Still Standing Inside: A Local Idiom Related to Trauma among Namibian Speakers of Khoekhoegowab.

Euro-centric psychiatric conceptualizations often ignore the interplay of local with universal factors in psychological suffering. Emic, locally focused perspectives can enrich etic knowledge to provide culturally sensitive care and to better elucidate the role of culture in mental illness. This study explored the idiom Tsûsa ǃNaeǃkhais xa hâǃnâ/mâǃnâ/ǂgâǃnâhe hâ (a terrible event has entered a person and remains standing inside), which was understood to relate to experiences of trauma and post-traumatic stress, among speakers of Khoekhoegowab, a southern-African click language. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants from six urban and rural communities in Namibia. Questions probed perceptions of the idiom in terms of etiology, course, and risk and resilience factors from a socio-ecological framework. Five key themes were identified using thematic analysis: origin in a shocking event; intrusive recurrence of memories, "it keeps on coming back"; the close interplay between mental and physical suffering; the importance of active engagement in healing through prayer and acceptance; and the role of the community in both alleviating and amplifying distress. Our findings highlight local norms and strategies for adaptive coping, and the benefits of exploring local idioms to elucidate the braiding together of universal and cultural elements in psychological distress.

What American psychology needs most is the majority world: Reply to Webster et al. (2021).

Webster and team's (2021) extension of our analysis to look at more journals over a longer time period suggests a slightly quicker trend away from Americanness in psychological journals than we found. However, they make a purely binary distinction between American and not American and do not address whether the change they document includes the most relevant increase in representation: that from the majority world. Overall we concur that the pace of change is slow and that our science would be benefited by increased attention to internationalization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Khoekhoegowab Personality Inventory: The Comparative Validity of a Locally Derived Measure of Traits.

Objective: This study explores a personality inventory derived from the results of an indigenous lexical study of personality. From the 272 most commonly used personality descriptors in Khoekhoegowab, the most-spoken of extant Khoesan click languages of southern Africa, an 11-factor model of personality-trait structure was identified. Here, the Khoekhoegowab Personality Inventory (KPI) was created based on those results. Its psychometric properties, the convergent and divergent validity of its scales, and its incremental validity over Big Five and Six traits for predicting physical and mental health, religious practice and attitudes, and income are reported. Methods: Two to five key terms were selected for each of 10 KPI scales: Temperance, Prosocial Diligence, Gossip, Honesty/Morality, Temper, Implacability, Humility, Vanity, Resiliency vs. Agitation, and Courage vs. Fear. These 38 total items were administered to a large sample of adult speakers of Khoekhoegowab in Namibia (N = 632), together with five imported inventories translated into Khoekhoegowab: the 30-item Questionnaire Big Six (QB6), General Self-Reported Health, the Cascades Mental Health Assessment, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Duke Religion Index. The properties and intercorrelations of KPI subscales are explored, and their predictive ability for the other variables is compared to that of the QB6. Results: Due to the small number of items on each scale, poor internal consistency was anticipated, but the KPI scales' properties were somewhat better than those of the QB6. R-square change by the inventories as a whole, after accounting for age and gender, indicted that the KPI scales explained more variance than the QB6 scales in almost all criterion variables. Replication of established associations for Big Six traits was mixed: associations were largely as expected for Resiliency, Conscientiousness, and Honesty, but less so for Agreeableness and Extraversion. Conclusions: The KPI had some advantages over the QB6 in predicting physical and mental health. In particular, the four items of Resiliency vs. Agitation predicted lower scores on all physical and mental problem scales. Given psychological-care needs in Namibia, this might be used as a non-intrusive screener. Measurement challenges common to both surveys are discussed, possible solutions, and the utility of higher-order structures are discussed.

The neglected 95% revisited: Is American psychology becoming less American?

