Factor analysis of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List: A separation of positive and negative affect.

Abstract

The Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) is one of the most widely used instruments research in olving the assessment of emotional states. We examined the factor structure of the MAACL. When it was administered a large sample of undergraduate students, the correlations among the MAACL Anxiety. Depression, and Hostility scales ranged from .72 .82. Principal-components factor analysis of the MAACL adjectives yielded two large unipolar factors. Factor I was defined by negative adjectives and Factor 2 by positive adjectives from all three MAACL scales. Possible explanations for the emergence of these two factors involved both the independence of positive and negative affect and the differential effects of response set on endorsement of positive and negative adjectives. These findings are discussed terms of the discriminant validity of the MAACL and the appropriateness of its use current research. The Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL: Zuckerman & Lubin. 1965) is one of the most widely used instruments research involving the assessment of emotional states. This 132item measure was originally designed to fill the need for a selfadministered test which would provide valid measures of three of the clinically relevant negative affects: anxiety, depression, and hostility'' (Zuckerman & Lubin. 1965. p. 3). In the development of the MAACL. adjectives for each of the three scales were retained for use if they differentiated between anxious psychiatric patients and nonanxious normals. between depressed and nondepressed men and women, and between normal and hypnotically induced hostility states, respectively. The Anxiety scale of the MAACL comprises 21 adjectives, the Depression scale is made up of 40 adjectives, and the Hostility scale contains 28 adjectives. The three scales contain both positive and negative adjectives, and the total score for each scale is obtained by means of summing the number of negative adjectives checked and positive adjectives not endorsed. Since its publication 1965. the MAACL has been used several hundred investigations assess the effects of a wide variety of experimental treatments samples of student, community, and psychiatric populations. For example, the MAACL