Construct validation using multitrait‐multimethod‐twin data: The case of a general factor of personality

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Riemann ◽  
Christian Kandler
Keyword(s):  
Study Design ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Order Structure ◽  
General Factor ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
Peer Report

We describe a behavioural genetic extension of the classic multitrait‐multimethod study design that allows estimating genetic and environmental influences on method effects in twin studies (MTMM‐T). Genetic effects and effects of the environment shared by siblings are interpreted as indicators of convergent validity. In an application of the MTMM study design, we used self‐ and peer report data to examine the higher‐order structure of the NEO‐PI‐R. Structural equation modelling did not support a general factor of personality in multimethod data. The higher‐order factor Stability turns out to be, at most, a weak trait factor. Genetic effects on method factors indicate that especially self‐reports but also peer reports show convergent validity between twins but not between methods. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The General Factor of Personality and Evaluation

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Pettersson ◽  
Eric Turkheimer ◽  
Erin E. Horn ◽  
Andrew R. Menatti
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Adaptive Behaviour ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Small Magnitude ◽  
Negative Pole ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Positive Valence

According to the proposal of the general factor of personality (GFP), socially desirable personality traits have been selected for throughout evolution because they increase fitness. However, it remains unknown whether people high on this factor actually behave in socially desirable ways or whether they simply endorse traits of positive valence. We separated these two sources of variance by having 619 participants respond to 120 personality adjectives organised into 30 quadruples balanced for content and valence (e.g. unambitious, easy–going, driven and workaholic tapped the trait achievement–striving). An exploratory six–factor solution fit well, and the factors resembled the Big Five. We subsequently extracted a higher–order factor from this solution, which appeared similar to the GFP. A Schmid–Leiman transformation of the higher–order factor, however, revealed that it clustered items of similar valence but opposite content (e.g. at the negative pole, unambitious and workaholic), rendering it an implausible description of evolved adaptive behaviour. Isolating this evaluative factor using exploratory structural equation modelling generated factors consisting of items of similar descriptive content but different valence (e.g. driven and workaholic), and the correlations among these factors were of small magnitude, indicating that the putative GFP capitalises primarily on evaluative rather than descriptive variance. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals Twin Analyses of Fatigue

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 729-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Schur ◽  
Niloofar Afari ◽  
Jack Goldberg ◽  
Dedra Buchwald ◽  
Patrick F. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Prolonged Fatigue ◽  
The University ◽  
Twin Modeling

AbstractProlonged fatigue equal to or greater than 1 month duration and chronic fatigue equal to or greater than 6 months duration are both commonly seen in clinical practice, yet little is known about the etiology or epidemiology of either symptom. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), while rarer, presents similar challenges in determining cause and epidemiology. Twin studies can be useful in elucidating genetic and environmental influences on fatigue and CFS. The goal of this article was to use biometrical structural equation twin modeling to examine genetic and environmental influences on fatigue, and to investigate whether these influences varied by gender. A total of 1042 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs and 828 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs who had completed the University of Washington Twin Registry survey were assessed for three fatigue-related variables: prolonged fatigue, chronic fatigue, and CFS. Structural equation twin modeling was used to determine the relative contributions of additive genetic effects, shared environmental effects, and individual-specific environmental effects to the 3 fatigue conditions. In women, tetrachoric correlations were similar for MZ and DZ pairs for prolonged and chronic fatigue, but not for CFS. In men, however, the correlations for prolonged and chronic fatigue were higher in MZ pairs than in DZ pairs. About half the variance for both prolonged and chronic fatigue in males was due to genetic effects, and half due to individual-specific environmental effects. For females, most variance was due to individual environmental effects.

scholarly journals Psychological Capital Questionnaire - Short Version (PCQ-12): evidence of Validity of The Brazilian Version

Psico-USF ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helder Kamei ◽  
Maria Cristina Ferreira ◽  
Felipe Valentini ◽  
Mario Fernando Prieto Peres ◽  
Patricia Tobo Kamei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Order Structure ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Abstract This study aimed to show evidence of validity for the Brazilian short version (12 items) of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-12). Three independent samples participated in the study, totaling 1771 subjects (64.3% women, 32.9% men and 2.9% undeclared), aged 18-79 years (M = 38.59, SD = 12.98). Confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable adjustment indices for the four-factor structure (self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism) and for a second-order structure with a general factor of psychological capital explaining the four primary factors. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses found configural, metric and scalar invariance of the measure for the different samples as well as for men and women. Finally, convergent validity analyses found a positive and moderate correlation of PCQ-12 with satisfaction with life and subjective happiness, as well as a negative and moderate correlation with perceived stress and depression.

