Generality or Specificity? Examining the Relation between Personality Traits and Mental Health Outcomes Using a Bivariate Bi–factor Latent Change Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenting Mu ◽  
Jing Luo ◽  
Lauren Nickel ◽  
Brent W. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Pairwise Correlations ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Using Data

Most previous research has focused on the relationships between specific personality traits and specific facets of mental health. However, in reality most of the Big Five are associated at non–trivial levels with mental health. To account for this broad correlation, we proposed the ‘barometer hypothesis’, positing that behind both ratings of mental health and personality lies a barometer that indicates one's general feelings of positivity or negativity. To the extent that both the general factors of personality and mental health reflect this same barometer, we would expect them to be correlated. We tested alternative models using data from a large longitudinal panel study that includes two cohorts of participants who were assessed every two years, resulting in parallel 4–year longitudinal studies. Similar results were obtained across both studies. Supporting the ‘barometer hypothesis’, findings revealed that the optimal model included general latent factors for both personality traits and mental health. Compared to the broad raw pairwise correlations, the bi–factor latent change models revealed that the relation among levels and changes in the specific factors were substantially reduced when controlling for the general factors. Still, some relations remained relatively unaffected by the inclusion of the general factor. We discuss implications of these findings. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Modeling General, Specific, and Method Variance in Personality Measures: Results for ZKA-PQ and NEO-PI-R

Assessment ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 959-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Abad ◽  
Miguel A. Sorrel ◽  
Luis Francisco Garcia ◽  
Anton Aluja
Keyword(s):  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Response Styles ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Neo Personality Inventory ◽  
Personality Inventories ◽  
Method Factor ◽  
Neo Personality Inventory Revised ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Using Data

Contemporary models of personality assume a hierarchical structure in which broader traits contain narrower traits. Individual differences in response styles also constitute a source of score variance. In this study, the bifactor model is applied to separate these sources of variance for personality subscores. The procedure is illustrated using data for two personality inventories—NEO Personality Inventory–Revised and Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire. The inclusion of the acquiescence method factor generally improved the fit to acceptable levels for the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire, but not for the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised. This effect was higher in subscales where the number of direct and reverse items is not balanced. Loadings on the specific factors were usually smaller than the loadings on the general factor. In some cases, part of the variance was due to domains being different from the main one. This information is of particular interest to researchers as they can identify which subscale scores have more potential to increase predictive validity.

scholarly journals Riskier Tests of the Validity of Bifactor Models of Psychopathology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley L. Watts ◽  
Holly Poore ◽  
Irwin Waldman
Keyword(s):  
Community Sample ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Symptom Dimensions ◽  
Bifactor Models ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Psychopathology Symptom ◽  
Using Data ◽  
P Factor ◽  
Correlated Factors ◽  
Additional Variance

We advanced several “riskier tests” of the validity of bifactor models of psychopathology, which included that the general and specific factors should be reliable and well-represented by their indicators, and that including a general factor should improve the correlated factor model’s external validity. We compared bifactor and correlated factors models using data from a community sample of youth (N=2498) whose parents provided ratings on psychopathology and external criteria (i.e., temperament, aggression, antisociality). Bifactor models tended to yield either general or specific factors that were unstable and difficult to interpret. The general factor appeared to reflect a differentially-weighted amalgam of psychopathology rather than a liability for psychopathology broadly construed. With rare exceptions, bifactor models did not explain additional variance in psychopathology symptom dimensions or external criteria compared with correlated factors models. Together, our findings call into question the validity of bifactor models of psychopathology, and the p-factor more broadly.

scholarly journals How personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion predict the effects of the COVID-19 on the mental health of Canadians

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251097
Author(s):  
Anahita Shokrkon ◽  
Elena Nicoladis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Using Data

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) epidemic was first detected in China in December 2019 and spread to other countries fast. Some studies have found that COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health consequences. Individual differences such as personality could contribute to people’s behaviors during a pandemic. In the current study, we examine how personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion (using the Five-Factor Model as our framework) are related to the mental health of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from an online survey with 1096 responses, this study performed multiple regression analysis to explore how personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion predict the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of Canadians. The results showed that personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion are associated with the current mental health of Canadians during COVID-19 pandemic, with extroversion positively related to mental health and neuroticism negatively related to it. Results contribute to the management of individual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and could help public health services provide personality-appropriate mental health services during this pandemic.

