The structure and magnitude of sex differences in interpersonal problems across several data sets were examined, guided by the interpersonal circumplex model and the structural summary method. Data were self-reported interpersonal difficulties, assessed with the 64-item version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, S. E.…

Psychological assessment research concerns how to describe psychological dysfunction in ways that are both valid and useful. Recent advances in assessment research hold the promise of facilitating significant improvements in description and diagnosis. One such contribution is in the classification of personality disorder symptomatology. The…

We examined the psychometric properties of the Novaco Anger Scale--Provocation Inventory (NAS-PI, 1994 version) in Dutch violent forensic psychiatric patients and secondary vocational students. A confirmatory factor analysis of the subscale structure of the NAS was carried out, reliability was investigated, and relations were calculated between…

Five studies document the validity of a new 8-item scale designed to measure "positivity," defined as the tendency to view life and experiences with a positive outlook. In the first study (N = 372), the psychometric properties of Positivity Scale (P Scale) were examined in accordance with classical test theory using a large number of…

The utility of psychopathy measures in predicting violence is largely explained by their assessment of social deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior; disinhibition). A key question is whether social deviance "interacts" with the core interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy to predict violence. Do core psychopathic traits multiply the (already…

A predominant dimensional model of general personality structure is the five-factor model (FFM). Quite a number of alternative instruments have been developed to assess the domains of the FFM. The current study compares the validity of 2 alternative versions of the Shedler and Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200) FFM scales, 1 that was developed…

Despite a wealth of research on the validity of alexithymia and its association with a number of common medical and psychiatric disorders, the fundamental question of whether alexithymia is best conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct remains unresolved. In the current investigation, taxometric analysis is used to examine the…

An Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths (IIS) was developed and validated in a series of large college student samples. Based on interpersonal theory and associated methods, the IIS was designed to assess positive characteristics representing the full range of interpersonal domains, including those generally thought to have negative qualities…

NEO instruments are widely used to assess Big Five personality factors, but confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) conducted at the item level do not support their a priori structure due, in part, to the overly restrictive CFA assumptions. We demonstrate that exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), an integration of CFA and exploratory…

In this reply the authors address comments by C. R. Cloninger (2008) related to their report (R. F. Farmer & L. R. Goldberg, 2008) on the psychometric properties of the revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) and a short inventory derivative, the TCI-140. Even though Cloninger's psychobiological model has undergone substantial…

Interpersonal characteristics are core features of the psychopathy construct which have a unique pattern of correlations with a variety of external correlates. To improve the assessment of interpersonal traits, the current study evaluated the internal structure of the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P) through exploratory and confirmatory…

Interest in conceptualizing the interpersonal style of individuals who engage in serious antisocial behavior has increased in recent years. This study examines the personality, psychopathological, and behavioral correlates of interpersonal dominance and warmth, as operationalized via scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory (L. Morey, 2007),…

The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) is the third stage of development of a widely used multiscale personality inventory that began with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and then the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The author describes the third stage of the psychobiological theory of temperament and…

The authors examined the comparative predictive capacity of the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) Atypical Response Scale (ATR) and the standard set of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) fake-bad validity scales (i.e., F, F[subscript B[prime]], F[subscript p[prime]], FBS) to detect feigned posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).…

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Restructured Clinical Scales (RCSs) in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) receiving clinical services at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. Study 1 included 1,098 men who completed the MMPI-2 and were…