The field of psychology prides itself on being a data-driven science. In 2008, however, Arnett brought to light a major weakness in the evidence on which models, measures, and theories in psychology rest. He demonstrated that the most prominent journals in six subdisciplines of psychology focused almost exclusively (over 70% of samples and authors) on a cultural context, the United States, shared by only 5% of the world's population. How can psychologists trust that these models and results generalize to all humans, if the evidence comes from a small and unrepresentative portion of the global population? Arnett's analysis, cited over 1,300 times since its publication, appears to have galvanized researchers to think more globally. Social scientists from the United States have increasingly sought ways to collaborate with colleagues abroad. Ten years later, an analysis of the same 6 journals for the period of 2014 to 2018 indicates that the authors and samples are now on average a little over 60% American based. The change is mainly due to an increase in authorship and samples from other English-speaking and Western European countries. Thus, it might be said that 11% of the world's population is now represented in these top psychology journals, but that 89% of the world's population continues to be neglected. Majority world authors and samples (4-5%) are still sorely lacking from the evidence base. Psychology still has a long way to go to become a science truly representative of human beings. Several specific recommendations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

ǂUsigu: A mixed-method lexical study of character description in Khoekhoegowab.

Personality psychology relies heavily on evidence from North America and Europe. Lexical studies, based on the rationale that the most important psychological distinctions between people will be encoded in the natural languages, can provide input from underrepresented contexts by defining locally relevant personality concepts and their structure. We report the results of a psycholexical study in Khoekhoegowab, the most widely spoken of southern Africa's (non-Bantu) click languages. It includes the largest sample of any lexical study conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, is the first anywhere to include qualitative interviews to systematically assess the interpretability of terms, and is one of few to rely on a more representative community sample of adults rather than students. Refinement of the survey included frequency-of-use ratings by native speakers from throughout Namibia and input on relevance to personality by those with a psychology degree. The survey was administered by interview to 622 participants by a team of 15 schoolteachers of Khoekhoegowab. The 11 dimensions of the optimal local model were labeled: Intemperance, Prosocial Diligence, Intrusive Gossip, Good Nature, Bad Temper, Predatory Aggression, Haughty Self-Respect, Vanity/Egotism, and Fear versus Courage. A Big One model of evaluation was strongly replicated. Moderate replication was found for the Big Two, Pan-Cultural Three, and a hypothesized pan-African model based on prior lexical results in 2 languages. Replication criteria were not achieved for the Big Five, Big Six, or South African Personality Inventory models. What results suggest about the local cultural context and about culturally specific aspects of the imported models are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality structure in east and west Africa: Lexical studies of personality in Maa and Supyire-Senufo.

The field of psychology relies heavily on evidence from North America and Northern Europe. Universally applicable models require input from around the globe. Indigenous lexical studies of personality, which define the most salient person-descriptive concepts and their structure in a population, provide this. Such results are reported from two nonindustrialized communities, representing 2 of the 3 main language families of Africa, in groups with differing cultural characteristics. Maasai participants, traditionally herders in rural Kenya and Tanzania, have a highly structured, traditional culture. Supyire-Senufo participants are traditional horticulturalists in Mali. The 203 most common person-descriptive terms in Maasai were administered to 166 participants, who described 320 persons (166 highly regarded, 154 less so). The optimal emic solution included 5 factors: virtue/moral-character, debilitation/vulnerability, boldness/surgency, hubris/pride, and timidity. In the Maasai context, descriptions of well-regarded individuals were exceptionally uniform, suggesting the role of personality language in norm socialization in tight, traditional cultures. In Supyire, 115 participants used 208 person-descriptive terms to describe 227 targets (half highly regarded). The optimal emic solution included 10 factors: social self-regulation, well-being, vitality/resilience, broadmindedness, diligence versus laziness, madness, stubbornness versus attractiveness, acceptance versus discontent, hurry/worry, and peacefulness. The best convergence between the languages was at the 3-factor level, where factors relate to moral character, low agreeableness coupled with high extraversion, and emotional stability. Beginning with the 4-factor level, content related to local cultural characteristics became apparent. In both languages, 2-factor solutions matched the Big Two, but 3-, 5-, and 6-factor solutions failed to overlap with etic Pan-Cultural Three, Big Five, or Big Six models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethics-relevant values in adulthood: Longitudinal findings from the life and time study.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates a set of variables related to the relative valuing of narrow self-interest versus the concerns of a larger community. These values likely capture stable dispositions. Additionally, because ethics-relevant values are associated with ongoing cultural and moral socialization, they may develop over time as in May's theory of "mature" values. METHOD: We administered eight value priority scales (Mature Values, Unmitigated Self-Interest, Materialism, Financial Aspirations, and Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism) to a national community sample (N = 864, 66% female, 71% White, mean age 36) on four occasions approximately one year apart (Time 4 N = 570). We examined the mean-level change as cross-sectional age differences and longitudinal change, and rank-order stability. Correlations with Big Five/Big Six personality traits are reported. RESULTS: As people grew older, they increased in Mature Values and Horizontal and Vertical Collectivism, and decreased in Unmitigated Self-Interest, Materialism, and Vertical Individualism. Rank-order stability of the values was nearly as high as personality traits over three years. Stability increased with age for some scales. DISCUSSION: The stability of values scores suggests that they capture dispositional aspects, but age differences and longitudinal trends are also consistent with the hypothesis of socialization toward more inclusive value priorities.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Evaluation Study: Impact on Nonquantitative Treatment Limits for Specialty Behavioral Health Care.