Higher-Order and Bifactor Models of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire

Assessment ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Lac ◽  
Candice D. Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Negative Reinforcement ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Bifactor Model ◽  
Drinking Motives ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Fit Indices ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses

The Drinking Motives Questionnaire, previously postulated and documented to exhibit a measurement structure of four correlated factors (social, enhancement, conformity, and coping), is a widely administered assessment of reasons for consuming alcohol. In the current study ( N = 552), confirmatory factor analyses tested the plausibility of several theoretically relevant factor structures. Fit indices corroborated the original four-factor model, and also supported a higher-order factor model involving a superordinate motives factor that explicated four subordinate factors. A bifactor model that permitted items to double load on valence type (positive or negative reinforcement) and source type (external or internal) generated mixed results, suggesting that this 2 × 2 motivation paradigm was not entirely tenable. Optimal fit was obtained for a bifactor model depicting a general factor and four specific factors of motives. Latent factors derived from this structure exhibited criterion validity in predicting frequency and quantity of alcohol usage in a structural equation model. Findings are interpreted in the context of theoretical implications of the instrument, alternative factor structures of drinking motives, and assessment applications.

scholarly journals The Motivation and Opportunity for Socially Desirable Responding Does Not Alter the General Factor of Personality

Assessment ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 107319111988096
Author(s):  
Dirk H. M. Pelt ◽  
Dimitri Van der Linden ◽  
Curtis S. Dunkel ◽  
Marise Ph. Born
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Socially Desirable Responding ◽  
Common Variance ◽  
Total N ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
The Common ◽  
Personality Questionnaires

Socially desirable responding may affect the factor structure of personality questionnaires and may be one of the reasons for the common variance among personality traits. In this study, we test this hypothesis by investigating the influence of the motivational test-taking context (development vs. selection) and the opportunity to distort responses (forced-choice vs. Likert response format) on personality questionnaire scores. Data from real selection and assessment candidates (total N = 3,980) matched on gender, age, and educational level were used. Mean score differences were found between the selection and development groups, with smaller differences for the FC version. Yet, exploratory structural equation models showed that the overall factor structures as well as the general factor were highly similar across the four groups. Thus, although socially desirable responding may affect mean scores on personality traits, it does not appear to affect factor structures. This study further suggests that the common variance in personality questionnaires is consistent and appears to be little influenced by motivational pressures for response distortion.

scholarly journals Mind-Personality Relations from Childhood to Early Adulthood

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Demetriou ◽  
George Spanoudis ◽  
Mislav Stjepan Žebec ◽  
Maria Andreou ◽  
Hudson Golino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
General Factor ◽  
General Factor Of Personality

We present three studies which investigated the relations between cognition and personality from 7 to 20 years of age. All three studies showed that general cognitive ability and the general factor of personality are significantly related throughout this age span. This relation was expressed in several ways across studies. The first investigated developmental relations between three reasoning domains (inductive, deductive, and scientific) and Eysenck’s four personality dimensions in a longitudinal-sequential design where 260 participants received the cognitive tests three and the personality test two times, covering the span from 9-16 years. It was found that initial social likeability significantly shapes developmental momentum in cognition and vice-versa, especially in the 9 to 11 years period. The second study involved 438 participants from 7 to 17 years, tested twice on attention control, working memory, reasoning in different domains, and once by a Big Five Factors inventory. Extending the findings of the first, this study showed that progression in reasoning is affected negatively by conscientiousness and positively by openness, on top of attention control and working memory influences. The third study tested the relations between reasoning in several domains, the ability to evaluate one’s own cognitive performance, self-representation about the reasoning, the Big Five, and several aspects of emotional intelligence, from 9 to 20 years of age (N=247). Network, Hierarchical Network, and Structural Equation modeling showed that cognition and personality are mediated by the ability of self-knowing. Emotional intelligence was not an autonomous dimension. All dimensions but emotional intelligence influenced academic performance. A developmental model for mind-personality relations is proposed.

scholarly journals Redefining Phenotypes to Advance Psychiatric Genetics: Implications from Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Waszczuk
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Power ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Genetic Covariance

