Coping, meaning in life, and suicidal manifestations: examining gender differences.

Life meaning and coping strategies were investigated as statistical predictors of suicidal manifestations in a sample of 298 university undergraduates. Participants completed measures of hopelessness, sense of coherence, purpose in life, coping for stressful situations, suicide ideation, prior suicide attempts, and self-reported likelihood of future suicidal behavior. Moderated multiple regression techniques examined the incremental validity of life meaning by coping interactions for predicting each suicide variable separately by gender. The interaction of sense of coherence and emotion-oriented coping made a unique, significant contribution to the statistical prediction of all suicide variables for women. For men, the interaction between sense of coherence and emotion-oriented coping contributed significantly to the statistical prediction of suicide ideation. All interactions remained significant when hopelessness was statistically controlled. The hypothesis that life meaning acts as a buffer between coping style and suicidal manifestations was partially supported. Implications for suicide prevention and intervention are discussed.

Associations between the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory and the Personality Assessment Screener in a nonclinical sample.

Associations between two screening inventories of psychopathology were investigated using a sample of 156 first-year undergraduates. Analyses supported the reliability and validity of all Holden Psychological Screening Inventory scales, but only of some of the Personality Assessment Screener scales. Orthogonal dimensions of Depression, General Distress, and Antisocial Tendencies represented the common latent structure of the two inventories.

Do response time limitations counteract the effect of faking on personality inventory validity?

Different models of lying on personality scales make discrepant predictions on the association between faking and item response time. The current research investigated response time restriction as a method for reducing the influence of faking on personality scale validity. In 3 assessment simulations involving 540 university undergraduates responding to 2 common, psychometrically strong personality inventories, no evidence emerged to indicate that limiting respondents' answering time can attenuate the effects of faking on validity. Results were interpreted as failing to support a simple model of personality test item response dissimulation that predicts that lying takes time. Findings were consistent with models implying that lying involves primitive cognitive processing or that lying may be associated with complex processing that includes both primitive responding and cognitive overrides.

Criterion validity of the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory Social Symptomatology scale in a prison sample.

The 36-item, self-report Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI; R. R. Holden, 1996) and the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) were administered to 214 male, adult prison inmates in Canadian federal correctional facilities. The 12-item HPSI Social Symptomatology scale, a measure of antisocial behavior, demonstrated a large effect size in significantly differentiating between PCL-R-identified psychopaths and nonpsychopaths. HPSI scales not theoretically related to psychopathic behavior showed no such significant effects. Findings are interpreted as supporting the criterion validity of the Social Symptomatology scale and suggest that this brief, self-report screen has research and clinical merit.

Comparisons among the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR).

Issues of reliability, item latent structure, and faking on the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) were examined with a sample of 300 university undergraduates. Reliability analyses indicated that scales from all inventories had acceptable internal consistency. Confirmatory item principal component analyses supported the structures and scoring keys of the HPSI and the BIDR, but not the BSI. Although all inventories were susceptible to faking, validity indices of the HPSI and the BIDR could correctly classify over two-thirds of test respondents as either responding honestly or as faking.

The Holden Psychological Screening Inventory and sexual efficacy in urological patients with erectile dysfunction.

This paper examined the relationship between psychological adjustment and sexual ability in a sample of 33 men with erectile dysfunction and their spouses. Indices of sexual efficacy converged and were negatively associated with self-reported depression. Data are interpreted as confirming the association between erectile dysfunction and psychological disturbance and as providing evidence of validity for the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory Depression Scale and the Sexual Self-efficacy Scale.

Person reliability of psychiatric patients' responses to a psychopathology inventory.

Person-reliability indices can assist clinicians in determining the interpretability of a patient's responses to the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI). Using an initial sample of 65 psychiatric patients, we found that: (1) different person-reliability indices showed modest evidence of psychometric adequacy and tended not to be confounded with general psychopathology; (2) a content consistency index of person reliability was predictably related to other item change variables, whereas within-session profile stability was related to across-session measures of profile stability: and (3) evidence for the ability of person-reliability indices to moderate the validity of clinical criteria was weak. Results provide cautious support for a multidimensional conceptualization of the person reliability construct on the BPI but demand further evaluation of the clinical utility of person reliability indices.