OBJECTIVE: To assess frequency, type, and extent of behavioral health (BH) nonquantitative treatment limits (NQTLs) before and after implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). DATA SOURCES: Secondary administrative data for Optum carve-out and carve-in plans. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-tabulations and "two-part" regression models were estimated to assess associations of parity period with NQTLs. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Optum provided four proprietary BH databases, including 2008-2013 data for 40 carve-out and 385 carve-in employers from Optum's claims processing databases and 2010 data from interviews conducted by Optum's parity compliance team with 49 carve-out employers. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Preparity, carve-out plans required preauthorization for in-network inpatient/intermediate care; otherwise coverage was denied. Postparity, 73 percent would review later by request and half charged no penalty for late authorization. Outpatient visit authorization requirements virtually disappeared. For carve-out out-of-network inpatient/intermediate care, and for carve-ins, plans changed penalties to match medical service policies, but this did not necessarily lead to fewer requirements or lower penalties. CONCLUSION: After 2011, MHPAEA was associated with the transformation of BH care management, including much less restrictive preauthorization requirements, especially for in-network care provided by carve-out plans.

Personality and mental health treatment: Traits as predictors of presentation, usage, and outcome.

Self-report scores on personality inventories predict important life outcomes, including health and longevity, marital outcomes, career success, and mental health problems, but the ways they predict mental health treatment have not been widely explored. Psychotherapy is sought for diverse problems, but about half of those who begin therapy drop out, and only about half who complete therapy experience lasting improvements. Several authors have argued that understanding how personality traits relate to treatment could lead to better targeted, more successful services. Here self-report scores on Big Five and Big Six personality dimensions are explored as predictors of therapy presentation, usage, and outcomes in a sample of community clinic clients (N = 306). Participants received evidence-based treatments in the context of individual-, couples-, or family-therapy sessions. One measure of initial functioning and three indicators of outcome were used. All personality trait scores except Openness associated with initial psychological functioning. Higher Conscientiousness scores predicted more sessions attended for family therapy but fewer for couples-therapy clients. Higher Honesty-Propriety and Extraversion scores predicted fewer sessions attended for family-therapy clients. Better termination outcome was predicted by higher Conscientiousness scores for family- and higher Extraversion scores for individual-therapy clients. Higher Honesty-Propriety and Neuroticism scores predicted more improvement in psychological functioning in terms of successive Outcome Questionnaire-45 administrations. Taken together, the results provide some support for the role of personality traits in predicting treatment usage and outcome and for the utility of a 6-factor model in this context. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Evaluation Study: Impact on Quantitative Treatment Limits.

OBJECTIVE: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) significantly changed regulations governing behavioral health benefits for large, commercially insured employers. Pre-MHPAEA, many plans covered only a specific number of behavioral health treatment days or visits; post-MHPAEA, such quantitative treatment limits (QTLs) were allowed only if they were "at parity" with medical-surgical limits. This study assessed MHPAEA's effect on the prevalence of behavioral health QTLs. METHODS: Analyses used 2008-2013 specialty behavioral health benefit design data for Optum large-group plans, both carve-outs (N=2,257 plan-years, corresponding to 1,527 plans and 40 employers) and carve-ins (N=11,644 plan-years, 3,569 plans, and 340 employers). Descriptive statistics were calculated for limits existing at parity implementation, distinguished by accumulation period (annual or lifetime), level of care (inpatient, intermediate, or outpatient), unit (days, visits, or courses), condition, and network level. Proportions of plans using specific limits during the preparity (2008-2009), transition (2010), and postparity (2011-2013) periods were compared with Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: Preparity, the most common QTLs were annual visit or day limits. Accounting for overlap in limit types, 89% of regular carve-out plans, 90% of in-network-only carve-outs, and 77% of carve-in plans limited outpatient visits; 66% of regular carve-out plans, 74% of in-network-only carve-outs, and 73% of carve-ins limited inpatient or intermediate days. Postparity, QTLs almost entirely disappeared (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Before MHPAEA, QTLs were common. Postimplementation, virtually all plans dropped such limits, suggesting that MHPAEA was effective at eliminating QTLs. However, increasing access to behavioral health care will mean going beyond such QTL changes and looking at other areas of benefit management.

