Journal of personality assessment最新文献

Many individuals likely struggle with patience on a daily or even hourly basis, but the empirical study of patience as a personality trait is still emerging. Recent theoretical work articulates patience as a trait (i.e., as a tendency to react in a particular way in particular context) and differentiates it from the regulation of patience (i.e., as one pathway toward patient reactions). We present the Patient Reaction (P-React) scale and the Patience Regulation (P-Reg) scale to address conceptual and practical limitations of existing assessments related to those constructs. Across 11 samples with nearly 2,000 unique participants (including student and non-student participants), we found that both scales had strong psychometric properties and produced validity correlations that corresponded strongly with a priori hypotheses based on the recent theoretical accounts of the constructs. Two forms of each scale were developed and are essentially psychometrically identical, facilitating their complementary use and their use in repeated-assessment contexts. We believe that the new scales will help advance research regarding important and commonly experienced constructs that have been surprisingly understudied to date.

The Interpersonal Sensitivities Circumplex (ISC) measures individual differences in the sensitivity to interpersonal behaviors, organized along the dimensions of agency (e.g., sensitivity to others' assertive behavior) and communion (e.g., sensitivity to others' warm behavior). The present study aimed at validating a 40-item Italian adaptation of the ISC using methods that advance previous approaches to developing circumplex measures. Specifically, we (a) applied ant colony optimization, a well-performing technique to identify optimal items, (b) employed an item-level circumplex model to avoid limitations associated with item parceling, and (c) evaluated model fit using the dynamic fit index, which allows for a more rigorous assessment of theoretical structure. In two samples of the Italian general population (N = 401 and N = 301), the ISC-IT demonstrated sound psychometric properties, including acceptable model fit and internal consistency, and plausible associations with external variables. Using the ISC-IT, we replicated key findings from previous research, including that individuals are most sensitive to interpersonal behaviors that are opposite to their own, and that interpersonal sensitivities have both general and specific associations with maladaptive personality traits. This work contributes to the theoretical literature on interpersonal sensitivities and showcases contemporary test construction and validation techniques in developing circumplex measures.

This study investigates differences in measuring interpersonal problems using two established instruments: the Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Problems (CSIP) and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-C). We developed a German translation of the CSIP and compared it to the German IIP-C in a community sample representative of the German general population regarding age and gender (NT1 = 677, NT2 = 514). To compare the two instruments, we used the extension to the circular stochastic process model for the circumplex (SPMC-E). This method makes it possible to map the scales from one instrument onto the latent circumplex structure of the other and to examine how clinically relevant covariates (i.e., dysphoria and personality dysfunction) relate to the latent circumplex as assessed by either instrument. Both instruments demonstrated good fit to a latent quasi-circumplex, close alignment with theoretically expected scale locations, and high one-month test-retest reliability (r > .70). However, notable differences emerged: the CSIP covered more maladaptive variants of dominant behavior than the IIP-C, and dysphoria and personality dysfunction were associated with a submissive-cold style in the CSIP, but not the IIP-C. These findings reflect meaningful differences in item content and show how the two questionnaires could complement each other in measuring interpersonal problems.

In this preregistered study, we evaluated whether the Five-Factor Model Antagonistic Triad Measure (FFM ATM) can adequately capture both traditional and vulnerable expressions of socially aversive ("Dark Triad") personality traits. In a sample of 326 university students aged 18 to 24 (M = 18.39, SD = 0.85), we administered the FFM ATM, the Five-Factor Borderline Inventory-Super Short Form (FFBI-SSF), the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder, and the Short Dark Triad. The FFM ATM accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in the traditional Dark Triad constructs, as well as secondary psychopathy and vulnerable narcissism, but was less successful in relation to borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits. Incremental validity analyses revealed that supplementing the FFM ATM with items from the FFBI-SSF significantly enhanced the prediction of BPD traits. Exploratory factor analysis further indicated that integrating FFBI-SSF items produced a distinct BPD-like factor that extends beyond the core dimensions of antagonism, impulsivity, emotional stability, and agency. These findings suggest that the FFM ATM provides a parsimonious framework for assessing antagonistic and most vulnerable Dark Triad traits, but additional targeted measures can aid in the prediction of BPD traits.

For more than half a millennium, Niccolò Machiavelli's ideology has substantially influenced political thought. This research builds on the recent advancements in assessing Machiavellianism as a personality trait, aiming to recontextualize its relevance by investigating its association with key political attitudes. Initially, we created a six-item Two-Dimensional Machiavellianism Scale - Short Form (TDMS-SF) through item response theory and confirmatory factor analysis, utilizing a substantial international sample (n = 4769). Subsequently, we verified the scale's psychometric consistency and parameter stability within two distinct nationally representative samples from the U.K. (n = 819) and the U.S. (n = 810). We then investigated the nuanced interplay between Machiavellianism and three fundamental political attitudes in these two samples - ethnocentrism, nationalism, and authoritarianism. Specifically, structural equation modeling demonstrated consistent associations between Machiavellianism's two facets, view and tactics, and ethnocentrism (intergroup and intragroup), nationalism, and authoritarianism. Authoritarianism related positively to views, but negatively to tactics. This study not only refines the measurement of Machiavellian traits but also refines their complex interrelations with pivotal political attitudes, demonstrating the strength of the two-dimensional model.

