A Network Analysis Approach to Understanding Centrality and Overlap of 21 Dark Triad Items in Adults of 10 Countries.

Background: Previous research has suggested that manipulation and callousness are central to Dark Triad traits, but it has not identified which specific manifestations are expressed across various countries. Objective: This study aimed to identify the core and overlapping manifestations of Dark Triad traits across 10 countries. Methods: We used the Short Dark Triad (SD3) scale and assessed a sample of 8093 participants (59.7% women, M(age) = 32.68 years). For graphical representation, the spinglass algorithm was applied to understand the cluster distribution among Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and subclinical narcissism traits. Centrality indices were used to identify the most influential items, and the clique-percolation algorithm was employed to detect shared attributes among multiple Dark Triad items. Results: Straightforward SD3-21 items demonstrated better interpretability as aversive traits within the broader system. Items with higher centrality values were those related to short-term verbal manipulation from the psychopathy domain, clever manipulation, strategic revenge-seeking from Machiavellianism, and narcissistic motivations for connecting with significant individuals. The most predicted items were linked to planned revenge, using information against others from Machiavellianism, short-term psychopathic verbal manipulation, and narcissistic belief of specialness based on external validation. Items like short-term verbal manipulation had overlaps with both psychopathy and narcissism clusters, while clever manipulation overlapped with Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Conclusion: This cross-cultural study highlights the central role of verbal manipulation within the Dark Triad traits, along with identifying overlapping items among traits measured using straightforward SD3 scale items. In line with our findings, future research that incorporates a wide range of cultural contexts is encouraged to establish the consistency of these findings with the SD3 Scale or alternative measures.

Exploring Substance Abuse and the Dark Tetrad in Health Sciences and Non-Health Sciences Students.

Substance abuse can be used as a coping strategy to manage stress related to academic activities and is a risk-taking behavior that is also associated with people with higher levels of the Dark Tetrad personality traits. Our study aimed to investigate the association between substance abuse and the Dark Tetrad in students in health and non-health sciences fields. Our sample was composed of 174 college students between 18 and 58 years old (M = 25.60; SD = 9.14). Students completed self-report psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and substance use scales. Results suggest that men consumed more substances and scored higher on the Dark Tetrad than women. Also, when comparing fields, men from health sciences tended to score higher on dark personality traits. These results emphasize the potential risk factors associated with dark personality traits and the consumption of licit and illicit substances by college students, highlighting the need for further studies with this population and the impact of these behaviors and characteristics on future professional practice.

Toward Developing Clinical cut-off for the Grandiosity Scale of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 / Hacia el Desarrollo del Punto de Corte Clínico Para la Escala de Grandiosidad del Inventario Clínico Dimensional de Personalidad 2

ABSTRACT Objective: The present study aims to establish a clinical cut-off for the Grandiosity dimension, using item-level evaluation procedures. Methods: Participants were 5,387 adults, including outpatients diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), outpatients diagnosed with other personality disorders, and adults from the community. We administered the self-reported Grandiosity scale from the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2). The equating procedure was applied to generate theta scores for participants who did not answer all items. Results: The Wright map revealed that outpatients scored high on the latent continuum of the Grandiosity scale. Group comparison showed large effect sizes for the mean difference between patients and non-patients. The ROC curve supports a cut off at a -0.45 score in theta standardisation, which yields a high sensitivity (91%) and moderate specificity (58%). Moreover, the PPP (71%) and NPP (79%) values suggest that the scale is able to identify NPD patients in 71% of cases, and people without NPD in 79% of cases. Conclusions: The findings suggest the IDCP-2 Grandiosity scale is useful as an NPD screening tool. Possible clinical applications for the scale are described and the limitations of the study are discussed.