Human attribute concepts: relative ubiquity across twelve mutually isolated languages.

It has been unclear which human-attribute concepts are most universal across languages. To identify common-denominator concepts, we used dictionaries for 12 mutually isolated languages-Maasai, Supyire Senoufo, Khoekhoe, Afar, Mara Chin, Hmong, Wik-Mungkan, Enga, Fijian, Inuktitut, Hopi, and Kuna-representing diverse cultural characteristics and language families, from multiple continents. A composite list of every person-descriptive term in each lexicon was closely examined to determine the content (in terms of English translation) most ubiquitous across languages. Study 1 identified 28 single-word concepts used to describe persons in all 12 languages, as well as 41 additional terms found in 11 of 12. Results indicated that attribute concepts related to morality and competence appear to be as cross-culturally ubiquitous as basic-emotion concepts. Formulations of universal-attribute concepts from Osgood and Wierzbicka were well-supported. Study 2 compared lexically based personality models on the relative ubiquity of key associated terms, finding that 1- and 2-dimensional models draw on markedly more ubiquitous terms than do 5- or 6-factor models. We suggest that ubiquitous attributes reflect common cultural as well as common biological processes.

A Basic Bivariate Structure of Personality Attributes Evident Across Nine Languages.

Here, two studies seek to characterize a parsimonious common-denominator personality structure with optimal cross-cultural replicability. Personality differences are observed in all human populations and cultures, but lexicons for personality attributes contain so many distinctions that parsimony is lacking. Models stipulating the most important attributes have been formulated by experts or by empirical studies drawing on experience in a very limited range of cultures. Factor analyses of personality lexicons of nine languages of diverse provenance (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Turkish, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Maasai, and Senoufo) were examined, and their common structure was compared to that of several prominent models in psychology. A parsimonious bivariate model showed evidence of substantial convergence and ubiquity across cultures. Analyses involving key markers of these dimensions in English indicate that they are broad dimensions involving the overlapping content of the interpersonal circumplex, models of communion and agency, and morality/warmth and competence. These "Big Two" dimensions-Social Self-Regulation and Dynamism-provide a common-denominator model involving the two most crucial axes of personality variation, ubiquitous across cultures. The Big Two might serve as an umbrella model serving to link diverse theoretical models and associated research literatures.

Comparative validity of brief to medium-length Big Five and Big Six Personality Questionnaires.

A general consensus on the Big Five model of personality attributes has been highly generative for the field of personality psychology. Many important psychological and life outcome correlates with Big Five trait dimensions have been established. But researchers must choose between multiple Big Five inventories when conducting a study and are faced with a variety of options as to inventory length. Furthermore, a 6-factor model has been proposed to extend and update the Big Five model, in part by adding a dimension of Honesty/Humility or Honesty/Propriety. In this study, 3 popular brief to medium-length Big Five measures (NEO Five Factor Inventory, Big Five Inventory [BFI], and International Personality Item Pool), and 3 six-factor measures (HEXACO Personality Inventory, Questionnaire Big Six Scales, and a 6-factor version of the BFI) were placed in competition to best predict important student life outcomes. The effect of test length was investigated by comparing brief versions of most measures (subsets of items) with original versions. Personality questionnaires were administered to undergraduate students (N = 227). Participants' college transcripts and student conduct records were obtained 6-9 months after data was collected. Six-factor inventories demonstrated better predictive ability for life outcomes than did some Big Five inventories. Additional behavioral observations made on participants, including their Facebook profiles and cell-phone text usage, were predicted similarly by Big Five and 6-factor measures. A brief version of the BFI performed surprisingly well; across inventory platforms, increasing test length had little effect on predictive validity. Comparative validity of the models and measures in terms of outcome prediction and parsimony is discussed.