Personality Assessment Inventory Subscales Research Articles

Evaluating Personality Assessment Inventory Response Patterns in Active-Duty Personnel With Head Injury Using a Latent Class Approach.

Previous research has found that among those with brain injury, individuals have a variety of different potential symptom sets, which will be seen on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). The number of different groups and what they measure have varied depending on the study. In active-duty personnel with a remote history of mild traumatic brain injury (n = 384) who were evaluated at a neuropsychology clinic, we used a retrospective database to examine if there are different groups of individuals who have distinct sets of symptoms as measured on the PAI. We examined the potential of distinct groups of respondents by conducting a latent class analysis of the clinical scales. Post hoc testing of group structures was conducted on concurrently administered cognitive testing, performance validity tests, and the PAI subscales. Findings indicate a pattern of broad symptom severity as the most probable reason for multiple groups of respondents, suggesting that there are no distinct symptom sets observed within this population. Pathology levels were the most elevated on internalizing and thought disorder scales across the various class solutions. Findings indicate that among active-duty service members with remote brain injury, there are no distinct groups of respondents with different sets of symptom types as has been found in prior work with other neuropsychology samples. We conclude that the groups found are likely a function of general psychopathology present in the population/sample rather than bona fide differences.

A-182 Development of a PTSD-Specific Embedded Validity Measure in the Personality Assessment Inventory

Abstract Objective/Background The present study investigated the feasibility of developing a PTSD-specific malingering scale embedded within the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Methods Participants consisted of 489 individuals [mean age = 20.0 (SD = 3.29); 71% female; 73.0% Caucasian, 17.6% African American, 3.5%, 9.4% Other] who completed PAI. 274 individuals were in the control group and instructed to answer normally while 215 were instructed to simulate PTSD with intent to successfully feign PTSD in the context of a legal case. The following were identified as candidate PAI subscales for logistic regression to identify feigned PTSD: ARD-T, BOR-A, SCZ-T, ANX-P, and DEP-P. Results Logistic regression analysis was performed with known group as the dependent variable and PAI subtest normed T-scores as predictor variables. The final full model of five predictor variables significantly predicted group status (χ2 = 384.9, df = 5, N = 489, p < 0.001). The model accounted for 54.5% to 73.0% of the variance (Cox and Snell R2 = 0.545; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.730) in performance classification with overall 89.4% of individuals correctly predicted to their known group. At a cut value of 0.65 the specificity was 94.9%, and the sensitivity was 82.3%. Within the model, the following variables were incrementally predictive of group membership: ARD-T (B = 0.05, p < 0.001), BOR-A (B = 0.04, p < 0.05), and ANX-P (B = 0.04, p < 0.05). Conclusions Preliminary evidence for use of an embedded PAI malingering scale within the PAI was found. Further replication is needed in clinical populations prior to use in practice.

Symptom burden, validity, and cognitive performance in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Introduction The present study evaluates the complex relationships between symptom burden, validity, and cognition in a sample of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to identify key characteristic symptoms and validity measures driving cognitive performance. We hypothesized that symptom and performance validity would account for poorer outcomes on cognitive performance beyond psychological symptoms. Methods Veterans (n = 226) completed a cognitive test battery, Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), Word Memory Test (WMT), and Miller Forensic Assessment Symptom Test (M-FAST). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) modeled the fully-adjusted relationships among PAI subscales, validity, and cognitive performance. Results 23.45% of participants failed validity indices (19.9% WMT; 7.1% M-FAST). PLS-SEM indicated PAI subscales were not directly associated with performance or symptom validity measures, and there were no direct effects between validity performance and cognitive performance. Several PAI subscales were directly associated with measures of verbal abstraction, visual processing, and verbal learning and memory. Conclusion Contrary to hypotheses, symptom and performance validity did not account for poorer outcomes on cognitive performance beyond symptom burden in the PLS-SEM model. Results highlight the association between psychiatric symptoms and cognitive performance beyond validity status.

Predicting Correctional Officer Job Performance Using the Critical Hire-Screen and Personality Assessment Inventory: An Analysis of Incremental Validity

This article measured the degree to which the Critical Hire-Screen (CH-S), a pre-employment test of integrity, and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), a test of psychopathology, correlated with and predicted supervisor ratings of correctional officer job performance. Results revealed that the CH-S provided the strongest correlation with, and prediction of, job performance. Although PAI subscales contributed to the prediction model, relatively few subscales were ultimately selected, resulting in the CH-S explaining the majority of the variance. Implications for correctional agencies and pre-employment evaluators are discussed, and recommendations for the practical application of these results to pre-employment testing process are provided.

The empirically derived Violence and Aggression Risk Index from the Personality Assessment Inventory: Development, validation, and application in general psychiatric settings.

The current study developed a new index of violence risk from scales within the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Clinical patients from inpatient and outpatient settings completed the PAI along with reports of violence history and arrest record. A forward-selection hierarchical logistic regression was employed (N = 388) to identify the PAI scales (AGG-P, AGG-A, NON, PAR-H, and ANT-A) that could effectively distinguish patients with and without a history of violence. These indicators were then aggregated into a single index, labeled the Violence and Aggression Risk Index (VARI). The VARI modestly incremented other PAI subscales and indices in an independent clinical sample (N = 387). The authors discuss how the VARI can be incorporated with the other PAI scales to assess violence risk.

The psychological significance of pain symptoms

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between self-reported pain symptoms and various forms of psychopathology. Personal injury claimants (N=662) undergoing independent medical examinations were administered the Pain Symptom Ratings-2nd Ed. (PSR-2), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2nd Ed. (MMPI-2), and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). A Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted with PSR-2 questionnaire items as the predictor variables and MMPI-2 and PAI subscales as the criterion variables. Although the PSR-2 accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in all criterion variables, subsets of PSR-2 items accounted for 54% to 67% of the variance in the MMPI-2 subscales of Hypochondriasis, Depression, Psychasthenia, Hysteria, and Schizophrenia, and 56% to 65% of the variance in the PAI subscales of Warmth, Antisocial Features, Alcohol Problems, Positive Impression Management, Treatment Rejection, Anxiety, and Dominance (p<0.01 in all cases). A second series of stepwise multiple regressions were conducted with MMPI-2 and PAI subscales as the predictor variables and PSR-2 subscales as the criterion. Subsets of MMPI-2 subscales accounted for 35% to 56% of the variance in the PSR-2 subscales of Psychological Distress, Activity Limitation, and Non-Organic/Absurd Symptoms. Subsets of PAI subscales accounted for 51% to 72% of the variance in the PSR-2 subscales of Catastrophizing, Pain Severity, Activity Limitation, and Psychological Distress. Self-reported pain symptoms contain subtle psychological content that reflect mood, adjustment, personality, somatization, and impression management in patients seeking compensation for personal injuries.