RESUMEN Objetivo: El presente estudio tiene como objetivo establecer un corte clínico para la dimensión Grandiosidad, utilizando procedimientos de evaluación a nivel de ítem. Métodos: Los participantes fueron 5.387 adultos, entre pacientes ambulatorios diagnosticados con trastorno de personalidad narcisista (NPD), pacientes ambulatorios diagnosticados con otros trastornos de la personalidad, y adultos de la comunidad. Se administró la escala de Grandiosidad autoinformada del Inventario Dimensional Clínico de Personalidad 2 (IDCP-2). El procedimiento de ecualización se aplicó para generar puntuaciones theta para los participantes que no respondieron a todos los ítems. Resultados: El mapa de Wright reveló que los pacientes ambulatorios estaban ubicados en los niveles altos en el continuo latente de la escala de Grandiosidad. La comparación grupal mostró tamaños de efecto grandes para la diferencia de medias entre pacientes y no pacientes. La curva ROC confirma un corte en -.45 puntos en la estandarización theta que produce una alta sensibilidad (91%) y una especificidad moderada (58%). Además, los valores de PPP (71%) y NPP (79%) indican que la escala puede identificar a los pacientes con NPD en el 71% de los casos y las personas sin NPD en el 79% de los casos. Conclusiones: Los resultados indican que la escala de Grandiosidad del IDCP-2 es útil como instrumento de evaluación para NPD. Se describen posibles aplicaciones clínicas para la escala y se discuten las limitaciones del estudio.

Construindo escalas de autorrelato: o que fazer? / Developing self-report scales: what to do? / Construcción de escalas de autoinforme: ¿qué hacer?

Escalas de autorrelato são comuns no cotidiano de pesquisadores, porém detalhes, que às vezes parecem de pouca importância, acabam sendo desconsiderados. Autorrelato são caracterizados pela pessoa de interesse ser a própria fonte de informação do pesquisador, assim a forma em que as possibilidades de resposta são apresentadas é de suma importância. Os formatos de resposta mais comuns são tipo Likert e as escolhas forçadas que vem ganhando popularidade nos últimos anos. Neste artigo são apresentados os elementos necessários que devem ser observados quando se constrói ou se escolhe escalas que possuam esses dois formatos de resposta. São discutidos também a quantidade de itens ou blocos necessários, as opções de resposta, polaridade dos itens, sistema de correção, bem como ao final são indicadas boas práticas na construção de itens para ambos os formatos. Dessa forma, pretende-se contribuir para a Psicologia, em especial a área de construção de instrumentos de autorrelato.(AU)

Self-report scales are common in the daily lives of researchers, however, details, which sometimes seem of little importance, can end up being disregarded. Self-reports are characterized by the person of interest being the researcher's own source of information, therefore the way in which the response possibilities are presented is of paramount importance. The most common response formats are Likert type and forced choice, which have been gaining popularity in recent years. This article presents the elements that must be observed when developing or choosing scales that have these two response formats. Also discussed are the number of items or blocks needed, the answer options, item polarity, the correction system, and good practices in the construction of items for both formats. The intention is to contribute to Psychology, especially the area of construction of self-report instruments.(AU)

Las escalas de autoinforme son habituales en el día a día de los investigadores, pero los detalles, que a veces parecen de poca importancia, acaban siendo desestimados. Los autoinformes se caracterizan porque la persona de interés es la propia fuente de información del investigador, por lo que la forma en que se presentan las posibilidades de respuesta es de suma importancia. Los formatos de respuesta más comunes son tipo Likert y las elecciones forzadas, que han ido ganando popularidad en los últimos años. Este artículo presenta los elementos necesarios que se deben observar al momento de construir o elegir escalas que tengan estos dos formatos de respuesta. También se discute la cantidad de ítems o bloques necesarios, las opciones de respuesta, la polaridad de los ítems, el sistema de corrección, así como las buenas prácticas en la construcción de ítems para ambos formatos. De esta forma, se pretende contribuir a la Psicología, especialmente al área de construcción de instrumentos de autoinforme.(AU)

