Biomedical subjects

Gregory T Smith

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory T Smith.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Similarities and differences between women and men on eating disorder risk factors and symptom measures.

Researchers studying eating disorders in men often use eating disorder risk and symptom measures that have been validated only on women. Using a sample of 215 college women and 214 college men, we report on the validity of doing so with a set of measures chosen to reflect a wide range of risk factors and symptoms. The Bulimia Test-revised (BULIT-R), the restraint scale (RS), the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ), the Eating Expectancy Inventory, and the eating attitudes test (EAT) all had the same factor structures for both genders, and tests of invariance showed that factor loadings, factor variances, and intercorrelations among factors were equivalent across gender. A modified Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV anorexic symptoms questionnaire did not perform adequately for either gender. Men produced slightly less reliable scores on virtually all measures, with the result that Pearson-based estimates of correlations among the measures were slightly lower for men. Men had lower scores on symptom and risk measures, but not on other eating measures.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Coping with distress by eating or drinking: role of trait urgency and expectancies.

The authors propose that trait urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed) is a risk factor for both alcohol abuse and bulimic symptoms, that disorder-specific expectancies influence whether one engages in one behavior or the other, and that expectancies moderate urgency's influence on those behaviors. Cross-sectional findings were consistent with the model. Problems from alcohol use were comorbid with binge eating and purging. Trait urgency was associated with both behaviors. Alcohol expectancies were associated with drinking levels and with problem drinking, but not with eating. Eating expectancies were associated with binge eating, but not with alcohol use or problems. Urgency's effect on binge eating was moderated by expectancies, but its effect on alcohol use and problem drinking was not.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Comparability of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 between women and men.

Researchers studying eating disorders in men often use eating-disorder risk and symptom measures that have been validated only on women. Using a sample of 215 college women and 214 college men, this article reports on the validity the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), one of the best-validated among women and the most widely used risk and symptom measure for women. The EDI-2 had the same, standard eight-factor structure for both genders, and tests of invariance showed that factor loadings, factor variances, and factor intercorrelations were equivalent across gender. The EDI-2 scales correlated with questionnaire measures of bulimic and anorexic symptomatology equivalently across gender. However the EDI-2 scales were generally less reliable for men, leading to slightly lower Pearson-based estimates of correlations among the measures for men.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills.

A self-report inventory for the assessment of mindfulness skills was developed, and its psychometric characteristics and relationships with other constructs were examined. Participants included three samples of undergraduate students and a sample of outpatients with borderline personality disorder Based on discussions of mindfulness in the current literature, four mindfulness skills were specified: observing, describing, acting with awareness, and accepting without judgment. Scales designed to measure each skill were developed and evaluated. Results showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability and a clear factor structure. Most expected relationships with other constructs were significant. Findings suggest that mindfulness skills are differentially related to aspects of personality and mental health, including neuroticism, psychological symptoms, emotional intelligence, alexithymia, experiential avoidance, dissociation, and absorption.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Clarifying the role of impulsivity in bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: With the goal of demonstrating that urgency impulsivity is associated with bulimic symptoms, not (lack of) planning impulsivity, the authors conducted two studies assessing these personality traits and bulimic symptoms in undergraduate women. METHOD: In study 1 291 women completed urgency and deliberation scales of the NEO PIR and the BULIT-R. In study 2 101 women completed alternative measures tapping these personality constructs and the BULIT-R. RESULTS: In both studies, what is commonly assessed with impulsivity measures, a lack of planning, was not significantly associated with bulimic symptoms. However, urgency, the tendency to act rashly when experiencing negative affect, was positively correlated with bulimic symptoms. DISCUSSION: The authors suggest that future researchers assess urgency, not lack of planning, when assessing impulsivity as a risk factor for bulimia nervosa.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Expectancy influences the operation of personality on behavior.

The authors investigated the moderating effect of expectancies on personality for 2 different addictive behavior processes: (a) drinking and (b) binge eating and purging characteristic of bulimia nervosa. Study 1 found that positive expectancies for social facilitation from drinking moderated the effect of extraversion on drinking behavior among undergraduate men and women. Study 2 found that the expectancy that eating will help manage negative affect moderated the effect of trait urgency on bulimic symptoms among undergraduate women. Thus, the relationships of the trait risk factors to these 2 addictive behaviors are stronger if one also holds certain expectancies for reinforcement from those behaviors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Incremental validity principles in test construction.

