Publications by authors named "Ashley Watts"

Modern psychopathology classification systems position attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with different groups of conditions, either with externalizing or neurodevelopmental. As such, the optimal placement of ADHD in modern classification systems remains unclear. We advanced the literature by mapping ADHD symptoms onto three transdiagnostic psychopathology spectra-externalizing, neurodevelopmental, and internalizing-and their symptoms.

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Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with increased risk of developing chronic pain, experiencing more severe pain, and suffering greater pain-related disability. However, SEP is a multidimensional construct; there is a dearth of research on which SEP features are most strongly associated with high-impact chronic pain, the relative importance of SEP predictive features compared to established chronic pain correlates, and whether the relative importance of SEP predictive features differs by race and sex. This study used 3 machine learning algorithms to address these questions among adults in the 2019 National Health Interview Survey.

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Many clustering problems are associated with a particular objective criterion that is sought to be optimized. There are often several methods that can be used to tackle the optimization problem, and one or more of them might guarantee a globally optimal solution. However, it is quite possible that, relative to one or more suboptimal solutions, a globally optimal solution might be less interpretable from the standpoint of psychological theory or be less in accordance with some known (i.

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The triarchic model posits that distinct trait constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition underlie psychopathy. The triarchic model traits are conceptualized as biobehavioral dimensions that can be assessed using different sets of indicators from alternative measurement modalities; as such, the triarchic model would hypothesize that these traits are not confined to any one item set. The present study tested whether the triarchic model dimensions would emerge from a hierarchical-structural analysis of the facet scales of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA), an inventory designed to comprehensively index psychopathy according to the five-factor personality model.

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Replication provides a confrontation of psychological theory, not only in experimental research, but also in model-based research. Goodness of fit (GOF) of the original model to the replication data is routinely provided as meaningful evidence of replication. We demonstrate, however, that GOF obscures important differences between the original and replication studies.

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Introduction: South Africa has one of the highest rates of internal migration on the continent, largely comprised of men seeking labour in urban centres. South African men who move within the country (internal migrants) are at higher risk than non-migrant men of acquiring HIV yet are less likely to test or use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). However, little is known about the mechanisms that link internal migration and challenges engaging in HIV services.

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The walktrap algorithm is one of the most popular community-detection methods in psychological research. Several simulation studies have shown that it is often effective at determining the correct number of communities and assigning items to their proper community. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that the walktrap algorithm relies on hierarchical clustering because it was originally developed for networks much larger than those encountered in psychological research.

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Objectives: Specifiers for a major depressive disorder (MDE) are supposed to reduce diagnostic heterogeneity. However, recent literature challenges the idea that the atypical and melancholic specifiers identify more homogenous or coherent subgroups. We introduce the usage of distance metrics to characterize symptom heterogeneity.

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The present paper highlights how alcohol use disorder (AUD) conceptualizations and resulting diagnostic criteria have evolved over time in correspondence with interconnected sociopolitical influences in the United States. We highlight four illustrative examples of how DSM-defined alcoholism, abuse/dependence, and AUD have been influenced by sociopolitical factors. In doing so, we emphasize the importance of recognizing and understanding such sociopolitical factors in the application of AUD diagnoses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Several frameworks have been created to understand the different ways people experience alcohol use disorder (AUD), with the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) being a key model focusing on three main areas: reward, negative emotionality, and cognitive control.
  • Recent research tested the ANA's effectiveness using data from participants with regular alcohol use and found that its structure is stable and valid over time, though some areas needed improvement due to poor discrimination and biases.
  • Future studies should aim to enhance how ANA measures are taken, track changes over time in relation to alcohol use severity, and explore different subgroups within AUD to compare ANA with other assessment frameworks.
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Article Synopsis
  • Emotion dysregulation is a complex issue that impacts mental health, and assessing it is important for understanding and treating psychiatric disorders.
  • Researchers created the Brief Emotion Dysregulation Scale (BEDS) to evaluate four aspects of emotion dysregulation, and tested its effectiveness using data from nearly 1,500 college students.
  • The study found a reliable two-factor model focusing on sensitivity and lability, leading to the development of a 12-item scale that could serve as a useful tool for identifying emotion dysregulation and its related challenges.
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Sipping, an early form of alcohol initiation, is associated with aspects of psychopathology and personality that reflect long-term risk for harmful alcohol use. In the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development cohort ( = 11,872), sipping by age 9-10 was concurrently associated with impulsivity, other aspects of externalizing, and prodromal schizophrenia symptoms. Still, these associations were cross-sectional in nature, leaving open the possibility that these features of psychopathology and personality might not reflect long-term risk for alcohol consumption and related harm across development.

