Testing bipolarity.

Many psychological dimensions seem bipolar (e.g., happy-sad, optimism-pessimism, and introversion-extraversion).

Distorted correlations among censored data: causes, effects, and correction.

Data censoring occurs when researchers do not know precise values of data points (e.g., age is 55+ or concentration ≤ .

Initial examination of the mental health disorders: screening instrument for athletes.

Introduction: There is a need to psychometrically develop assessment instruments capable of screening mental health disorders in athlete populations. The current study was conducted to determine reliability, validity and clinical utility of the Mental Health Disorders Screening Instrument for Athletes (MHDSIA).

Methods And Results: 259 collegiate athletes completed the MHDSIA.

Two and five-factor models of negative symptoms in schizophrenia are differentially associated with trait affect, defeatist performance beliefs, and psychosocial functioning.

Recent factor analytic evidence supports both two-factor (motivation and pleasure, MAP; diminished expression, EXP) and five-factor (anhedonia, asociality, avolition, blunted affect, alogia) conceptualizations of negative symptoms. However, it is unclear whether these two conceptualizations of the latent structure of negative symptoms have differential associations with external correlates. The current study evaluated external correlates of the two- and five-factor structures by examining associations with variables known to have critical relations with negative symptoms: trait affect, defeatist performance beliefs, neurocognition, and community-based psychosocial functioning.

Latent structure of cognitive tests is invariant in men and women with schizophrenia.

Studies comparing the cognitive functioning of men and women with schizophrenia have produced conflicting results which could arise from sex-based differences in the latent structure of cognitive abilities. The current study used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to examine invariance in latent structure of cognitive abilities to between men and women with schizophrenia. Confirmatory factor analysis of an initial neurocognitive assessment (men n = 612, women n = 201) and cross-validation using second assessment (men n = 549, women n = 198) demonstrated that a bifactor seven-factor model fit the data best for both men and women.

Confirmatory factor analysis of imPACT cognitive tests in high school athletes.

ImPACT is the most commonly utilized computerized neurocognitive assessment for the clinical management of sport concussion. The cognitive composite scores that ImPACT currently reports include Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Reaction Time, and Impulse Control. However, exploratory factor analytic studies report that two or more factors may better represent ImPACT's latent structure, suggesting that the current cognitive composites may not adequately represent the cognitive constructs ImPACT assesses.

Bifactor model of cognition in schizophrenia: Evidence for general and specific abilities.

Background: Despite extensive study of cognition in schizophrenia, it remains unclear as to whether cognitive deficits and their latent structure are best characterized as reflecting a generalized deficit, specific deficits, or some combination of general and specific constructs.

Method: To clarify latent structure of cognitive abilities, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the latent structure of cognitive data collected for the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) for Schizophrenia study. Baseline assessment data (n = 813) were randomly divided into calibration (n = 413) and cross-validation samples (n = 400).

Influence of Special Education, ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disorders on ImPACT Validity Scores in High School Athletes.

Objective: The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is commonly used to assist with post-concussion return-to-play decisions for athletes. Additional investigation is needed to determine whether embedded indicators used to determine the validity of scores are influenced by the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs).

Method: This study examined standard and novel ImPACT validity indicators in a large sample of high school athletes (n = 33,772) with or without self-reported ND.

Expanding the cross-cultural psychological assessment tool box with IQ test short forms.

Objective: Short forms of standard intelligence tests are useful in clinical and research settings where administration of a full intelligence test is impractical or unnecessary. In cross cultural contexts where few tests are available, including brief intelligence tests, short forms may be particularly useful to meet clinical and research needs. However, there is little cross-cultural research on the validity of short forms.

Comparing the accuracy and speed of four data-checking methods.

Double entry locates and corrects more data-entry errors than does visual checking or reading the data out loud with a partner. However, many researchers do not use double entry, because it is substantially slower. Therefore, in this study we examined the speed and accuracy of solo read aloud, which has never before been examined and might be faster than double entry.

Family contributions to sport performance and their utility in predicting appropriate referrals to mental health optimization programmes.

Limited research has examined the contributions of sport-specific family relationship problems to athlete mental health. In the current study we examined the extent to which collegiate athletes' family problems (as measured by the Student Athlete Relationship Instrument factors, SARI) predict athletes' general mental health distress and specific mental health symptoms that are relatively common in athletes (i.e.

The Latent Structure of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia.

Importance: Negative symptoms are associated with a range of poor clinical outcomes, and currently available treatments generally do not produce a clinically meaningful response. Limited treatment progress may be owing in part to poor clarity regarding latent structure. Prior studies have inferred latent structure using exploratory factor analysis, which has led to the conclusion that there are 2 dimensions reflecting motivation and pleasure (MAP) and diminished expressivity (EXP) factors.