"Como está o clima?": avaliação das relações no ensino superior / "How is the weather?": assessment of relationships in the University education

A percepção do estudante em relação ao ambiente escolar influencia no nível de envolvimento e na satisfação com o aprendizado. Sendo importante compreender quais fatores são mais importantes para que o estudante se sinta confortável em seu ambiente de estudo. Esse artigo propõe um instrumento que avalia o clima educacional e investiga a relação com satisfação com o curso, satisfação com a instituição e autoavaliação de desempenho. Participaram 663 universitários (M = 22,48 anos; DP = 5,45). Uma análise fatorial exploratória com interceptos randômicos indicou uma estrutura de dois fatores, a saber, Relações com Professores (RP) e Ambiente institucional positivo (AIP). A associação com variáveis externas foi avaliada via path analyses, em que RP foi o melhor preditor de satisfação com o curso e AIP melhor preditor de autoavaliação do desempenho. Espera-se, com este estudo, contribuir para a compreensão dos aspectos facilitadores do processo de aprendizagem.

Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the spitefulness scale and associations with personality traits.

Spitefulness is a personality trait characterized by an inclination to cause harm to others in a manner that also results in self-harm. Studies considering this trait have mostly been performed in individualistic cultures. Our aim was to adapt and accumulate statistical evidence for the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Spitefulness Scale (SS-BP), examining the functioning of the instrument in a collectivist culture. Study 1 adapted the instrument, investigated dimensionality, and examined item functioning and gender invariance in a sample of 766 participants (53.4% male) aged between 18 and 63 years old (M = 23.71; SD = 7.92). Study 2 examined the association of spitefulness with aversive and healthy personality traits (i.e., the dark triad, honesty-humility, emotionality, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness [HEXACO], antagonism, and disinhibition) in a sample of 288 individuals (mostly women 84.7%) between 18 and 71 years old (M = 41.82; SD = 13.04). Similar to the original instrument, the SS-BP was unidimensional and there was measurement invariance with respect to gender. Men were more spiteful than women. Spitefulness yielded large correlations with psychopathy, deceitfulness, and irresponsibility. The SS-BP appears to present adequate psychometric properties for Brazilian samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Learning Motivation, Socioemotional Skills and School Achievement in Elementary School Students / Motivação para Aprender, Competências Socioemocionais e Desempenho Escolar no Ensino Fundamental / Motivación para Aprender, Habilidades Socioemocionales y Desempeño Escolar en Alumnos de Primaria

Abstract The motivation to learn is an element that drives student behavior and acts as a subjacent solving school demands, as well it influences the development and expression of socioemotional skills and school performance. This research constitutes a systematic review of the literature that investigated the relationship between motivation to learn, socioemotional skills and school performance in children enrolled in elementary school. A total of 9,631 abstracts from the ASSIA, EDUC, ERIC, PsycArticles, Science Direct, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases were examined, ending with 44 studies. The findings indicated a positive relationship between the three constructs, corroborating the literature that illustrates the benefits of various indicators of school and psychological well-being of children and adolescents to enhance learning and school performance. It is noteworthy that student-family and student-teacher interactions can favor student success or failure.

Resumo A motivação para aprender é um elemento impulsionador do comportamento do aluno, atuando de modo subjacente à resolução de demandas escolares, porquanto exerce influência no desenvolvimento e expressão das competências socioemocionais e desempenho escolar. Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar uma revisão sistemática da literatura sobre a relação entre a motivação para aprender, as competências socioemocionais e o desempenho escolar em crianças matriculadas no ensino fundamental. Foram examinados 9.631 resumos das bases ASSIA, EDUC, ERIC, PsycArticles, Science Direct, SCOPUS e Web of Science, finalizando com 44 estudos. Os achados indicaram uma relação positiva entre os três construtos, corroborando a literatura sobre os benefícios de vários indicadores de bem-estar escolar e psicológico de crianças e adolescentes para potencializar a aprendizagem e o desempenho escolar. Ressalta-se que as interações aluno-família e aluno-professor podem favorecer o sucesso ou insucesso do aluno.

