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PubMed1983

Construct validity of the marital communication inventory.

The Marital Communication Inventory (MCI) is an extremely popular self-report measure of marital communication that has been used in over 65 dissertations and empirical articles since 1970, including several recent clinical reports that used the MCI as a principal outcome measure. However, contrary to its treatment in the clinical literature as a unidimensional, valid measure of treatment outcome, the MCI appears to be a multidimensional instrument, whose primary dimension may not be a specific style or method of communication. Using a canonical correlation analysis of data from over 200 midwestern wives, we compared MCI subscales with subscales from an abbreviated version of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (RI). Results supported the hypothesis that the primary dimension of the MCI is more closely associated with positive regard than with the more specific communication dimensions of either empathy or congruence as measured by the RI. Future clinical research in the improvement of marital communication should use the MCI in a much more careful way in order to provide the most valid outcome data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Construct validity in the Trail Making Test: what makes Part B harder?

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is primarily a test of motor speed and visual attention. In Trail Making, Part A, the subject's task is to quickly draw lines on a page connecting 25 consecutive numbers. In Part B, the subject must draw the lines alternating between numbers and letters. To determine what makes Part B harder than Part A, variations of the standard Trail Making Test were assessed. Forty college students (20 male, 20 female) were given four forms of the Trail Making Test. The results show that Trail Making, Part B with just numbers took longer to complete than the standard Part A with numbers. Part B is 56 cm longer and has more visually interfering stimuli than Part A. These results indicate that Part B is more difficult than Part A not only because it is a more difficult cognitive task, but also because of its increased demands in motor speed and visual search.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Construct validity of various verbal and visual memory tests.

Factor analysis was conducted on attention, information processing, verbal and visual memory scores of 112 patients. Factor structure did not vary as a function of age. The Expanded Paired Associates Test, Verbal Selective Reminding Test, Continuous Recognition Memory Test, and Continuous Visual Memory Test defined a general memory factor. The PASAT, WMS Mental Control, and WAIS-R Digit Span defined an attention/information processing factor. Immediate Visual Reproduction (VR) loaded primarily on visual/nonverbal intelligence, whereas delayed VR loaded primarily with the memory factor. The Trail Making Test, Part B was more closely associated with visual/nonverbal intelligence than with attention/information processing. Serial Digit Learning was more closely associated with attention/information processing than with general memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Daily activities of college students and the construct validity of the Jenkins Activity Survey.

To examine the everyday behavioral correlates of Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) scores, 70 college students recorded the nature of their activities for 1 week. Several behavioral differences between individuals classified as Type A and Type B on the basis of JAS scores were observed. These differences were consistent with most definitions of the Type A behavior pattern. Type As spent more time in class, studying, and participating in religious services and less time socializing with friends than Type Bs. Type A individuals were more likely to be fraternity or sorority members and to report higher career aspirations than Type Bs. The degree to which Type As' diligent school-related behavior could be attributed to greater academic demands was examined. It is proposed that the JAS may provide a better index of a personality predisposition to exhibit coronary-prone behavior given the appropriate circumstances than an index of coronary-prone behavior per se.

Achievement↗
PubMed1995

Assessment of female sexual arousal: response specificity and construct validity.

Specificity of vaginal pulse amplitude and vaginal blood volume in reaction to visual sexual stimuli was investigated by comparing responses to sexual, anxiety-inducing, sexually threatening, and neutral film excerpts. Subjective sexual arousal, body sensations, emotional experience, skin conductance, and heart rate were monitored along with the genital measures. Self-report data confirmed the generation of affective states as intended. Results demonstrated response specificity of vaginal vasocongestion to sexual stimuli. In terms of both convergent and divergent validity, vaginal pulse amplitude was the superior genital measure. Skin conductance discriminated among stimuli only to a small degree, whereas heart rate failed to discriminate among stimuli altogether.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The Swedish version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Construct validity and interrater reliability.

The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has been translated into Swedish and tested in 88 chronic schizophrenic patients. All 4 subscales exhibited a roughly normal distribution. The overall alpha for the positive, negative and general psychopathology subscales were 0.81, 0.58 and 0.63, respectively. The correlation between the positive and negative subscales was -0.17 (NS). The interrater reliability was 0.73-0.75 for the positive, 0.65-0.74 for the negative and 0.75-0.77 for the general psychopathology subscales. The intraclass coefficients were 0.75-0.77 for the positive, 0.27-0.46 for the negative, 0.56-0.72 for the general psychopathology subscales and 0.66-0.71 for the total scale. Thus, the validity and reliability of the PANSS (Swedish version) are quite satisfactory.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1989

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Dimension of schizophrenia--reliability and construct validity.

This study has focussed on a 10-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) subscale for the quantification of schizophrenic states. Seven psychiatrists interviewed jointly patients who all fulfilled the DSM-III criteria of schizophrenia, and in a subsequent pencil-and-paper procedure a judgment analysis was performed. The reliability analysis showed that less experienced BPRS raters made less consistent judgments implying the cautionary statement that the proper use of a scale for schizophrenia requires specialized training with the scale. The validity analysis showed that the BPRS items had an additive relationship implying that the sum of these items is a sufficient statistic for the measurement of severity of schizophrenic states. Finally, the results seem to indicate, that the underlying dimension defined by the 10-items BPRS subscale includes hierarchically the negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The construct validity of the ischemic score of Hachinski for the detection of dementias.

Two hundred forty-one nursing home patients from the National Nursing Home Survey Pretest were assessed using the Ischemic Score of Hachinski. Medical chart diagnoses were used to classify those with and without dementia. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess the accuracy of the medical-chart diagnoses of dementia. The Ischemic Score failed to differentiate multi-infarct dementia from other types of dementias. Instead, the difference between the two dementia groups was in the direction opposite that predicted by Hachinski.

Aged↗