The manual version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the most frequently used neuropsychological instrument for differentiating normal from populations with frontal-lobe impairments. A number of computerized versions have become available, and their ability to accurately detect frontal-lobe dysfunction is based on the assumption of equivalence with the standard manual version. Accordingly, comparisons of the distribution properties of central tendency, variability, and shape between the manual version with four computerized versions of the WCST were performed (n = 22 per condition). None of the computerized versions were found to be equivalent to the manual version on all assessment measures. Given the discrepancies between the manual and computerized versions, it is concluded that the norms provided for the standard manual presentation method should not be used for the computerized versions, and for continued use of the computerized versions, new norms for computer versions need to be established. Thus, clinicians and experimenters must use caution when basing conclusions on scores from computer versions of the WCST.
This brief report describes the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to measure Hurricane Coping Self-Efficacy (HCSE). Survivors of Hurricane Andrew (n = 165) and Hurricane Opal (n = 63) completed the HCSE and assessments of optimism, social support, distress, and resource loss. Principal components factor analyses revealed a unidimensional structure for the HCSE. Internal consistency of the HCSE was strong. In both samples, HCSE was positively associated with optimism and social support, but negatively associated with general psychological distress, trauma related distress, and resource loss. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that the HCSE explained a significant amount of experimental variance for intrusive thoughts and avoidance after controlling for social support, lost resources, and optimism.
McCrae and Costa since 1986 have proferred a five-factor personality model as a lingua franca among different psychometric test users, and they suggest that their operationalization of the five-factor model, the NEO Personality Inventory, may also be useful in the clinical assessment of the abnormal personality. The present study examined the inventory and its relationship to the 11 personality disorders of Axis II of DSM-III-R in a sample of 180 adults. Correlational multivariate analyses appear to indicate a limited usefulness of the five-factor model in the understanding of personality disorders, and four major objections are offered. Further research with clinical samples, other models of personality, and other measures of personality disorders are encouraged.
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