Development of the Marital Self-disclosure Questionnaire (MSDQ).

This research describes the development of the Marital Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (MSDQ), a brief, self-report measure of the quantity and quality of marital self-disclosure. Consisting of 40 true-false items, the MSDQ provides a global index of marital self-disclosure as well as assesses four facets of self-disclosure between spouses: Relationship, Sex, Money, and Imbalance. Results indicate that the MSDQ scales are reliable, and preliminary data suggest that the MSDQ may have validity for distinguishing among groups hypothesized to differ in terms of marital distress and self-disclosure. Further evaluation of the MSDQ for its clinical and research utility appears to be warranted.

Are some motives more linked to suicide proneness than others?

This research examines the importance of assessing motivations that crisis patients attribute for considering a suicide attempt. For 251 consecutive patients attending a crisis unit, suicide attempters and ideators indicated agreement with each of 14 reasons for attempting suicide. Principal components analysis of these agreement ratings yielded two factor scales of motives: Extrapunitive/Manipulative Reasons and Internal Perturbations. Scores for internal perturbations correlated significantly with patients' wishes to die, clinicians' ratings of patients' suicidal desire and preparation for suicide, and clinicians' overall evaluation of patients' suicidal risk. Associations between internal perturbations and these suicide measures were nonredundant with hopelessness. It is concluded that evaluating a suicidal person's internal reasons for attempting suicide has unique assessment value.

Interaction of affective and cognitive impairments in the suicidal state: a brief elaboration.

This report examines the comorbidity among three key symptoms associated with suicidal intent, namely hopelessness, depression and unusual thinking. A total of 97 out-patients with suicidal thoughts were assessed using the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the anxious depression and unusual thinking factor scales of the Derogatis Symptom Checklist-90, and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. It was found that, in considering the interaction between key presenting symptoms, the combination of hopelessness and unusual thinking (which consisted of symptoms such as 'trouble concentrating' and 'mind going blank') was the strongest predictor of the seriousness of current suicidal inclinations.

Reducing MMPI-2 defensiveness: the effect of specialized instructions on retest validity in a job applicant sample.

The MMPI-2 is often used for screening job applicants when public safety or security are at risk. Inherent in such applications is concern for profile validity and test defensiveness. In this study, we examine the impact of revised instructions on profile validity for a group of job applicants who initially produced invalid profiles. Participants were 271 male applicants for airline pilot positions. Of these, 72 produced invalid defensive MMPI-2 profiles during preemployment screening. The MMPI-2 was readministered to these applicants with instructions informing them of validity scales and instructing them to respond in a more open, honest manner. Comparisons were made between valid and invalid profiles for initial administrations and between valid and invalid profiles at readministration. Some clinical scales were more elevated for valid, nondefensive profiles. Most content scales showed more elevation for valid profiles, and 12% of the applicants who were retested produced significant elevations (T>or=65) on the content scales. Profiles were similar to those produced by employed pilots of a previous study.

Dissociation of musical tonality and pitch memory from nonmusical cognitive abilities.

The main purposes of this study were to replicate, validate, and extend measures of sensitivity to musical pitch and to determine whether performance on tests of tonal structure and pitch memory was related to, or dissociated from, performance on tests of nonmusical cognitive skills--standardized tests of cognitive abstraction, vocabulary, and memory for digits and nonrepresentational figures. Factor analyses of data from 100 neurologically intact participants revealed a dissociation between music and nonmusic variables, both for the full data set and a set for which the possible contribution of levels of music training was statistically removed. A neurologically impaired participant, C.N., scored within the range of matched controls on nonmusic tests but much lower than controls on music tests. The study provides further evidence of a functional specificity for musical pitch abilities.

Are all suicidal ideas closely linked to hopelessness?

