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Antisocial attitudes and associates are central constructs related to antisocial and criminal behavior. The self-report Measures of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA) has grown in application within the literature over the past 2 decades. However, tests of the MCAA’s factor structure can best be described as preliminary, and there has been no test of measurement invariance. For the present study, we examined the reliability and construct validity of the MCAA in a diverse sample of incarcerated adults in the state of Texas (N = 72,099). Using confirmatory factor analysis, we examined the underlying factor structure and tested for measurement invariance across sex, race/ethnicity, and demand characteristics. Our results supported the original four-factor structure of the MCAA, with measurement invariance being demonstrated across sex (i.e., male vs. female), race/ethnicity (i.e., Black non-Hispanic, White Hispanic, White non-Hispanic), and demand characteristics (i.e., mandated vs. voluntary treatment). Modest associations between the MCAA and criminal history variables were observed, with between-group differences yielding small effect sizes. Overall, our findings provide strong support for the four-factor structure and measurement invariance of the MCAA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Sexual sadism has long been of interest to scholars and clinicians in psychology, and most research on sexual sadism has focused on forensic samples. However, recently, research has uncovered the existence of sexual sadism in general populations. Measures designed to assess sexual sadism in the general population are lacking. To address this gap, we created the Index of Consensual Sexual Sadism (ICSS) and performed some initial psychometric testing of its structure, measurement invariance, validity (e.g., distinguishment from everyday sadism), and reliability. In this preregistered study, separate samples of community adults and undergraduates (N = 1,391; Mage = 24.21, SDage = 10.92, rangeage = 18–85; 68.40% female; 76.10% White) completed the ICSS and measures of sadistic pleasure in sexual and nonsexual contexts, normal personality traits (HEXACO), personality disorder traits, antagonistic personality features (e.g., psychopathy), frequency of sadistic sexual fantasies, romantic relationship satisfaction, and social desirability. The ICSS demonstrated a unidimensional structure that was invariant across the tested groupings of sample type, sex, and age; in addition, the scale had only a trivial relation to social desirability bias, and it related to the other outcomes in a way that highlighted its construct validity and distinguished it from everyday sadism. The ICSS seems a viable candidate for assessing consensual sexual sadism so that clinicians and researchers can begin evaluating the full spectrum of sexual sadism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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The term “diagnostic overshadowing” was coined in 1982 (Reiss et al., 1982) to refer to a phenomenon in which a diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID) is so salient that it “overshadows” the presence of other mental health conditions, whose symptoms are falsely attributed to the ID. Much of the research on this topic was conducted more than 20 years ago using a singular methodology. The present study aimed to update the research on diagnostic overshadowing and address methodological concerns with previous studies. Three hundred eighteen licensed psychologists participated in an online survey in which they viewed information about a simulated client and answered both open-ended and Likert-type questions about their diagnostic impressions. Participants were randomly assigned to view background information that suggested the client either did or did not have ID, and they either read a text vignette describing schizophrenia symptoms or watched a video vignette of a mock clinical interview. On the Likert-type items, schizophrenia was rated as significantly less likely in the ID condition compared to the non-ID condition. However, the magnitude of this difference was small. Open-ended questions did not reveal evidence of diagnostic overshadowing, as 96% of participants in the ID condition considered a mental health diagnosis in their response. Watching the video vignette had no effect on diagnostic impressions. Results suggest that psychologists do recognize the presence of a mental health condition in a person with ID, but there may be some reduced accuracy in the specific diagnosis that is made. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Eating disorders (EDs) are among the deadliest psychiatric disorders but are underdetected in health care settings, and the majority of people with these conditions do not get treatment for them. There is a need for well-validated and brief screening measures of EDs to aid in early detection and intervention. We compared the performance of two existing brief screeners in a sample of U.S. military veteran men and women, a population in which few evaluations of ED measures have been conducted. We investigated performance of these measures in the full sample and separately in the male and female subsamples. Participants completed a survey assessing EDs and related constructs. A subsample of potential cases and controls completed a diagnostic interview (n = 178). We conducted receiver operator curve analyses to determine cut scores on the two ED screening measures that best discriminated between cases and controls. We identified cut