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Research suggests there are differences in children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms as a function of age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Males, Black children, and children experiencing lower SES have been rated as having more externalizing problems. Female and older children have been rated as having higher internalizing symptoms. The validity of these findings rests on the assumption that the measures mean the same thing across groups and developmental time (i.e., measurement invariance [MI]). Without assuring MI, results may represent differences in measurement and not true differences in the underlying construct. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used tool to measure internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Papers have evaluated MI of the SDQ in school-aged children. However, to our knowledge, no studies of young children have examined MI across Black and White families from diverse SES backgrounds. Data from the Family Life Project were used to evaluate MI of the SDQ across child age (35 to 90 months), race, sex, and SES. Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), multiple SDQ items demonstrated measurement noninvariance as a function of child demographic variables. Results suggest that it is important to test and adjust for noninvariance with the SDQ when applied to early childhood populations comprising Black and White children from diverse SES backgrounds. An MNLFA approach improves our ability to validly measure and compare symptoms of psychopathology in diverse early childhood populations. This could have implications for our understanding of rates of mental health challenges and treatment in early childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Differences in adolescent temperament are associated with innumerable psychological outcomes in the developmental literature and can help link adult personality-based nosology to earlier development. The Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire–Revised is one important measure of adolescent temperament designed to capture constructs within the influential Rothbart temperament model. Yet conflicting factor structures and minimal evidence for measurement invariance across samples and clinical groups have limited its ability to further temperament-based understanding of psychopathology. The goal of the present study was to identify reproducible measurement structures for the parent-rated and self-rated Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire–Revised in multiple large independent samples and to evaluate how that structure corresponded to their proposed theoretical structure. We also tested measurement invariance and compared temperament characteristics in youth with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Findings support the lower order theoretical structure using a reduced set of items in the parent-rated form, including evidence for measurement invariance across samples and clinical groups. Findings confirm important patterns of temperament variation associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, including lower effortful control and differences in expression of negative affect and surgency. The self-rated form demonstrated poor structural validity and could not be reliably replicated in a confirmatory sample. Parent-reported temperament may help link personality-based models of psychopathology to earlier developmental periods where psychopathology often emerges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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In the internet age, recruitment, participation, and compensation for survey research can occur remotely, away from a laboratory setting. Although this method of data collection offers notable benefits such as access to more diverse samples and lower study costs, it is possible that rates of inattentive or otherwise invalid response patterns are more common when survey completion occurs without any oversight. To answer this question, undergraduate student participants (final n = 678; 65% women, 76% White/European American) were randomly assigned to complete a battery of self-report surveys either in a typical laboratory administration setting (in person) or remotely from the location of their choosing. Following a preregistered analytic plan, data from both conditions were screened using multiple methods for self-report data validation, including the use of embedded and stand-alone validity scales, response timing, and identification of multivariate outliers. Results showed null-to-small differences between survey administration conditions. However, differences between screening methods in the proportion of data flagged as “invalid” emerged. The implications of these findings for study design and planned analyses are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Gambling disorder (GD) is an officially recognized mental health disorder. However, its conceptualization and diagnostic criteria have changed substantially over the years due to new clinical and epidemiological research supporting its reconceptualization from an impulse control disorder to an addictive disorder. The evolving nature of GD led to changes in its diagnostic approach within the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11). However, no updated standardized psychometric test reflecting the latest developments exists. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to develop and report the psychometric properties of the Gambling Disorder Test (GDT), a brief and convenient four-item assessment instrument reflecting the current diagnostic criteria for GD in the ICD-11. A nationally representative sample of British adults was recruited (N = 1,028, Mage = 46.54 years, SDage = 15.71). The results showed a one-factor solution for the GDT and initial support for the scale’s factorial validity, population cross-validity, criterion validity, concurrent validity, and reliability. Further gender-based measurement invariance was conducted, with the GDT exhibiting full scalar invariance and the results of latent mean comparison showing that males had significantly higher GD latent means compared to females (latent mean difference = −0.156; z = −3.844, p< .001,
d = −.249). The self-reported prevalence of GD in the sample was 0.49%. The GDT is a promising brief assessment instrument based on the latest conceptualization and diagnostic criteria for GD that can be employed by clinicians and researchers alike. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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The triarchic model posits that boldness, meanness, and disinhibition comprise psychopathy. Critics have questioned whether boldness is essential to psychopathy because boldness is minimally related to meanness and disinhibition and is associated with positive outcomes such as psychological health. The aim of the present study was to develop a Psychopathic Boldness Scale (PBS) that would be more closely associated with the other components of the triarchic model and would be associated with antisocial behaviors and maladaptive traits. Data from two college student samples (a test development sample, N = 204 [79% female, 72% White], and a replication sample, N = 426 [81.5% female, 64% White]) and an online male validation sample (N = 125, 55% White) were used to select items and examine the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, item functioning, and convergent and discriminant validity of this scale. The PBS had a three-factor (higher order) structure in which the three factors (fearlessness, social potency, carefree rule breaking) were highly intercorrelated, justifying the use of a total score. The PBS was internally consistent, and all 21 items functioned well. The PBS was positively correlated with measures of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The PBS was positively associated with antisocial behavior, Machiavellianism, sensation seeking, fearlessness, and behavioral activation. It was negatively associated with agreeableness, conscientiousness, honesty–humility, altruism, and behavioral inhibition. Although additional research with diverse samples and biobehavioral correlates of boldness is needed, the PBS appears to be a promising measure that may address some of the criticisms of boldness as a component of psychopathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Fear and avoidance remain important concepts for understanding chronic pain. The objective of our research was to develop and evaluate a Polish version of a measure to assess these concepts: the 20-item Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS-20). The goal also included establishing a cutoff score to differentiate between individuals with a high level of pain-related disability and those with lower levels. The scale underwent back-translation into Polish, and two studies were conducted among individuals reporting chronic pain: in a large online sample (N = 418; 60% women, 40% men; age: 19–86, M = 49), and in a hospital-recruited sample (N = 148; 77% women, 22% men; age: 18–85; M = 57). We assessed validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses supported both a model with four correlated factors—cognitive anxiety, physiological responses, avoidance, and fearful thinking—and a hierarchical model with four lower order factors and a higher order factor representing general pain anxiety. There was no evidence of ceiling or floor effects. Cronbach’s αs exceeded .82 and .76 for the online and hospital-recruited samples, respectively, indicating robust internal consistency. The translated PASS-20 scores showed moderate test–retest reliability and positively correlated with pain catastrophizing, depression, stress, anxiety, and pain intensity. Women and individuals with disabilities reported higher scores. Receiver operating characteristic analysis determined an optimal cutoff score of 52 or above to distinguish highly disabled individuals with 82.35% sensitivity and 58.86% specificity. A minimal detectable change of 26.81 for the PASS-20 total score was identified. The Polish PASS-20 provides valid and reliable scores for measuring pain-related anxiety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Mon, 10 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT