed extremely high response probabilities for all items, as a consequence of which self-esteem cannot be differentiated at the upper end of the range.

Die deutsche Version des Life-Orientation-Tests (LOT-R) zum dispositionellen Optimismus und Pessimismus

Zusammenfassung. Die Relevanz des Konstruktes Optimismus fur eine Vielzahl psychologischer und medizinischer Bereiche ist in zahlreichen Studien eindrucksvoll demonstriert worden. Das in der Forschung mit Abstand am haufigsten eingesetzte Messinstrument zur Erfassung des dispositionellen Optimismus ist der Life-Orientation-Test (LOT-R). Die deutsche Ubersetzung des LOT-R wird vorgestellt und anhand von Daten von 4938 Personen im Alter von 18-101 Jahren gepruft. Es werden psychometrische Kennwerte, Gutekriterien und Normwerte sowohl fur die Subskalen Optimismus und Pessimismus als auch fur die Gesamtskala berichtet. Damit liegt eine verbesserte Basis fur den Forschungseinsatz und die vergleichende Bewertung von Befunden mit diesem Instrument vor.

Faktorstruktur, Gütekriterien und Konstruktvalidität der deutschen Übersetzung des Aggressionsfragebogens von Buss und Perry

Zusammenfassung: Fur die deutsche Ubersetzung des Aggressionsfragebogens von Buss und Perry (1992) konnte gezeigt werden, dass nach Ausschluss von zwei Items und der Einfuhrung von drei korrelierten Fehlertermen die postulierte vierfaktorielle Struktur des AF-BP mit den Primarfaktoren korperliche Aggression, verbale Aggression, Arger und Feindseligkeit, die einen Faktor hoherer Ordnung konstituieren, psychometrischen Standards genugt. Die internen Konsistenzen und zeitliche Stabilitat der Skalen ist mit Ausnahme der verbalen Aggression als gut einzustufen. Erste Befunde zur konvergenten und diskrimanten Validitat stutzen die Konstruktvaliditat des BP-AF, allerdings zeigt die Skala verbale Aggression nicht das erwartete Zusammenhangsmuster.

Assessing the Big-Five Personality Domains via Short Forms

This research evaluated a German version of a recently introduced brief measure of the Big-Five domains (Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI)). Since we could not confirm the virtues of the TIPI in a representative, general population-based sample from Germany, we develop a revised short form, measuring the Big-Five personality domains with 16 adjectives. These new scales showed better reliability than the TIPI, fit the Big-Five factor structure, and were orthogonal. As preliminary evidence of construct validity, support was found for convergence correlations with the NEO-FFI and other criterion measures. Although somewhat inferior to standard Big-Five instruments, this brief adjective measure can stand as reasonable proxy for longer Big-Five measures when research conditions do not allow the use of longer instruments.

A Validation and Psychometric Examination of the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS) in German Adolescents1

Summary: The present study examines the reliability (internal consistency) and the the factorial validity, as well as the construct validity and the criterion-oriented validity (criterion: Delinquent behavior) of the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS; Arnett, 1994). The study analyzed a sample of German adolescents aged 14 to 16 years (N = 1236) who, in addition to the AISS, also completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the subscale Delinquent Behavior of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). The results, indeed, confirm the hypothesized two-factor structure of the AISS (novelty vs. intensity of stimulation), however, as indicated by modification indices and standardized expected parameter chances, some items had to be excluded from the model to provide an adequate fit for the data. Nevertheless, the internal consistencies of the shortened two-factor scale are considerably low, ranging from .46 to .58. As an index of construct validity, males scored higher than females on both the Intensity ...

Conflict Resolution as a Dyadic Mediator: Considering the Partner Perspective on Conflict Resolution

So far, relationship research has only considered an intrapersonal perspective on links between adult attachment, conflict resolution and relationship satisfaction. This study investigated the mediating effects of partner–reported conflict resolution styles among the attachment dimensions of avoidance and anxiety, and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 207 heterosexual couples. Dyadic and structural aspects of mediation were tested using the Actor–Partner Mediator Model with latent variables. Few significant partner–related meditational pathways were found indicating compensating effects of positive problem solving and compliance. More frequent positive problem solving could improve relationship satisfaction, even when the partner showed higher scores on anxious attachment. In addition, the use of compliance could suppress the negative effects of attachment avoidance on partners relationship satisfaction. Copyright

Zur psychometrischen Optimierung einer Reaktanzskala mittels klassischer und IRT-basierter Analysemethoden

Zusammenfassung. In drei sukzessiven Studien wird eine psychometrisch ambivalente Reaktanzskala durch den kombinierten Einsatz klassischer und IRT-basierter Methoden optimiert. Wahrend mittels herkommlicher Faktoranalyse keine Klarheit uber die Dimensionalitat der Skala gewonnen wurde, konnte mit Hilfe von Mischverteilungs-Rasch-Analysen die unterschiedliche Benutzung der Antwortkategorien (Urteilstendenzen) als Quelle der unzureichenden psychometrischen Eigenschaften der Skala identifiziert werden. Daraufhin wurde die Anzahl der Antwortkategorien verringert, was in Verbindung mit einer Itemselektion zu einem eindimensionalen Messinstrument fuhrte.

Is worry different from rumination? Yes, it is more predictive of psychopathology!

Objective: Although worry and rumination are everyday phenomena as well as common symptoms across numerous psychopathological disorders, the theoretical and clinical delineations of both concepts need more clarification. This study explored the degree of overlap between worry and rumination on the levels of standardized questionnaires and a priori lay concepts. Method: The subjective conceptualization of worry and of rumination of 221 undergraduate and graduate students was assessed with the semantic differential technique, together with the frequency and intensity with which they experienced worry and rumination (based on their lay concepts). Standardized self-report measures for worry, rumination, depression, and anxiety were also administered. Results: Worry was viewed as more negative than rumination and was more predictive of anxiety as well as of depression than rumination, especially when the assessment was based on the subjective lay concepts. The different measures of worry and rumination were only moderately correlated with each other. Conclusion: It is concluded that the lay concepts worry and rumination and the hypothetical constructs worry and rumination should not be confused in personality and clinical research.