Factor Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition Spanish in a Clinical Sample.

Objective: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition Spanish (WISC-IV Spanish) is a translation and adaptation of the WISC-IV that is often used in neuropsychological evaluation of children and adolescents with acquired or developmental brain disorders. However, there is limited information on the factor structure of the WISC-IV Spanish when used with clinical populations. To address the potential effects of language and culture on the validity of the WISC-IV Spanish factor structure, this study examined the construct validity of the WISV-IV Spanish scores using confirmatory factor analysis in a clinical sample of Hispanic children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) in ethnically diverse college women: an exploratory factor analysis.

Background: Extant research suggests that disordered eating is common in college women and is associated with decreased quality of life. The Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) examines impairment to disordered eating-related quality of life, but has not been validated in college women. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the EDQLS in a diverse sample of 971 college women.

Examination of the Extent to which Employment Factors are Associated with Reduced Child Maltreatment Potential and Drug Use.

Job assistance programs are commonly recommended for parents of children who have been victimized by child maltreatment, particularly when illicit drugs are indicated. However, the relationship between employment factors, substance abuse and risk of child maltreatment has received limited empirical attention. Therefore, the current study examines employment factors in a sample of 72 mothers who were referred by Child Protective Services (CPS) for treatment of substance abuse and child neglect.

Computer Scoring of Emotional Awareness in a Nonclinical Population of Young Adults.

The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS; Lane, Quinlan, Schwartz, Walker, & Zeitlin, 1990 ) is an open-ended measure of the ability to describe emotional reactions. Scoring the LEAS by hand is complex and time consuming (Barchard, Bajgar, Leaf, & Lane, 2010 ). Therefore, Program for Open-Ended Scoring (POES; Leaf & Barchard, 2010 ) was designed to score the LEAS quickly and easily.

Equivalence of mother and father ratings of ADHD in children.

Obtaining data from multiple informants provides a more comprehensive diagnostic picture in the assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Differences in symptom ratings have been observed between parent- and teacher-report scales, though less information is available regarding differences between mothers and fathers. To address this gap, this study examines the rater agreement between mothers and fathers on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) ADHD Symptom Rating Scale (DSM-ADHD-SRS).

Internal Consistency and Power When Comparing Total Scores from Two Groups.

Researchers now know that when theoretical reliability increases, power can increase, decrease, or stay the same. However, no analytic research has examined the relationship of power to the most commonly used type of reliability-internal consistency-and the most commonly used measures of internal consistency, coefficient alpha and ICC(A,k). We examine the relationship between the power of independent samples t tests and internal consistency.

Is sadness blue? The problem of using figurative language for emotions on psychological tests.

Psychological tests sometimes include figurative language like I feel blue. However, figurative language may not mean the same thing cross-culturally. Previous research found cross-cultural evidence for 14 conceptual metaphors and metonymies for emotions (e.

Factor structure of symptom dimensions in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There is disagreement on whether attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are best characterized along two dimensions consisting of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity or three dimensions where hyperactivity and impulsivity are separate. To address this, the current study investigated the underlying symptom dimensions of ADHD by examining two- and three-factor models of ADHD symptom ratings in 400 children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD symptom ratings for each of the 18 DSM-IV Criteria A symptoms were obtained from mothers using a standardized symptom rating scale.

Psychometric properties of the Body Checking Questionnaire in college women.

While the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ; Reas et al., 2002) is the most commonly-used measure of body checking behaviors, findings on the factor structure in nonclinical samples are mixed. This study investigated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the BCQ among nonclinical college women.

Differences in developmental changes in academic and social premorbid adjustment between males and females with schizophrenia.

The assessment of premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia has received considerable attention because of models suggesting that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormalities in functioning prior to onset of the disorder. Some studies suggest that premorbid adjustment is best viewed as a multidimensional construct where different areas of functioning might be differentially impacted by the illness and sex. The current study examined these matters using of Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS) in a sample of 421 individuals with schizophrenia.

Measuring the ability to perceive the emotional connotations of written language.

Emotionally laden writing is essential to our personal and professional lives. The purpose of this article was to design and evaluate a new test of the ability to decode the emotional connotations of written material. A series of 3 studies (totaling 457 participants) were used to demonstrate that the Metaphors Test measures a single construct, has strong internal consistency, has strong convergent validity with tests related to emotional and social intelligence, and has strong discriminant validity with vocabulary and personality.

Factor Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: Fourth Edition in Children with ADHD.

Objective: Recent evidence suggests that the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is better explained by a five-factor model rather than the four-factor model in the standardization sample. The current study examined the WISC-IV's factor structure in a sample of children with ADHD.

Method: Participants included 314 children and adolescents who were diagnosed with ADHD.