Randolph C. Arnau

Psychometric evaluation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II with primary care medical patients.

This study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) in a primary care medical setting. A principal-components analysis with Promax rotation indicated the presence of 2 correlated factors, Somatic-Affective and Cognitive, which explained 53.5% of the variance. A hierarchical, second-order analysis indicated that all items tap into a second-order construct of depression. Evidence for convergent validity was provided by predicted relationships with subscales from the Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-20; A. L. Stewart, R. D. Hayes, & J. E. Ware, 1988). A receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated criterion-related validity: BDI-II scores predicted a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD), as determined by the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). This study demonstrated that the BDI-II yields reliable, internally consistent, and valid scores in a primary care medical setting, suggesting that use of the BDI-II in this setting may improve detection and treatment of depression in these medical patients.

Pain and Emotion: Effects of Affective Picture Modulation

Objective and Methods Two experiments examined the impact of viewing unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral photographic slides on cold-pain perception in healthy men and women. In each experiment, participants viewed one of three slide shows (experiment 1 = fear, disgust, or neutral; experiment 2 = erotic, nurturant, or neutral) immediately before a cold-pressor task. Skin conductance and heart rate were recorded during the slide shows, whereas visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness thresholds and pain tolerance were recorded during the cold-pressor task. Results Viewing fear and disgust slides decreased pain intensity and unpleasantness thresholds, but only the fear slides decreased pain tolerance. In contrast, viewing erotic, but not nurturant, slides increased pain intensity and unpleasantness threshold ratings on the visual analog scale in men, whereas neither nurturant nor erotic slides altered pain tolerance. Conclusions These results are consistent with a motivational priming model that predicts that unpleasant affective states should enhance pain and that pleasant affective states should attenuate it.

Second Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the WAIS-III

According to Vernons structure-of-intellect paradigm, abilities can be conceptualized as a hierarchy, with a factor of general intelligence at the top of the hierarchy, and successively more specific abilities toward the bottom. This paradigm has proven useful for interpreting a number of Wechsler intelligence scales. However, most of the research with this paradigm has used exploratory factor analysis, and the validity of the paradigm for the newest Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-ILI) has yet to be evaluated. The present study examined the WAIS-II using second-order confirmatory factor analysis, which is a more appropriate analytic tool when specific hypotheses are tested. Using the standardization sample for the WAIS-III (N = 2,450), support was found for the hierarchical factor structure with a second-order factor of general intelligence and four firstorder factors of Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Working Memory, and Processing Speed.

An Efficient Method of Identifying Major Depression and Panic Disorder In Primary Care

The research literature is replete with evidence of and concerns about the prevalence and undertreatment of mental disorders in primary care. Although screening, on its own, may not directly affect clinical outcomes, it is still the most efficient and effective way to identify psychologically distressed patients for either research purposes or to provide patients with or refer patients to appropriate care. The current study sought to establish the utility of the MHI-5 for the detection of patients suffering from major depression or panic disorder, two of the most common psychiatric conditions seen in primary care settings. This study was conducted in a family medicine clinic and 246 adult outpatients participated. Patients completed the Mental Health Index-5 (MHI-5) as the screening measure and the PRIME-MD Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) as the diagnostic instrument. ROC analyses indicated that a cut-off score of 23 on the MHI-5 yielded a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 58% for predicting provisional diagnoses of major depression or panic disorder from the PHQ. Using a single item to screen for a PHQ diagnosis of major depression yielded a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 62% and a second question had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 63% for PHQ diagnosis of panic disorder. These results indicate that it is possible to use a small number of items to efficiently and effectively screen for mental disorders affecting a significant portion of primary care patients.

Trouble ahead, trouble behind: Narcissism and early maladaptive schemas

Narcissism is a multifaceted construct that is inconsistently defined and assessed between clinical psychology and social-personality psychology. The purpose of the present study was to examine the similarities and differences in the cognitive schemas underlying various forms of narcissism. This was accomplished by examining the associations of normal and pathological forms of narcissism with the early maladaptive schemas. The results showed important similarities in these associations (e.g., all of the narcissism scales were positively associated with the entitlement schema) as well as differences (e.g., vulnerable narcissism was the only form of narcissism that was positively associated with subjugation). Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for the ways in which individuals with these forms of narcissism perceive and navigate their social environments.

