Aberrant salience is the unusual or incorrect assignment of salience, significance, or importance to otherwise innocuous stimuli and has been hypothesized to be important for psychosis and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Despite the importance of this concept in psychosis research, no questionnaire measures are available to assess…

Used structural equation modeling to examine factor structure and predictive validity of the Disinhibition subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scales (DIS) with drinking in 1,217 undergraduates. A three-factor model provided the best fit; prediction of drinking varied with intrinsic levels of alcohol relatedness. The relationship between…

Confirmatory factor analysis of data (from 446 young adults entering college) on the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire, and prospective drinking data from 428 participants, support the hierarchical structure of alcohol expectancies and indicate that common and unique variance together predict alcohol use. (SLD)

Results from 344 college students and 129 psychiatric patients supported the effectiveness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Infrequency scale in detecting fake-bad responding and the usefulness of the MMPI-2 Obvious-Subtle index, Positive Malingering scale, and Lie scale in detecting fake-good responding. (SLD)

An instrument to measure cocaine-related expectancies across a continuum of use, the Cocaine Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), was developed and tested with 765 college students and 87 cocaine abusers. Expectancy factors identified by the CEQ were found to be powerful predictors of cocaine use. (SLD)

Effects of random responding and malingering on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) validity scales were studied with 173 graduate and undergraduate University of Kentucky (Lexington) students. Inconsistent responding and malingering produced significant elevations on the validity scales, with the dissimulation scale appearing…

The impact of detailed information on closed head injury (CHI) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) validity scales on malingering psychological symptoms of CHI on the MMPI-2 was studied in an analog experiment with 270 undergraduates. Results suggest the impact of such coaching on simulation of CHI. (SLD)

Two studies involving 98 prisoners and 92 undergraduates examined whether increased attention to interpersonal behaviors would improve assessments of the personality core underlying psychopathology. Twenty-one items were developed as the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathology. Measurement of interpersonal behavior appears to improve prediction…

A subscale of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), a subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and the Revised Restraint Scale were compared with 901 undergraduates. The TFEQ had the greatest discriminant validity with respect to social desirability and was the least susceptible to dissimulation. (SLD)

Two studies involving approximately 3,500 college students were conducted to establish and validate a self-report method of identifying nonclinical young adults with significant borderline personality disorder features and to evaluate clinical correlates of this classification across relevant areas of functioning. Results support the validity of…

Validity of 3 scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the F, back F, and variable response inconsistency, for detecting self-reported partially random responding was supported by 3 studies involving 195 college students and 68 community participants but not by a study with 32 police job applicants. (SLD)

Four experiments were performed to validate the newly developed Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM). Results with 475 community-dwelling adults and young adults and 161 neurologically impaired people in three experiments and a fourth experiment involving 41 college students show the promise of the TOMM for detecting exaggerated or faked memory…

Seven separate studies over 3.5 years developed the Trauma-Related Guilt Inventory, examined its internal consistency, factor structure, and the questionnaire's convergent and discriminant validity. Results with college students, veterans, and battered women support the conceptualization of trauma-related guilt as a multidimensional construct.…

A series of 4 studies involving 547 college students and community adults report the development of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, its validity with clinical and nonclinical samples, and its correlation with measures of related constructs. The scale provides information about heightened responses to aversive procedures or events. (SLD)

In 3 studies involving a total of 305 undergraduates, the Antisocial Practices (ASP) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) exhibited convergent and discriminant validity with other measures of personality. The ASP and the Psychopathic Deviant scale appear to measure different facets of psychopathy. (SLD)