Genetic discovery in psychiatry and clinical psychology is hindered by suboptimal phenotypic definitions. We argue that the hierarchical, dimensional, and data-driven classification system proposed by the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) consortium provides a more effective approach to identifying genes that underlie mental disorders, and to studying psychiatric etiology, than current diagnostic categories. Specifically, genes are expected to operate at different levels of the HiTOP hierarchy, with some highly pleiotropic genes influencing higher-order psychopathology (e.g. the general factor), whereas other genes conferring more specific risk for individual spectra (e.g. internalizing), subfactors (e.g. fear disorders), or narrow symptoms (e.g. mood instability). We propose that the HiTOP model aligns well with the current understanding of the higher-order genetic structure of psychopathology that has emerged from a large body of family and twin studies. We also discuss the convergence between the HiTOP model and findings from recent molecular studies of psychopathology indicating broad genetic pleiotropy, such as cross-disorder SNP-based shared genetic covariance and polygenic risk scores, and we highlight molecular genetic studies that have successfully redefined phenotypes to enhance precision and statistical power. Finally, we suggest how to integrate a HiTOP approach into future molecular genetic research, including quantitative and hierarchical assessment tools for future data-collection and recommendations concerning phenotypic analyses.

General vs. Specific Vulnerabilities: Polygenic Risk Scores and Higher-Order Psychopathology Dimensions in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Waszczuk ◽  
Jiaju Miao ◽  
Anna Docherty ◽  
Andrey Shabalin ◽  
Giorgia Michelini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Childhood Psychopathology ◽  
Polygenic Risk ◽  
Genetic Vulnerability ◽  
Specific Factors

Background. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) capture genetic vulnerability to psychiatric conditions and promise to advance our understanding of mental health etiology in children. Emerging evidence suggests that PRSs may be associated with higher-order dimensions of childhood psychopathology. The current study delineated a pattern of associations of major PRSs with an overarching general factor of psychopathology (p-factor), and five specific factors: externalizing, internalizing, neurodevelopmental, somatoform, and detachment.Method. The sample consisted of 4,717 unrelated children (mean age=9.92, SD=.62; 47.1% female; all European ancestry). Psychopathology was conceptualized hierarchically as empirically-derived general factor and five specific factors. Partial correlations explored associations between psychopathology factors and major psychopathology-related PRSs originally discovered in large samples (Ns>100,000). Regressions tested which level of the psychopathology hierarchy was most strongly associated with each PRS.Results. Four PRSs were associated primarily with the general factor (>60% of genetic effects were general): Depression-PRS, Neuroticism-PRS, PTSD-PRS, and Insomnia-PRS. Two PRS contributed comparably to general and specific psychopathology: Smoking-PRS and Number of Sexual Partners-PRS. Five PRSs contributed primary to specific factors (<40% of genetic effects were general): Adventurousness-PRS, Disinhibition-PRS, Educational Attainment-PRSs, BMI-PRS, and Intelligence-PRS. The incremental associations with specific factors were mainly driven by the externalizing dimension. Conclusion. The PRSs for internalizing problems predominantly captured non-specific genetic vulnerability to psychopathology in children. Conversely, PRSs for externalizing problems contributed to more specific psychopathology outcomes, most notably externalizing behavior. Overall, many major PRSs captured both general and specific genetic vulnerability to childhood psychopathology.

scholarly journals Comparing Job Applicants to Non-Applicants Using an Item-Level Bifactor Model on the HEXACO Personality Inventory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeromy Anglim ◽  
Gavin Morse ◽  
Reinout E. de Vries ◽  
Carolyn MacCann ◽  
Andrew Marty
Keyword(s):  
Social Desirability ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Bifactor Model ◽  
Order Structure ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Item Level ◽  
Improved Model

The present study evaluated the ability of item-level bifactor models (a) to provide an alternative explanation to current theories of higher-order factors of personality, and (b) to explain socially desirable responding in both job applicant and non-applicant contexts. Participants (46% male; mean age=42 years, SD=11) completed the 200- item HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO PI-R) either as part of a job application (n = 1613) or as part of low-stakes research (n = 1613). A comprehensive set of invariance test were performed. Applicants scored higher than non-applicants on honesty- humility (d = 0.86), extraversion (d = 0.73), agreeableness (d = 1.06), and conscientiousness (d = 0.77). The bifactor model provided improved model fit relative to a standard correlated factor model, and loadings on the evaluative factor of the bifactor model were highly correlated with other indicators of item social desirability. The bifactor model explained approximately two-thirds of the differences between applicants and non- applicants. Results suggest that rather than being a higher-order construct, the general factor of personality may be caused by an item- level evaluative process. Results highlight the importance of modelling data at the item-level. Implications for conceptualizing social desirability, higher-order structure in personality, test development, and job applicant faking are discussed.

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