An examination and replication of the psychometric properties of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument--second edition (MAYSI-2) among adolescents in detention settings.

There is a high prevalence of psychological disorders among adolescents in detention facilities. The need for a simple, effective screening tool led to the development of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI) and its successor, the MAYSI-2. This study evaluated the MAYSI-2 psychometric properties based on the records of 704 youths evaluated at intake to detention facilities. In addition to factor structure, the study evaluated test-retest reliability and concurrent external validity. Results were generally encouraging in terms of the use of MAYSI-2 in detention facilities, and directions for future research are discussed.

Do Different Response Formats Change the Latent Structure of Responses? an Empirical Investigation Using Taxometric Analysis

Although Web-based surveys are increasing in popularity, very little research has been conducted on the psychometric implications of using different user interfaces for eliciting responses to survey items. The purpose of this study was to compare the latent structures of responses to two different user interface response formats in a Web-based survey. Two different coherent cut kinetics taxometric procedures—MAMBAC and L-mode factor analysis—were used to examine the latent structure of responses to a survey of library service quality using an unnumbered slider-bar user interface versus a radiobutton user interface. Strong evidence was found for a pure dimensional latent structure of responses from both user interfaces, which replicated across both taxometric procedures and across multiple survey items. It is concluded that the slider-bar and radiobutton user interfaces both yield similar latent structures of survey item responses. The implications of these findings for the construction of Web-based surveys are discussed.

The Latent Structure of Anxiety Sensitivity—Revisited

Anxiety sensitivity has been implicated as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of panic and other anxiety disorders. Although researchers have generally assumed that anxiety sensitivity is a dimensional, rather than categorical, variable, recent taxometric research has raised questions concerning the accuracy of this assumption. The present study examined the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity by applying four taxometric procedures (MAXEIG, MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) to data collected from two large nonclinical samples (n = 1,025 and n = 744) using two distinct measures of anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Profile and Anxiety Sensitivity Index—Revised). In contrast to previous taxometric analyses of anxiety sensitivity, results of the present research provided convergent evidence for a latent anxiety sensitivity dimension. Several potential explanations for the discrepancy between these findings and those of previous research are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings for the conceptualization and measurement of anxiety sensitivity.

Are Jungian Preferences Really Categorical?: An Empirical Investigation Using Taxometric Analysis

The question of whether the Jungian preferences are categorical or continuous has been a debated issue. We empirically addressed this question using taxometric analysis. Two bootstraps taxometric methods (MAMBAC and MAXCOV-HITMAX) were used with three Jungian personality measures: the Singer–Loomis Type Deployment Inventory (SL-TDI), the Personal Preferences Self-Description Questionnaire (PPSDQ), and the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Results suggested there is not a true, non-arbitrary taxon underlying Jungian preferences measured by any of these measures. In other words, the preferences appear to manifest as continuous dimensions. Possible future research and implications for the measurement of the Jungian constructs are discussed.

A Spanish-Language Version of the Herth Hope Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation in a Peruvian Sample

Hope is a motivational/cognitive attribute that is theoretically necessary to initiate and sustain action toward goal attainment. The Herth Hope Scale (HHS) not only appears to tap into some of the same Agency and Pathways content of the commonly used Adult Hope Scale developed by Snyder et al. but also contains some more spiritual and social support-oriented content as well as more optimism content. The purpose of the current study was the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a Spanish-language version of the HHS, using a Latino sample. The study participants were 315 college students from a private university in Lima, Peru. Both first-order and a hierarchical, second-order factor analyses were conducted, yielding evidence of a theoretically salient four-factor structure similar to that found with the English version. Internal consistency of scores on the total and factor-analytically derived subscales were found to be satisfactory. It was concluded that the Spanish-language translation of the HHS appears to yield psychometrically sound scores and should have utility for studies of hope in Spanish-speaking samples.