scholarly journals Effects of Neighborhood Discrimination Towards Mainland Immigrants on Mental Health in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025
Author(s):  
Juan Chen ◽  
Zhonglu Li ◽  
Duoduo Xu ◽  
Xiaogang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Using Data

Using data from a representative sample of Chinese adults who were surveyed in the Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics (HKPSSD), we estimate the effects of neighborhood discrimination towards immigrants from Mainland China on the mental health of Chinese residents in Hong Kong. Contrary to our expectations, discrimination towards immigrants from Mainland China measured at the neighborhood level is not associated with the poor mental health of post-1997 immigrants; instead, a higher level of immigrant discrimination is associated with a lower level of psychological distress for both post-1997 Mainland immigrants and other Chinese residents in Hong Kong. A functional family also appears to be a consistent predictor of better mental health for both groups. Our findings, therefore, suggest that immigrant discrimination can signify a prejudice that leads to social distance or avoidance and that the post-1997 Mainland immigrants do not have extensive contact with other local residents in Hong Kong. Although local residents’ discriminatory attitudes may not result in aggressive behaviors that have a negative impact on newcomers’ mental health, the social distance between the immigrants and the local residents is still an issue that requires further research and practical attention.

Does Compressing High School Duration Affect Students’ Stress and Mental Health? Evidence from the National Educational Panel Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 238 (5) ◽  
pp. 441-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Sophie Quis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
German State ◽  
Instruction Time ◽  
Academic Track ◽  
School Duration ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Starting in 2004/2005, the German state Baden-Wurttemberg reduced academic track duration from nine to eight years, leaving cumulative instruction time mostly unchanged. I use this change in schooling policy to identify the effect of increased schooling intensity on students’ internalizing mental health problems and perceived stress. Using data on 2306 students from the Additional Study Baden-Wurttemberg of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), estimates show strong negative effects on internalizing mental health problems for girls and an increase in stress for both genders.

Screening Broad Mental Health Problems Among Adolescents: Bifactor Modeling of the YIEPS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean N Weeks ◽  
Tyler L Renshaw ◽  
Allysia A. Rainey ◽  
Aubrey Taylor-Hiatt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Bifactor Model ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

Internalizing and externalizing problems are common targets for school mental health screening. The Youth Internalizing Problems Screener (YIPS) and the Youth Externalizing Problems Screener (YEPS) were developed separately yet intended as companion self-report screeners. Prior research supports the interpretation of total scores derived from both measures. We extended previous work by investigating the defensibility of a series of integrated measurement models that combined items from the YIPS and YEPS into a single, unified screener (YIEPS). Specifically, we evaluated the viability of (1) a unidimensional measurement model with one factor representing global mental health problems, (2) a correlated-factors model with two latent variables representing internalizing and externalizing problems, and (3) a bifactor model with two specific factors (i.e., internalizing and externalizing) and a general factor representing global mental health problems. Following, we tested the reliabilities of the several factors represented in these models as well as the informational value-added of these competing models. Results indicated that a bifactor YIEPS measurement model had the best data-model fit when integrating the two screeners. However, exploratory analyses suggested a revised alternative bifactor model with three specific factors—parsing attention problems from other externalizing and internalizing content—might be a better bifactor model than the original. Ultimately, we recommend the integrated YIEPS is best understood as measuring three specific factors and one general factor. Reliability findings further suggest the general factor (i.e., global Mental Health Problems) is the most defensible. Future directions for research and practice are discussed.

The construct validity of general and specific dimensions of personality pathology

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 834-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. F. Williams ◽  
M. D. Scalco ◽  
L. J. Simms
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Internalizing Symptoms ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Psychosocial Impairment ◽  
Diagnostic Interviews ◽  
Interpersonal Dysfunction ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Bifactor Modeling ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits

