Joint factor structure of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire and the MMPI in a psychiatric and high-risk sample.

Abstract

This study assessed aspects of the construct validity of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), a measure of normal personality characteristics, in a clinically relevant sample through joint factor analyses of primary and second-order scales of the MPQ and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). A subsample from the Washington University Twin Study of Psychopathology was analyzed. The MPQ's primary scales and higher order factors were found to have meaningful associations with MMPI scales that served as construct markers. The MPQ taps constructs related to, although not redundant with, those measured by the MMPI. Additionally, the MPQ provides a Constraint measure that is relevant to the study of psychopathy and not represented among the MMPI clinical scales. The potential utility of the MPQ in clinical settings as an adjunct to traditional assessment instruments such as the MMPI is discussed. Objective evaluation of personality in clinical settings traditionally has been accomplished using instruments that yield information relevant to diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1972). Conversely, the bulk of research on development and stability of normal personality characteristics has drawn on tests that do not purport to assess psychopathology directly, such as the

Aggressive Behavior Among Military Veterans in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Roles of Posttraumatic Stress and Impulsivity

“…Previous research demonstrates that lower scores on the control subscale are associated particularly with high scores on scales measuring lack of planfulness and premeditation as indexed by other well-validated measures of impulsivity (e.g., UPPS, BIS-11; Patrick et al, 2002;Whiteside & Lynam, 2001). The MPQ has excellent psychometric properties and has been used in veteran and other high-risk psychiatric populations (DiLalla, Gottesman, Carey, & Vogler, 1993;Miller, Greif, & Smith, 2003;Tellegen & Waller, 2008). In the present study, the internal reliability for the MPQ control subscale was good (α = .83).…”

Delineating the Structure of Normal and Abnormal Personality: An Integrative Hierarchical Approach.

“…Often traits relevant to abnormal personality description constitute a subset of those relevant to normal personality description O'Connor & Dyce, 1998); occasionally, additional personality disorder traits are suggested (Clark et al, 1996;Reynolds & Clark, 2001); and, occasionally, the domains of normal and abnormal personality seem to parallel one another (DiLalla et al, 1993). Inconsistencies in hypothesized structure across normal and abnormal personality have complicated attempts to develop a comprehensive structural model of personality.Although analyses of relationships between normal and abnormal personality have been conducted with numerous models (Cloninger et al, 1993;DiLalla et al, 1993;Schroeder et al, 1992), the five-factor model demonstrates promise as a potential integrating framework Widiger, 1998) and is an important example in this regard. As with other normal personality models, the five-factor model discriminates reasonably well between different forms of abnormal personality (Reynolds & Clark, 2001).…”

Relations among mother and home visitor personality, relationship quality, and amount of time spent in home visits

“…Intercorrelations among the scales are low, demonstrating that they are reasonably independent~Church & Burke, 1994; Tellegen & Waller, in press!. The instrument has been successfully used in research with participants from a variety of racial backgrounds, including African Americans~DiLalla, Gottesman, Carey, & Vogler, 1993;Ispa, Fine, & Thornburg, 2002!. Construct validity has been demonstrated by significant associations between MPQ self-ratings and ratings by knowledgeable informants~friends and parents!…”

“…Construct validity has been demonstrated by significant associations between MPQ self-ratings and ratings by knowledgeable informants~friends and parents! on a shorter instrument tapping the same factors, significant correlations between self-ratings on the MPQ and other personality instruments such as the NEO-Personality Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and strong links between MPQ-assessed negative emotionality and depressive symptoms and between MPQ-assessed positive emotionality and positive mood states~e.g., DiLalla et al, 1993;Harkness et al, 1995; in press!.…”