scores on the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire 7 (EDE-Q7) and the SCOFF (the acronym corresponds to the questions) in the full sample and separately among men and women. Model accuracy was fair to considerable for both measures, although internal consistency was low for the SCOFF. The EDE-Q7 performed fairly well among both men and women in this veteran sample. Brief and effective screening makes it more likely that providers will identify and potentially treat EDs in vulnerable populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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The 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) is frequently used to screen adults for high autistic traits in clinical practice and research. For the past decade, however, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended the use of a suboptimal ≥ 7 cutoff value, instead of the optimal ≥ 6 value specified during the AQ10’s development. A comprehensive review into the use and reporting of the AQ10 cutoff suggests that this discrepancy has proliferated across the literature, with over 58% of reports citing a suboptimal (27.15%) or ambiguous (31.13%) cutoff value. After examining the use of the AQ10 cutoff in previous research, we drew on 25 published data sets (N = 13,692) to test how applying different AQ10 cutoffs can influence research. Our analyses suggest that a striking 36.80% of the participants classified as having high autistic traits using the ≥ 6 cutoff would be classified as having low autistic traits using the ≥ 7 cutoff. The ≥ 6 cutoff was also found to provide a better balance between the sensitivity and specificity of the AQ10 with respect to a clinical autism diagnosis. Most critically, our analyses showed that even a 1-point difference in the AQ10 cutoff—the error made in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines—can meaningfully change both the statistical significance and the magnitude of autism-related effects. These findings demonstrate that the suboptimal use of the AQ10 cutoff can be consequential for research, and we discuss the urgent need to establish and apply appropriate autism screening cutoff values in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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The optimal classification of mania symptoms within dimensional models such as the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology remains unclear, although progress has been made recently. We extend dimensional classification research by assessing mania and other domains at the symptom level using a longitudinal, daily diary design (7-day period). Participants (N = 230; 1,243 total surveys) were adults recruited online based on having a self-identified history of significant mental health issues. Consistent with recent cross-sectional research, mania symptoms associated strongly with thought disorder at the between-person level, and they also associated strongly with some externalizing features across levels of analysis (i.e., within- and between-person). Regarding specific within-person results, select mania symptoms were more distinctive from other symptoms assessed overall, although mania symptoms still associated robustly with thought disorder in many cases. A subset of mania symptoms (e.g., euphoric mood) also had robust negative within-person associations with internalizing symptoms. These findings inform understanding of mania symptoms’ daily associations and dimensional assessment, although several limitations are important to keep in mind. These limitations included some item ratings having limited within-person variability, as well as our study sampling period focusing on only 7 days. We hope that future research will address these limitations in other samples toward improving the dimensional classification and assessment of mania and other symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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The Personality Assessment Inventory is a broadband self-report instrument of personality, psychopathology, and response style that is commonly used in Sexually Violent Predator evaluations. These evaluations typically involve assessment of personality pathology that is empirically associated with recidivism, such as psychopathic personality disorder. Over the past several years, researchers have developed rescoring procedures for the Personality Assessment Inventory that compute information on the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders—a hybrid dimensional–categorical model of personality functioning (Criterion A) and pathological traits (Criterion B). Although these scores are available for applied use, there is limited work on their psychometric properties in forensic evaluations. The present study examines whether antisocial personality disorder and related facets predict recidivism in a sample of incarcerated men evaluated for Sexually Violent Predator status. Results suggest these scores modestly predict most forms of recidivism and sex offender registry violations. However, no score predicted sexual recidivism. This pattern suggests that these scores can inform consideration of risk for certain forms of recidivism (e.g., violent), but are perhaps less useful for determining risk of additional sexual offenses. These results provide preliminary evidence that these Personality Assessment Inventory scores modestly predict outcomes relevant to forensic practitioners and may be a viable approach to measuring personality pathology that is commonly assessed in forensic work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT