Locating triarchic model constructs in the hierarchical structure of a comprehensive trait-based psychopathy measure: Implications for research and clinical assessment.

The triarchic model posits that distinct trait constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition underlie psychopathy. The triarchic model traits are conceptualized as biobehavioral dimensions that can be assessed using different sets of indicators from alternative measurement modalities; as such, the triarchic model would hypothesize that these traits are not confined to any one item set. The present study tested whether the triarchic model dimensions would emerge from a hierarchical-structural analysis of the facet scales of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA), an inventory designed to comprehensively index psychopathy according to the five-factor personality model. Study participants (Ns = 811, 170) completed the EPA and three different scale sets assessing the triarchic traits along with criterion measures of antisocial/externalizing behaviors. Bass-ackwards modeling of the EPA facet scales revealed a four-level structure, with factors at the third level appearing similar to the triarchic trait dimensions. An analysis in which scores for the Level-3 EPA factors were regressed onto corresponding latent-trait dimensions defined using the different triarchic scale sets revealed extremely high convergence (ßs = .84-.91). The Level-3 EPA factors also evidenced validity in relation to relevant criteria, approximating and sometimes exceeding that evident for the Level-4 EPA factors. Together, these results indicate that the triarchic trait constructs are embedded in a psychopathy inventory designed to align with a general personality model and effectively predict pertinent external criteria. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Alcohol family history moderates the association between evening substance-free reinforcement and alcohol problems.

Behavioral economic theories of substance abuse posit that deficits in substance-free reward increase risk for substance misuse, but little research has examined potential moderators of this relationship, including dispositional risk factors. Here, we tested the hypothesis that young adult heavy drinkers with family histories of alcohol misuse would show a stronger association specifically between low evening substance-free reinforcement and alcohol problems compared to those without a family history of alcohol misuse. Participants were 317 college students reporting heavy episodic drinking (Mage = 18.8, SD = 1.1, 61% female, 79% White) who completed a questionnaire about engagement and enjoyment in rewarding activities not involving substance use after 7 p.m., along with measures of personal and parental alcohol use/problems. Evening substance-free reinforcement was negatively associated with typical drinking level for women, but not for men. Family history status did not show a significant association with typical alcohol consumption or evening substance-free reinforcement (operationalized as activity participation × enjoyment), but did show a significant association with alcohol problems. Evening substance-free reinforcement was significantly negatively related to alcohol problems for both men and women. However, the presence of a family history of alcohol misuse moderated this relationship, such that only individuals with familial risk for alcohol misuse who reported lower evening substance-free reinforcement evidenced greater alcohol-related problems. These findings suggest that lower evening substance-free reinforcement is associated with alcohol misuse among young adults, and that this association is exacerbated among individuals with familial risk for developing alcohol problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Alzheimer's Disease Assessment: A Review and Illustrations Focusing on Item Response Theory Techniques.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects neurological, cognitive, and behavioral processes. Thus, to accurately assess this disease, researchers and clinicians need to combine and incorporate data across these domains. This presents not only distinct methodological and statistical challenges but also unique opportunities for the development and advancement of psychometric techniques. In this article, we describe relatively recent research using item response theory (IRT) that has been used to make progress in assessing the disease across its various symptomatic and pathological manifestations. We focus on applications of IRT to improve scoring, test development (including cross-validation and adaptation), and linking and calibration. We conclude by describing potential future multidimensional applications of IRT techniques that may improve the precision with which AD is measured.

Combining neural and behavioral indicators in the assessment of internalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents.

Anxiety and mood disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems affecting our youth. We propose that assessment and treatment efforts in this area can benefit from a focus on developmentally sensitive neurobehavioral trait constructs, that is, individual difference constructs with direct referents in both neurobiology and behavior across the lifespan. This approach dovetails with the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria initiative, which aims to improve classification and treatment of psychopathology by delineating dimensions of functioning that transcend measurement domains and traditional diagnostic categories. We highlight two neurobehavioral dimensions with clear relevance for understanding internalizing problems at differing ages: (a) defensive reactivity and (b) cognitive control. Individual differences in defensive reactivity are posited to reflect variations in sensitivity of the brain's negative valence systems, whereas differences in cognitive control are theorized to reflect variations in neural systems dedicated to regulating behavior and affect. Focusing on these target constructs, we illustrate a psychoneurometric approach to assessment of internalizing psychopathology entailing use of neural, self-report, and behavioral indicators. We address the feasibility of the psychoneurometric approach for clinical application and present results from a pilot study demonstrating expected associations for neural, parent-report, and behavioral measures of defensive reactivity and cognitive control with internalizing symptoms in preschoolers. Together, our conceptual and empirical analyses highlight the promise of multimethod, dimensional assessment of internalizing psychopathology in the lab and in the clinic.