This study developed and validated a mini (4-item) version of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale-Brief Form 2.0 (LPFS-BF 2.0) to assess personality functioning as defined in the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders. Two samples were used: a U.S. clinical sample (N = 700) and a Dutch mixed clinical sample (N = 298). In the U.S. sample, participants completed the LPFS-BF 2.0, the Big Five Inventory-2-Extra-Short Form, and several mental health measures. Item combinations that spanned each of the four LPFS elements were evaluated using confirmatory factor analyses and graded response item response theory models to select a promising set in a U.S. sub-sample (n = 350), and this set was evaluated in a second U.S. sub-sample (n = 350). The Dutch sample was used both to validate the scale and to examine cross-cultural measurement invariance. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a one-factor representation of the four-item set in both samples. The Mini-LPFS demonstrated strong convergence with the original LPFS-BF 2.0, satisfactory internal consistency, promising validity, and cross-cultural generalizability. These findings support the Mini-LPFS as an efficient, low-burden measure of overall personality functioning in research settings and as a candidate tool for screening and monitoring, with clinical applications contingent on further evidence.

The COllaborative Scoring MethOd (COSMO) is a promising new coding system applicable on the Picture Frustration Study, rooted in the Interpersonal perspective and collaborative assessment framework. The COSMO system includes two levels of coding. First, it allows the coding of interpersonal styles based on four quadrants resulting from the combination of Agency and Communion variables. Second, COSMO assesses the severity of personality pathology. This pilot study shows preliminary data on the reliability and validity of COSMO applied to Picture Frustration Study responses. Results in a mixed-sample design have shown the robustness of both COSMO levels of coding. Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 3 represent the most adaptive and the maladaptive interpersonal styles based on the comparison with other measures of personality assessment about severity, personality traits and interpersonal patterns. Also, results indicated COSMO good discriminant capacity when compared with the other well-established measures for assessing personality functioning and interpersonal issues. Finally, an Impaired Functioning Index has been created to account both for styles and severity of personality pathology. Applicability and utility are discussed, including its use in the Collaborative Assessment framework.

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) refers to perceived positive psychological changes following highly distressing or traumatic events. Although PTG has garnered significant attention from both researchers and the broader public, its assessment has largely depended on retrospective measures such as the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). These measures presume that respondents engage in a complex psychological process (e.g., recalling pre- and post-trauma functioning) to accurately report veridical growth. However, the extent to which people follow this process has not been directly examined. In the present study, we assessed the PTGI's response process validity by conducting 21 cognitive interviews to determine whether participants engaged in the theoretically required steps using five items from the PTGI. None of the participants fully completed this process for every item. Instead, thematic analysis showed that they drew on themes related to preserving continuity in their life narratives, using reappraisal coping, and adhering to cultural scripts favoring positive transformation. In other words, participants reported positive change even when their narratives pointed to negative, neutral, or resilient experiences. These findings add to concerns about the PTGI's construct validity as a measure of genuine growth following adversity.

Defenses or unconscious strategies used to manage anxiety and preserve self-concept are useful for understanding personality functioning and the quality of interpersonal relationships. Despite defenses' clinical and interpersonal relevance, psychometrically sound self-report measures of defenses are limited. The Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales-Self-Report-30 (DMRS-SR-30), a newly developed self-report measure, provides scores for overall defensive functioning and mature, neurotic, and immature defenses. Given defenses' interpersonal nature, the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) can be used to examine the DMRS-SR-30's construct validity. The current study uses self-report data from 361 participants recruited from Amazon's MTurk to examine the interpersonal characteristics of overall defensive functioning and defensive categories. Results from structural summary method analyses align with theoretical expectations for each category, supporting the use of the measure. The mature defensive category was associated with submissive problems, submissive warm efficacies, and sensitivity to antagonism and had the lowest levels of interpersonal distress and misanthropy and the highest levels of interpersonal efficacy. The neurotic defensive category was associated with submissive problems, cold efficacies, and the second highest level of interpersonal distress. The immature category was associated with dominant problems, dominant cold efficacies, and sensitivity to dependence and had the highest levels of interpersonal distress and misanthropy.

The 120-item International Personality Item Pool-NEO questionnaire (IPIP-NEO-120) was recently developed to measure the same Big Five global domain and nested facet constructs included in the 240-item Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) but more efficiently and at no cost to users. We summarize evidence of reliability and validity for IPIP-NEO-120 scores reported in previous research and further evaluate the psychometric properties of those scores using multivariate generalizability theory (MGT) procedures based on data collected from 447,500 respondents. We used MGT techniques to derive indices of score accuracy for both norm- and criterion-referencing purposes, produce more appropriate indices of accuracy for domain composite scores, estimate correlations between facet scores within each domain corrected for measurement error, and determine value gained when reporting facet in addition to domain scores. Results revealed that indices of score accuracy for domains generally exceeded those for facets, that facet score constructs were more strongly intercorrelated than would otherwise be inferred, and that 28 out of the 30 facet subscales provided added value beyond associated domain scales. We identify facet subscales most in need of improvement and provide code in R to enable readers to apply all demonstrated techniques to their own data.