Evaluating the measurement invariance of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in Black Americans and White Americans.

The Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) assesses the five pathological personality trait domains that comprise the descriptive core of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD). The PID-5 five-domain factor structure is aligned with the AMPD and is reported as replicable across samples in the U.S., in other countries, and in different languages. In this study, the PID-5 factor structure is examined in two distinct racial groups within the U.S.-White Americans (WA) and Black Americans (BA). Student participants from four universities in the U.S. (N = 1,834)-composed of groups of WA (n = 1,274) and BA (n = 560)-were proportionally parsed into derivation and replication subsamples. The "traditional" PID-5 five-factor structure emerged for the WA group in the derivation subsample and was subsequently confirmed in the WA replication subsample. In the BA group derivation subsample, a single-factor solution emerged, which was also confirmed in the BA replication sample. This single-factor solution in the BA group reflects large shared covariation across all pathological personality domains, suggesting an undifferentiated, broadly based level of demoralization represented by the item pool of the PID-5. We argue that this structure can be construed as mirroring a racialized and prejudice-based living experience for many BAs in a predominantly non-Black society. Based on the results with the samples employed in the present study, we conclude that the PID-5 is not an equivalent measure of pathological personality traits across Black Americans and White Americans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and psychometric evaluation of an informant form of the 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale.

OBJECTIVE: The alexithymia personality construct encompasses difficulties identifying and describing feelings, restricted imaginal processes, and an externally oriented cognitive style. The construct was derived initially from observations of patients with classic psychosomatic diseases. The self-report 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) is the most frequently used measure to assess alexithymia. A concern associated with the TAS-20 is whether individuals can accurately self-report difficulties identifying and describing feelings if they are deficient in those abilities. To address this issue, we sought to develop and validate an informant form (version) of the TAS-20, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale - Informant Form (TAS-20-IF). METHOD: We employed a three-phase methodological strategy. In the first phase, items from the TAS-20 were re-written into a third person version by a team of experts. In the second phase, the "traditional" three-factor structure was tested in the TAS-20-IF using confirmatory factor analysis in a large sample of young adults (N = 857). The third phase was conducted with another sample (N = 430) composed of "informants" (n = 215), who completed the TAS-20-IF, and "targets" (n = 215), who completed the TAS-20 (informants were nominated by the targets). RESULTS: The psychometric properties (items and scales) of both versions were adequate and the three-factor structure of the TAS-20-IF was supported; the correlation between the two versions was statistically significant and the factor structures were similar. CONCLUSION: Although further research is needed to replicate these findings, especially in clinical samples, the results support the reliability and validity of the TAS-20-IF.

Examining the "traditional background hypothesis" for the MMPI-2-RF L-r scores in a Muslim faith-based sample.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 32(10) of Psychological Assessment (see record 2020-72093-001). In the article "Examining the 'Traditional Background Hypothesis' for the MMPI-2-RF L-r Scores in a Muslim Faith-Based Sample," by R. Michael Bagby, Karin A. Onno, Ardeshir Mortezaei, and Martin Sellbom (Psychological Assessment, 2020, Vol. 32, No. 10, pp. 991-995, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/pas0000941), the word "not" was missing in the abstract from the text "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were not included or measured independently." The correct sentence should have read as follows: "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were not included or measured independently." All versions of this article have been corrected.] The traditional background hypothesis (TBH) is a long-standing belief associated with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) L scale; a validity scale, which appears on every version of the family of MMPI instruments including the soon-to-be released MMPI-3. The L scale was originally designed to assess whether test respondents presented themselves in an unrealistically favorable light. Both researchers and clinicians noted, however, that those from traditional Christian faith-based groups produced elevated L-scale scores. A recent meta-analysis supported this observation, reporting an average L-scale elevation 0.50 SD greater than the MMPI-2 normative sample compared to samples of those with presumptively strong Christian-Judeo faith. Some limitations of this meta-analysis are that (a) the samples used in it included those undergoing an evaluative assessment, which could elevate L-scale scores independent of strength of faith belief, and (b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were included or measured independently. Our primary goal in this study was to examine the TBH addressing these limitations with a sample of those who self-identified as believers in the Muslim faith (N = 267), the examination of which expands the scope beyond those of the Christian-Judeo faith. Consistent with previous results, the mean L-r (MMPI/MMPI-2 L scale counterpart on the MMPI-2-Restructured Form) was 56.41 T. Higher L-r scale scores were associated with increasing strength in the Muslim faith, and although increasing L-r scores were primarily associated with impression management, increasing Muslim-based faith values had a nontrivial influence on L-r scores and especially in the moderate score range of this scale. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).