Optimizing efficiency of psychopathology assessment through quantitative modeling: development of a brief form of the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory.

The Externalizing Spectrum Inventory (ESI; Krueger, Markon, Patrick, Benning, & Kramer, 2007) provides for integrated, hierarchical assessment of a broad range of problem behaviors and traits in the domain of deficient impulse control. The ESI assesses traits and problems in this domain through 23 lower order facet scales organized around 3 higher order dimensions, reflecting general disinhibition, callous aggression, and substance abuse. The full-form ESI contains 415 items, and a shorter form would be useful for questionnaire screening studies or multimethod research protocols. In the current work, we employed item response theory and structural modeling methods to create a 160-item brief form (ESI-BF) that provides for efficient measurement of the ESI's lower order facets and quantification of its higher order dimensions either as scale-based factors or as item-based composites. The ESI-BF is recommended for use in research on psychological or neurobiological correlates of problems such as risk-taking, delinquency, aggression, and substance abuse, and studies of general and specific mechanisms that give rise to problems of these kinds.

A construct-network approach to bridging diagnostic and physiological domains: application to assessment of externalizing psychopathology.

A crucial challenge in efforts to link psychological disorders to neural systems, with the aim of developing biologically informed conceptions of such disorders, is the problem of method variance (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). Since even measures of the same construct in differing domains correlate only moderately, it is unsurprising that large sample studies of diagnostic biomarkers yield only modest associations. To address this challenge, a construct-network approach is proposed in which psychometric operationalizations of key neurobehavioral constructs serve as anchors for identifying neural indicators of psychopathology-relevant dispositions, and as vehicles for bridging between domains of clinical problems and neurophysiology. An empirical illustration is provided for the construct of inhibition-disinhibition, which is of central relevance to problems entailing deficient impulse control. Findings demonstrate that: (1) a well-designed psychometric index of trait disinhibition effectively predicts externalizing problems of multiple types, (2) this psychometric measure of disinhibition shows reliable brain response correlates, and (3) psychometric and brain-response indicators can be combined to form a joint psychoneurometric factor that predicts effectively across clinical and physiological domains. As a methodology for bridging between clinical problems and neural systems, the construct-network approach provides a concrete means by which existing conceptions of psychological disorders can accommodate and be reshaped by neurobiological insights.

Multimethod assessment of psychopathy in relation to factors of internalizing and externalizing from the Personality Assessment Inventory: the impact of method variance and suppressor effects.

Research to date has revealed divergent relations across factors of psychopathy measures with criteria of internalizing (INT; anxiety, depression) and externalizing (EXT; antisocial behavior, substance use). However, failure to account for method variance and suppressor effects has obscured the consistency of these findings across distinct measures of psychopathy. Using a large correctional sample, the current study employed a multimethod approach to psychopathy assessment (self-report, interview and file review) to explore convergent and discriminant relations between factors of psychopathy measures and latent criteria of INT and EXT derived from the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 2007). Consistent with prediction, scores on the affective-interpersonal factor of psychopathy were negatively associated with INT and negligibly related to EXT, whereas scores on the social deviance factor exhibited positive associations (moderate and large, respectively) with both INT and EXT. Notably, associations were highly comparable across the psychopathy measures when accounting for method variance (in the case of EXT) and when assessing for suppressor effects (in the case of INT). Findings are discussed in terms of implications for clinical assessment and evaluation of the validity of interpretations drawn from scores on psychopathy measures.

Factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory: validity and implications for clinical assessment.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by impulsive antisocial deviance in the context of emotional and interpersonal detachment. A factor analysis of the subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) yielded evidence for 2 factors. One factor showed relations with external criteria mirroring those of the emotional-interpersonal facet of psychopathy, including high dominance, low anxiety, and venturesomeness. The other factor showed relations paralleling those of the social deviance facet of psychopathy, including positive correlations with antisocial behavior and substance abuse, negative correlations with socioeconomic status and verbal ability, and personality characteristics including high negative emotionally and low behavioral constraint. Findings support using the PPI to assess these facets of psychopathy in community samples and to explore their behavioral correlates and genetic-neurobiological underpinnings.

A direct assessment of the role of state and trait negative emotion in aggressive behavior.

Affective priming of aggression was examined in groups low and high in trait negative emotionality (NEM) using a Buss aggression paradigm. Negative affect was induced by exposure to aversive air blasts during some intervals (threat) and not others (safe). Phasic negative affect was assessed using startle reflex potentiation, and tonic distress was indexed by startle sensitization. Participants delivered shocks faster during threat versus safe intervals, indicating that phasic distress primed aggression. Following initial exposure to air blasts, high NEM participants showed enhanced tonic distress and delivered persistently more intense shocks than low NEM participants. These findings indicate that sustained negative affect biases high stress-reactive individuals toward more intense acts of aggression, with phasic distress affecting the rapidity of aggressive response.