Some scholars have called for the replacement of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) with more narrow scales measuring grandiosity and entitlement instead. In the current study, the authors examined the relations among the NPI and measures of grandiosity and entitlement, as well as in relation to a measure of the Five-Factor Model (FFM).…

The Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP) is a personality assessment instrument designed for use by expert clinical assessors. Critics have raised questions about its psychometrics, most notably its validity across observers and situations, the impact of its fixed score distribution on research findings, and its test-retest reliability. We…

The current investigation addressed several questions in the burgeoning area of child personality assessment. Specifically, the present study examined overlapping and nonoverlapping variance in two prominent measures of child personality assessment, followed by tests of convergent and divergent validity with child temperament and psychopathology.…

The proposed changes to the personality disorder section of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (5th ed.) places an increased focus on interpersonal impairment as one of the defining features of personality psychopathology. In addition, a proposed trait model has been offered to provide a means of capturing…

Despite being significantly correlated, there is evidence to suggest that the scales measuring Agreeableness from the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) do not capture identical constructs. More specifically, NEO PI-R Agreeableness contains content related to "honesty and humility" that is not…

This article examined the impact of unscorable item responses on the psychometric validity and practical interpretability of scores on the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2/Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF). In analyses conducted with five…

Lynam and colleagues recently developed a new self-report inventory for the assessment of psychopathy, the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA). Using a sample of undergraduates (N = 227), the authors examined the construct validity of the EPA by examining its correlations with self and stranger ratings on the Five-Factor Model, as well as…

Although not originally designed for implementation in correctional settings, researchers and clinicians have begun to use the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) to assess offenders. A relatively small number of studies have made attempts to validate the alcohol and drug abuse scales of the PAI, and only a very few studies have validated those…

Depressive personality disorder (DPD) was included in the appendix of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", Fourth Edition ("DSM-IV") for further study. Questions abound regarding this disorder in terms of its distinctiveness from extant diagnostic constructs and clinical significance.This study examines…

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is a frequently used and well-validated measure of psychopathy but is relatively time-intensive and expensive to administer. The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) is a self-report measure that provides a less time-intensive and less expensive method for identifying psychopathic individuals. Using…

The Five-Factor Model Rating Form (FFMRF) is a one-page measure designed to provide an efficient assessment of the higher order domains of the Five Factor Model (FFM) as well as the more specific, lower order facets proposed by McCrae and Costa. Although previous research has suggested that the FFMRF's assessment of the lower order facets converge…

Narrowly defined personality facet scores are commonly reported and used for making decisions in clinical and organizational settings. Although these facets are typically related, scoring is usually carried out for a single facet at a time. This method can be ineffective and time consuming when personality tests contain many highly correlated…

This study investigated raters' personality traits in relation to scores they assigned to offenders using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). A total of 22 participants, including graduate students and faculty members in clinical psychology programs, completed a PCL-R training session, independently scored four criminal offenders using the…

In the present study, the authors explored the meaning of low scores on the MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF Restructured Clinical (RC) scales. Using responses of a sample of university students (N = 811), the authors examined whether low (T less than 39), within-normal-limits (T = 39-64), and high (T greater than 65) score levels on the RC scales are…

Research on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) has revealed two factors: Fearless Dominance, and Self-Centered Impulsivity. This study examined the validity of these PPI-R factors in a community sample (N = 675). First, confirmatory factor analyses did not support the two-factor structure. Second, the PPI-R factors showed good…