The authors articulate 5 basic principles for enhancing incremental validity, both among elements within a test and between tests, during test construction: (a) careful, precise articulation of each element or facet within the content domain; (b) reliable measurement of each facet through use of multiple, alternate-form items; (c) examination of incremental validity at the facet level rather than the broad construct level; (d) use of items that represent single facets rather than combinations of facets; and (e) empirical examination of whether there is a broad construct or a combination of separate constructs. Using these principles, the authors offer specific suggestions for modifications in 3 classic test construction approaches; (a) criterion keying, (b) inductive test construction, and (c) deductive test construction. Implementation of these suggestions is likely to provide theoretical clarification and improved prediction.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

Women and acquired preparedness: personality and learning implications for alcohol use.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to begin the process of examining the validity of the acquired preparedness model of alcohol use for women. The model holds that trait disinhibition influences the formation of alcohol expectancies, which then influence drinking levels. METHOD: College women (N = 290) completed measures of trait disinhibition, positive and negative expectancies for alcohol and drinking measures. RESULTS: Using structural equation modeling, support was found for the hypothesized processes. Cross-sectional analyses were consistent with two hypothesized mediational pathways: disinhibition was associated with increased positive alcohol expectancies and decreased negative alcohol expectancies; both higher positive and lower negative alcohol expectancies correlated with drinking; and disinhibition's association with drinking was significantly reduced when each type of expectancy was added to a prediction model. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional support for this causal model indicates the value of testing it further with longitudinal trials.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Validation of eating and dieting expectancy measures in two adolescent samples.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the validity of two measures of eating and dieting expectancies (The Eating Expectancy Inventory [EEI] and the Thinness and Restricting Expectancy Inventory, [TREI]) for use with adolescents. METHOD: Seventh (N = 392) and tenth graders (N = 300) completed the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R), the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-II), and two factors of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). RESULTS: Findings replicated for the two adolescent samples. The expectancy that thinness leads to overgeneralized life improvement correlated with measures of "successful" dieting, dieting plus disinhibition, and bulimic symptomatology. Expectancies for negative reinforcement from eating (e.g., eating helps manage negative affect and alleviate boredom) correlated with dieting plus disinhibition and bulimic symptoms, but not with successful dieting. Negative reinforcement from eating and reinforcement from thinness expectancies accounted for different bulimic symptom variance than that accounted for by the personality factors of perfectionism, interpersonal distrust, and ineffectiveness. DISCUSSION: Results were consistent with prior work on college and clinical samples, thus supporting use of the expectancy measures with adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Similarities and differences between Caucasian and African American college women on eating and dieting expectancies, bulimic symptoms, dietary restraint, and disinhibition.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify race differences in eating disorder risk factors and symptoms, by comparing Caucasian and African American samples on the factor structures, intercorrelations, and mean levels of endorsement on a set of risk and symptom measures. METHOD: A sample of 300 Caucasian and 200 African American undergraduates completed measures of eating and thinness/dieting expectancies, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and the BULIT. RESULTS: The factor structures of each measure were invariant across race. Intercorrelations among the measures generally did not differ across race. On the three expectancy measures predictive of symptomatology, two of three scales of the TFEQ, and the BULIT, African American women had lower mean scores than Caucasian women. Socioeconomic status did not account for the results: in this sample, it was unrelated to race and correlated with only 1 of 20 measures. DISCUSSION: The factor-based meaning of these measures appears to be consistent across race. The measures correlate similarly across race, suggesting that the risk process may be similar for both races, but African American women endorsed significantly fewer risk factors and fewer symptoms.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Reliability, stability, and factor structure of the Bulimia Test-Revised and Eating Disorder Inventory-2 scales in adolescence.

The Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R) have demonstrated strong reliability and validity in college students and adults. Although used in adolescent samples, little is known about the psychometric properties of these measures for adolescents. The reliability, factor structure, and mean levels of five EDI-2 scales and the BULIT-R were evaluated over 3 years. Data were collected yearly from two samples of adolescent females, one recruited from three public middle schools (n = 239, mean baseline age = 12.8) and one from two public high schools (n = 119, mean baseline age = 15.9). Results provide strong evidence for the reliability and stability of these measures. Mean levels of both measures appeared remarkably consistent over the 3 years. These results provide evidence of good psychometric performance for these scales in adolescence. The lack of change in these measures raises questions about the developmental trajectory of these variables through adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Advancing the expectancy concept via the interplay between theory and research.

Four papers from a 2001 Research Society on Alcoholism symposium on expectancy theory and research are summarized. The symposium contributors describe recent advances in expectancy theory and discuss their implications for assessment and for understanding the processes of development and change in the behavioral domain of alcohol use. First, findings are integrated across the diverse domains in which the expectancy concept has been applied. Second, the implications of expectancy theory for the measurement of expectancy structure and process are examined. Third, research and theory regarding alcohol expectancy development and change are presented, with an emphasis on the role of expectancies as mediators of known antecedents of drinking. Finally, an experimental procedure for investigating the causal role of expectancies is described, together with its implications for theory testing and prevention or intervention programming. Collectively, the symposium contributions demonstrate the utility of an integrated expectancy theory for the generation of innovative research operations and new insights regarding behavior development and change. Consistent with the notion of consilience, expectancy theory has demonstrated a convergence of findings across different levels of analysis, as well as across different operations, methods, and research designs.

Alcohol Drinking↗