Carving nature at its joints: Paul Meehl's development of taxometrics.

Waller, Niels G.

doi:10.1037/0021-843x.115.2.210

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Besides documenting the frequency of minimization, our second goal was to determine whether the MD construct measured by the CTQ is best represented as a taxon (i.e., different types of minimization) or as a dimension (i.e., degrees of minimization). To do so, we relied on taxometric analyses [ 52 – 56 ], procedures that determine if relations among observed data are better accounted for by the presence of dimensional or categorical latent structure. We analyzed data using three separate taxometric procedures (mean above minus below a cut, MAMBAC; maximum eigenvalue, MAXEIG; and latent mode factor, L-Mode) with Ruscio’s (2012) taxometric program for R [ 57 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential: Results from a Large, Multinational Sample Using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

et al. 2016

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Childhood maltreatment has diverse, lifelong impact on morbidity and mortality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is one of the most commonly used scales to assess and quantify these experiences and their impact. Curiously, despite very widespread use of the CTQ, scores on its Minimization-Denial (MD) subscale—originally designed to assess a positive response bias—are rarely reported. Hence, little is known about this measure. If response biases are either common or consequential, current practices of ignoring the MD scale deserve revision. Therewith, we designed a study to investigate 3 aspects of minimization, as defined by the CTQ’s MD scale: 1) its prevalence; 2) its latent structure; and finally 3) whether minimization moderates the CTQ’s discriminative validity in terms of distinguishing between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. Archival, item-level CTQ data from 24 multinational samples were combined for a total of 19,652 participants. Analyses indicated: 1) minimization is common; 2) minimization functions as a continuous construct; and 3) high MD scores attenuate the ability of the CTQ to distinguish between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. Overall, results suggest that a minimizing response bias—as detected by the MD subscale—has a small but significant moderating effect on the CTQ’s discriminative validity. Results also may suggest that some prior analyses of maltreatment rates or the effects of early maltreatment that have used the CTQ may have underestimated its incidence and impact. We caution researchers and clinicians about the widespread practice of using the CTQ without the MD or collecting MD data but failing to assess and control for its effects on outcomes or dependent variables.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential: Results from a Large, Multinational Sample Using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

et al. 2016

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“…Meehl (2006) believed that questions of taxonicity could be answered with applied mathematics. He and his colleagues (Meehl & Yonce, 1994; Waller & Meehl, 1998) developed a family of taxometric procedures (sometimes referred to as coherent cut kinetics [Waller, 2006]) designed to, as Plato put it, “carve nature at its joints” (Meehl, 1995, p. 268; i.e., determine the underlying characteristics of latent variables). General introductions to taxometric theory can be found elsewhere (see Schmidt, Kotov, & Joiner, 2004).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the MMPI-2-RF Somatic Complaints (RC1) Scale.

Michael

Locke

2010

Psychological Assessment

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The MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Tellegen & Ben-Porath, 2008) was designed to be psychometrically superior to its MMPI-2 counterpart. However, the test has yet to be extensively evaluated in diverse clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the MMPI-2-RF Somatic Complaints (RC1) scale in a clinically relevant population. Participants were 399 patients diagnosed with either epilepsy or psychogenic nonepileptic seizures on the basis of video-electroencephalograph monitoring. The internal structure of the MMPI-2-RF was evaluated using taxometric, confirmatory factor analysis, and item response theory procedures. Data from 4 content-specific scales directly related to RC1 (Malaise, Gastrointestinal Complaints, Head Pain Complaints, and Neurological Complaints) indicated that the latent construct of somatization is a dimensional variable with a bifactor structure. However, consistent with the scale's construction, a unidimensional model also provided adequate fit. A 2-parameter logistic item response theory model better accounted for observed item responses than did 1- or 3-parameter models. Results suggest that the RC1 scale is most precise for T score estimates between 55 and 90. Overall, the scale appears to be well suited for the assessment of somatization.

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“…Indeed, as Paul Meehl observed, the very phenotypic heterogeneity of schizophrenia and the fact that the symptoms of schizophrenia are more highly intercorrelated in mixed than in pure clinical population samples are indicative of underlying categories and inconsistent with a continuous model. 14 It may even be that psychotic symptoms are epiphenomenal to the true nature of psychosis as Bleuler 15 argued and could be considered the case when psychotic symptoms complicate Alzheimer's disease. Crucially, the research to evaluate whether categories, subtypes, continua or hybrid models of psychosis best account for the distribution of symptoms in general or patient populations has simply not been done.…”

Section: The Putative Value Of a Continuous Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘continuum of psychosis’: scientifically unproven and clinically impractical

et al. 2010

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The limitations of current diagnostic categories are well recognised but their rationale, advantages and utility are often ignored. The scientific support for a 'continuum of psychosis' is limited, and the examination of whether categories, a continuum or more than one continua, and alternatives such as subtypes or hybrid models, best account for the distributions of symptoms in populations has simply not been done. There is a lack of discussion, let alone consensus, about the critical aspects of psychosis to measure, the best ways to quantify those and how these would be applied in clinical practice. Systematic studies are needed to evaluate which of a range of plausible approaches to the classification of psychosis is most useful before change could be justified.

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Carving nature at its joints: Paul Meehl's development of taxometrics.

Abstract: This article presents a brief summary of Paul Meehl's development of taxometrics. Of special concern is the question, Why did Paul Meehl develop taxometrics? It is shown that taxometrics played an integral role in Meehl's broader research program on the genetics of schizotaxia.

Cited by 16 publications

References 42 publications

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential: Results from a Large, Multinational Sample Using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential: Results from a Large, Multinational Sample Using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

Psychometric properties of the MMPI-2-RF Somatic Complaints (RC1) Scale.

The ‘continuum of psychosis’: scientifically unproven and clinically impractical

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