BackgroundModern personality disorder (PD) theory and research attempt to distinguish transdiagnostic impairments common to all PDs from constructs that explain varied PD expression. Bifactor modeling tests such distinctions; however, the only published PD criteria bifactor analysis focused on only 6 PDs and did not examine the model's construct validity.MethodsWe examined the structure and construct validity of competing PD criteria models using confirmatory and exploratory factor analytic methods in 628 patients who completed structured diagnostic interviews and self-reports of personality traits and impairment.ResultsRelative to alternative models, two bifactor models – one confirmatory model with 10 specific factors for each PD (acceptable fit) and one exploratory model with four specific factors resembling broad personality domains (excellent fit) – fit best and were compared via connections with external criteria. General and specific factors related meaningfully and differentially to personality traits, internalizing symptoms, substance use, and multiple indices of psychosocial impairment. As hypothesized, the general factor predicted interpersonal dysfunction above and beyond other psychopathology. The general factor also correlated strongly with many pathological personality traits.ConclusionsThe present study supported the validity of a model with both a general PD impairment dimension and separate individual difference dimensions; however, it also indicated that currently prominent models, which assume general PD impairments and personality traits are non-overlapping, may be misspecified.

Riskier Tests of the Validity of the Bifactor Model of Psychopathology

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1285-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley L. Watts ◽  
Holly E. Poore ◽  
Irwin D. Waldman
Keyword(s):  
Community Sample ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Symptom Dimensions ◽  
Bifactor Models ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Psychopathology Symptom ◽  
Using Data ◽  
P Factor ◽  
Correlated Factors ◽  
Additional Variance

We advanced several “riskier tests” of the validity of bifactor models of psychopathology, which included that the general and specific psychopathology factors should be reliable and well represented by their respective indicators and that including a general factor should improve on the correlated factor model’s external validity. We compared bifactor and correlated factors models of psychopathology using data from a community sample of youth ( N = 2,498) whose parents provided ratings on psychopathology and theoretically relevant external criteria (i.e., personality, aggression, antisociality). Bifactor models tended to yield either general or specific factors that were unstable and difficult to interpret. The general factor appeared to reflect a differentially weighted amalgam of psychopathology rather than a liability for psychopathology broadly construed. With rare exceptions, bifactor models did not explain additional variance in first-order psychopathology symptom dimensions or external criteria compared with correlated factors models. Together, our findings call into question the validity of bifactor models of psychopathology and the p factor more broadly.

scholarly journals The impact of gender-stereotypical text contents on reading competence in women and men

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1283-1301
Author(s):  
Kathrin Thums ◽  
Timo Gnambs ◽  
Ilka Wolter
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Reading Competence ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Text Content ◽  
Competence Test ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gender Specific

AbstractSocieties have socially shared assumptions about what constitutes typically male or female attributes. Language can contribute to gender inequality by transmitting gender stereotypes. This study examines whether gender-stereotypical connotations in stimulus texts within a reading competence test might serve as a nuisance factor distorting reading competence measurements. In addition to a general factor for reading competence, we expected gender-stereotypical texts to give rise to gender-specific factors regarding the text content. The research was based on a sample of 813 adults from a pilot study of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). A bifactor model confirmed a general factor for reading competence. However, the two gender-specific factors were not found; consequently, no substantial gender differences in reading competence for gender-stereotypical text content were observed. These findings indicate that there is no substantial impact of gender-stereotypical text connotations on the measurement of women’s and men’s reading competence.

scholarly journals Testing the Social Investment Principle Around Childbirth: Little Evidence for Personality Maturation Before and after Becoming a Parent

2020 ◽  
pp. per.2269
Author(s):  
Eva Asselmann ◽  
Jule Specht
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Transition To Parenthood ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Big Five Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Before And After

In line with the social investment principle, becoming a parent should lead to more mature behaviour and an increase in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. However, previous research provided mixed results that do not support this idea. Here, we used data from a nationally representative household panel study from Germany ( N = 19 875) to examine whether becoming a parent relates to personality maturation. Whether a child was born was assessed yearly, and the Big Five personality traits were measured in four waves from 2005 to 2017. We used multilevel analyses to investigate whether personality differs between individuals who will or will not become parents, whether personality differs before and after becoming a parent, and whether these effects vary by gender, age, and living status. In sum, our findings revealed that less open and more extraverted individuals were more likely to start a family, and openness and extraversion both decreased after the transition to parenthood. Some other effects varied by gender, age, and living status. Taken together, our findings suggest that the Big Five personality traits differ before and across the transition to parenthood and that these differences especially apply to openness and extraversion. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology

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