Resumen La Motivación para Aprender es un elemento impulsor del comportamiento de los estudiantes, actuando como una forma subyacente de resolver las demandas escolares, ya que influye en el desarrollo y expresión de las habilidades socioemocionales y el rendimiento escolar. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo realizar una revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre la relación entre la motivación para aprender, las habilidades socioemocionales y el rendimiento escolar en niños matriculados en la escuela primaria. Se examinaron 9631 resúmenes, de las bases ASSIA, EDUC, ERIC, PsycArticles, Science Direct, SCOPUS y Web of Science, y finalizó con 44 estudios. Los hallazgos indicaron una relación positiva entre los tres constructos, corroborando la literatura sobre los beneficios de diversos indicadores de bienestar escolar y psicológico de niños y adolescentes para potenciar el aprendizaje y rendimiento escolar. Además, las interacciones alumno-familia y alumno-profesor pueden favorecer el éxito o el fracaso de los alumnos.

Adaptation of the Teacher Emotions Scales (TES) to the brazilian context / Adaptação da Teacher Emotions Scale (TES) ao contexto brasileiro / Adaptación de la Teacher Emotions Scale (TES) al contexto brasileño

Emotions are complex psychobiological reactions, articulating motivational patterns, an impulse for action, and physiological changes. The aim was to adapt and validate a self-report instrument for the assessment of teachers' emotions in a Brazilian context. We propose the adaptation of the Teacher Emotions Scales (TES) - developed in German and translated to English -, which assesses teachers' enjoyment, anger, and anxiety. Eight specialists translated and back-translated the scale in and from both English and German. Participants were 410 teachers and professors, who also answered the Affect Scale (AS) and the Work Burnout Inventory (WBI). Exploratory factorial analysis found three factors (enjoyment, ω = .88, anxiety, ω = .67, and anger, ω = .81), as in the original scale. We also found meaningful correlations between the dimensions of the scales and the AS and WBI subscales. Adapting this scale will contribute to current research on teacher emotions in Brazil (AU).

As emoções são reações psicobiológicas complexas, articulando padrões motivacionais, impulso de ação e mudanças fisiológicas. O objetivo foi validar um instrumento de autorrelato para avaliação das emoções de professores em um contexto brasileiro. Propõe-se a adaptação da Escala de Emoções do Professor (TES) - desenvolvido em alemão e traduzido para o inglês -, que avalia o prazer, a raiva e a ansiedade dos professores. Oito especialistas traduziram e retraduziram a escala de e para inglês e alemão. Os participantes foram 410 professores, que também responderam à Escala de Afeto (AS) e ao Work Burnout Inventory (WBI). A análise fatorial exploratória encontrou três fatores (prazer, α = 0,88, ansiedade, α = 0,67 e raiva, α = 0,81), como na escala original e correlações significativas entre as dimensões das escalas e as subescalas AS e WBI. A adaptação dessa escala contribuirá para as pesquisas atuais sobre as emoções dos professores no Brasil (AU).

Las emociones son reacciones psicobiológicas complejas, que articulan patrones motivacionales, impulsos de acción y cambios fisiológicos. El objetivo fue validar un instrumento de autoinforme para la evaluación de las emociones de los docentes para el contexto brasileño - la Escala de Emociones de los Docentes (TES), desarrollada en alemán y traducida al inglés, que evalúa el placer, la ira y la ansiedad de los profesores. Los participantes fueron 410 docentes, quienes también respondieron a la Escala de Afecto (AS) y el Inventario de Burnout en el Trabajo (WBI). El análisis factorial exploratorio encontró tres factores (placer, α = 0,88, ansiedad, α = 0,67 e ira, α = 0,81), como en la escala original. También se encontraron correlaciones significativas entre las dimensiones de las escalas y las subescalas AS y WBI. La adaptación de esta escala contribuirá a la investigación actual sobre las emociones de los profesores en Brasil (AU).