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The development of factor analysis is uniquely situated within psychology, and the development of many psychological theories and measures are likewise tethered to the common use of factor analysis. In this article, we review modern methodological controversies and developments of factor analytic techniques through concrete demonstrations that span the exploratory-confirmatory continuum. Also, we provide recommendations for working through common challenges in personality disorders research.

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Background And Aims: Alcohol use disorder is comorbid with numerous other forms of psychopathology, including externalizing disorders (e.g. conduct disorder) and, to a lesser extent, internalizing conditions (e.

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In basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), the separable constructs of need satisfaction and need frustration are theorized as pivotally related to psychopathology and broader aspects of well-being. The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scales (BPNSFS; Chen et al., 2015) have rapidly emerged as the dominant self-report measure in the BPNT domain, with translated versions available in a wide range of languages and a plethora of versions adapted for specific populations and life contexts.

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Much research has demonstrated that psychopathology can be described in terms of broad dimensions, representing liability for multiple psychiatric disorders. Broad spectra of psychopathology (e.g.

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The Ising model has received significant attention in network psychometrics during the past decade. A popular estimation procedure is IsingFit, which uses nodewise l-regularized logistic regression along with the extended Bayesian information criterion to establish the edge weights for the network. In this paper, we report the results of a simulation study comparing IsingFit to two alternative approaches: (1) a nonregularized nodewise stepwise logistic regression method, and (2) a recently proposed global l-regularized logistic regression method that estimates all edge weights in a single stage, thus circumventing the need for nodewise estimation.

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The modularity index (Q) is an important criterion for many community detection heuristics used in network psychometrics and its subareas (e.g., exploratory graph analysis).

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Objective: The causes of substance use disorders (SUDs) are largely unknown and the effectiveness of their treatments is limited. One crucial impediment to research and treatment progress surrounds how SUDs are classified and diagnosed. Given the substantial heterogeneity among individuals diagnosed with a given SUD (e.

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We used multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) modeling to examine general factors of psychopathology in three samples of youth (s = 2119, 303, 592) for whom three informants reported on the youth's psychopathology (e.g., child, parent, teacher).

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Article Synopsis
  • Measurement invariance refers to ensuring that a measurement tool functions consistently across different contexts, particularly when those contexts are relevant to the attributes being measured.
  • Misapplying measurement invariance techniques can lead to measurement biases and reduced validity in assessments, particularly in fields like youth mental health, where discrepancies among different informants (like parents and teachers) often contain important, relevant information.
  • The paper argues against the premature application of measurement invariance techniques without addressing these discrepancies and highlights the need to consider conceptual, methodological, and measurement factors to improve research validity.
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As evidenced by our exchange with Bader and Moshagen (2022), the degree to which model fit indices can and should be used for the purpose of model selection remains a contentious topic. Here, we make three core points. First, we discuss the common misconception about fit statistics' abilities to identify the "best model," arguing that mechanical application of model fit indices contributes to faulty inferences in the field of quantitative psychopathology.

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Spectral clustering is a well-known method for clustering the vertices of an undirected network. Although its use in network psychometrics has been limited, spectral clustering has a close relationship to the commonly used walktrap algorithm. In this article, we report results from simulation experiments designed to evaluate the ability of spectral clustering and the walktrap algorithm to recover underlying cluster (or community) structure in networks.

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Most researchers have estimated the edge weights for relative importance networks using a well-established measure of general dominance for multiple regression. This approach has several desirable properties including edge weights that represent ² contributions, in-degree centralities that correspond to ² for each item when using other items as predictors, and strong replicability. We endorse the continued use of relative importance networks and believe they have a valuable role in network psychometrics.

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