In this study, the link between hopelessness and suicidal intent was investigated for two categories of suicidal thoughts, and the associations of these two categories of thoughts with a range of symptoms were also examined. A total of 97 patients with suicidal thoughts were assessed at the crisis unit of a psychiatric hospital. In interviews, suicidal intent was assessed using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, while psychological distress was assessed using both the Beck Hopelessness Scale and the Derogatis Symptom Checklist. Ideation items describing the frequency, duration and acceptance of a wish to die were significantly correlated with feelings of hopelessness. However, items reflecting preoccupation with a method of self-harm showed only a weak correlation with hopelessness, although the relationship varied according to diagnosis. That is, this preoccupation was significantly associated with hopelessness for depressed patients, but this was not the case for the personality disorder, anxiety disorder and substance-abuse subgroups. Finally, analyses indicated that the primary predictor of suicidal intent was the patient's cognitive distortion, not hopelessness.

Psychometric properties of the Holden psychological screening inventory for a psychiatric offender sample.

With a sample of 84 adult patients newly admitted to the forensic unit of a metropolitan psychiatric hospital, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI). Results indicated that HPSI scales were reliable, and item factor analysis confirmed the HPSI's scoring key and latent structure. Correlations and joint factor analysis with scales from the MMPI-2 and Jackson's Basic Personality Inventory demonstrated the convergent validity of HPSI scales and their sampling adequately from the major components of psychopathology. Overall, findings build toward the clinical construct validity of the HPSI.

Faking and its detection on the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory.

This paper describes an index for the detection of fakers on the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory. Initially, the index is constructed and validated using an experimental paradigm. Subsequently, cut-off scores are developed based on a consideration of distributions of the index scores for the experimental groups (n = 101), for general psychiatric patients (n = 64), and for the general adult normative population (n = 564).

Clinical construct validity of the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI).

With a sample of 64 adult psychiatric patients, we examined the construct validity of the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI) for a clinical population. Factor analysis supported the three-dimensional nature of the HPSI and the appropriateness of the instrument's scoring key. Reliability information confirmed the internal consistency of the inventory's scales. Clinical staff ratings were used as criteria, and analyses indicated that HPSI scales demonstrated convergent validity. Overall, findings extend previous nonclinical research on the HPSI and suggest that the instrument possesses construct validity for clinical applications.

Equivalence of computerized and standard administration of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.

Two hundred seventy-nine 8- to 17-year-old children and adolescents were randomly assigned to complete paper-and-pencil or computer-administered versions of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The equivalence of these two administration modes was assessed by evaluating the comparability of scale means, variances, reliabilities, and validities. Results indicate that, of 27 comparisons, only 1 produced a statistically significant difference. We concluded that the computerized administration of the Piers-Harris scale did not affect its psychometric properties and that paper-and-pencil and computerized modes of testing for this questionnaire may be regarded as equivalent.

Clinical reliabilities and validities of the microcomputerized Basic Personality Inventory.

With a population of 64 adult psychiatric patients, we examined the psychometric properties of a microcomputerized version of the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI). Reliability information suggested that the basic and factor scales were internally consistent and stable. Clinical staff ratings were used as criteria, and analyses indicated that BPI scales possessed convergent validity. Overall, our findings add to the growing literature on the clinical utility of the Basic Personality Inventory.

Assessing MMPI constructs through the measurement of response latencies.

Responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were assessed with respect to their relevance to schema theory. The relation between scores on self-reported personality dimensions and the speed of processing test items associated with each dimension was examined. With previously derived factor analytic content scales, negative correlations were obtained between scale scores and mean latencies for endorsing relevant items, and positive correlations were found between scale scores and mean latencies for rejecting relevant items. A similar analysis completed on the traditional clinical scales revealed no such pattern. Results were interpreted as supporting the conceptualization of item responding as a content-based, schema-relevant process.

Suicide, hopelessness, and social desirability: a test of an interactive model.

We examined the relationships among suicidal indices, hopelessness, and social desirability. Both hopelessness and a measure of social desirability that reflected a sense of general capability were significant indicators of suicidal manifestations. In particular, hierarchical multiple regression procedures demonstrated that hopelessness and social desirability interacted in the prediction of suicide variables. Results generalized across various clinical diagnostic subgroups of psychiatric patients and a sample of prisoners and across different clinically evaluated and self-reported indices of suicidal behavior. Findings are interpreted to mean that a sense of general capability buffers the link of hopelessness to suicidal behavior. Implications for understanding the cognitions associated with suicide and for improving prediction of persons at risk are discussed.