Correction systems of the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test: A systematic mapping of the literature / Sistemas de corrección de la prueba de Gestalt Visual-Motor de Bender: un mapeo sistemático de la literatura

Abstract Background the Bender test, developed by Lauretta Bender, is intended to evaluate children's perceptual maturity. Because the instrument lacks a standardized correction system, other researchers have designed different systems for this purpose at distinct periods. Objective: for the present research, we reviewed articles that included the Bender test to identify the most widely used correction systems. Method: eligibility criteria included the instrument application in children up to 10 years of age, focusing on evaluating cognitive aspects. Searches were carried out through the CAPES periodicals portal, which covers both Brazilian and international databases. Results: at the end of the search, 72 published articles were selected and analyzed in their entirety. The four most widely used correction systems were the Koppitz System, Gradual Scoring System, Qualitative Classification System, and Global Classification System. Brazil, Peru and the United States were the countries with the highest number of studies. The predominant objectives were the evaluation of the psychometric properties of correction systems and the use of the Bender test to predict possible learning difficulties, especially in reading and writing. Conclusion: suggested prospects for future Bender test studies are reviews of studies developed with an emotional focus, and the addition of other research databases.

Resumen Antecedentes la prueba de Bender, desarrollada por Lauretta Bender, está destinada a evaluar la madurez perceptiva de los niños. Dado que el instrumento no tiene un sistema de corrección estandarizado, en diferentes períodos, otros investigadores han diseñado diversos sistemas para este propósito. Objetivos: para la presente investigación, los artículos que incluyeron la prueba de Bender fueron revisados para identificar cuáles eran los sistemas de corrección más utilizados. Método: los criterios de elegibilidad incluyeron la aplicación del instrumento en niños de hasta 10 años, con un enfoque en la evaluación de aspectos cognitivos. La búsqueda fue realizada en el portal de revistas CAPES que cubre bases de datos nacionales e internacionales. Resultados: al final de la investigación, 72 artículos publicados fueron seleccionados y analizados en su totalidad. Los cuatro sistemas de corrección más utilizados fueron Koppitz, Sistema de Calificación Gradual, Sistema de Calificación Cualitativa y Sistema de Calificación Global. Brasil, Perú y Estados Unidos fueron los países con el mayor número de estudios, siendo los objetivos predominantes la evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas de los sistemas de corrección y el uso de la prueba de Bender para predecir posibles dificultades de aprendizaje, especialmente en la lectura y la escritura. Conclusión: las perspectivas sugeridas para futuros estudios de prueba de Bender son revisiones de estudios desarrollados con un enfoque emocional, además de la adición de otras bases de datos de investigación.

Clinical cut-off point for the Distrust dimension of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2).

The Clinical Dimensional Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2) is a 206-item self-report tool developed for the assessment of 12 dimensions (divided into 47 factors) of personality pathology. One of the scales comprising the instrument, the Distrust scale, is intended to provide psychometric information on traits closely related to the Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD). In the present research, we used the Item Response Theory and the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis to establish a clinical meaningful cutoff for the Distrust scale. Participants were 1,679 adults, among outpatients diagnosed with PPD, outpatients diagnosed with other PDs, and adults from the community. The Wright map revealed that outpatients were located at the very high levels on the latent continuum of the Distrust scale, with a very large effect size for the mean difference between patients and non-patients. The ROC curve supported a cutoff at -1.00 score in theta standardization which yielded 0.87 of sensitivity and 0.54 of specificity. Findings from the present investigation suggest the IDCP-2 Distrust scale is useful as a screening tool of the core features of the PPD. We address potential clinical applications for the instrument and discuss limitations from the present study.