Personality Inventory For Children Scales Research Articles

Validity of self- and parent-report scales in screening students for behavioral and emotional problems in elementary school

The comparative validity of the child-report Classroom Screening Scale (CLASS) from the Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY), and the parent-report Adjustment Scale (ADJ) from the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was examined. The subjects were 111 children from fourth- through sixth-grade regular education classrooms. Children were classified as positive or negative for risk status on each screening scale using a cutoff of 60T. Parent description identified a higher proportion of children as at risk. Those identified as “at risk” by either parent or child report were more likely than others to have clinically elevated scores on both the PIC and PIY clinical scales. High scores on CLASS were more likely to have clinically significant elevations than were high scorers on ADJ. Parent report appeared to be sensitive to overt behavioral problems, while self-report was sensitive to mood disturbances and withdrawal. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Differential diagnosis between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and pervasive developmental disorder--not otherwise specified.

The lack of clarity in diagnostic classification and the lack of specificity of assessment devices deter accurate identification of children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD--NOS). The current study was designed to assess the utility of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) and the Conners Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-48) in differentiating PDD--NOS from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), disorders with overlapping symptom constellations. Subjects were 44 children recruited from a tertiary-care center with the diagnosis of ADHD or PDD--NOS. Results showed significant differences between groups on PIC scales assessing internalizing behaviors, social skills, and unusual affect and behavior. There were no group differences on the externalizing or learning scales of the CPRS-48. Discriminant function analysis using preselected PIC variables yielded a correct group classification of 92.7%. The PIC appears to be a useful tool in the differential diagnosis between PDD--NOS and ADD, while the CPRS-48, a commonly used screening measure for attentional and behavioral disorders, does not.

Intrapair differences in personality and cognitive ability among young monozygotic twins distinguished by chorion type.

We evaluated placentation effects on behavioral resemblance of 44 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twin children. Tested at ages 4-6, the twins' zygosity and placental type had been determined at their delivery. The sample included 23 monochorionic (MC) and 21 dichorionic (DC) MZ twin pairs: DC-MZ twins result from separation of blastomeres within 72 h of ovulation; MC-MZ twins arise from later duplication of the inner cell mass. Twins were individually administered the McCarthy Scales of Cognitive Ability, while their mothers separately rated each cotwin on an individualized 280-item form of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). Absolute differences between MC-MZ cotwins were smaller than those between DC-MZ cotwins for all 20 PIC scales, significantly so for 3 of 4 factor scales, 8 of 12 clinical scales, and 2 of 4 validity/screening scales from the PIC; in contrast, no consistent differences in intrapair resemblance of mono- and dichorionic MZ twins were found for the McCarthy Scales. The chorion differences found in the PIC data cannot be due to genetic differences, because all pairs are monozygotes; nor are they associated with differences in parity, gestational age, birth weight, maternal education, palmar dermatoglyphic asymmetry, or maternal knowledge of chorion type. We interpret our findings as suggestive evidence that variation in timing of embryological division, with effects on MZ twins' placental vasculature, has significant consequences for some dimensions of their behavioral development, as well.

Using behavioral questionnaires to identify adaptive deficits in elementary school children

Adaptive skills are the practical skills used for negotiating one's physical and social environment, including communication skills, daily living skills, and social skills. Adaptive skills are commonly assessed only in children suspected of mental retardation or developmental delay. In this article, it is demonstrated that many other types of children referred for psychometric evaluation, including children with emotional disturbance and/or learning disabilities, also have deficits in adaptive behavior, and that commonly used behavioral scales can predict these deficits. In this investigation, responses to two widely used parent-completed behavioral questionnaires, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the revised Personality Inventory for Children (PIC-R), were obtained from a sample of 88 boys 6–11 years old. Scales from the CBCL and the PIC-R were used to predict the three domain scales and the Adaptive Behavior Composite from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. These results highlight relations between dimensions of adaptive behavior and CBCL and PIC-R scales and suggest that behavioral questionnaires can be used to efficiently identify persons who demonstrate deficits based upon more in-depth adaptive behavior assessment.

Identification of special education needs with the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC): A hierarchical classification model.

Psychologists who test children for possible special education placement are obliged to incorporate parental input into the assessment process. This investigation studied the utility of a multidimensional, parent-informant questionnaire, the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC), as a screening measure for the need for special education services. PIC profiles from children in regular classrooms and classrooms for the learning disabled, emotionally impaired, and mentally impaired were used in discriminant function analyses to develop a set of hierarchical classification rules. Results of analyses within both a derivation and a replication sample indicated reasonably high correct classification rates for these rules. Also, results within a third sample of AfricanAmerican and White children matched for IQ suggested absence of classification bias by race. Implications of these results for use of the PIC in school assessments are discussed. Federal guidelines that define the basic categories of special education services (e.g., PL 94-142, Federal Register, 1977) specify that parental input must be considered in the placement of children. School psychologists and other assessment practitioners who evaluate referred children are thus obliged to gather parental observations about child adjustment that are relevant to the determination of the need for remedial services. Objective questionnaires are a common means to systematicall y gather parental observations (e.g., Lachar, 1993), which typically represent parental concerns across several adjustment domains with reports in each domain normed by child age and gender. Examples of parent-inform ant questionnaires with good psychometric properties that are widely used in school and child clinical evaluations include the recently revised Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) and the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC; Wirt, Lachar, Klinedinst, & Seat, 1984), the subject of this article. The PIC has characteristics that may be advantageous for its use in school settings. For example, the age range of the normative sample for the PIC spans the preschool, elementary, and high-school years and it has scales that reflect child cognitivedevelopmental status as well as emotional-behavioral adjustment. PIC profile scales (e.g., Lachar & Gdowski, 1979) and profile patterns (e.g., Kline, Lachar, & Gdowski, 1992) can be interpreted using empirically based guidelines. Finally, the research literature about the validity of the PIC in school assessments is relatively large, which we briefly summarize here. Scores from PIC scales constructed as measures of child cognitive-scholastic functioning (e.g., Achievement, Intellectual Screening, and Development) correlate about —.60 to —.40 with

Evaluation of age, sex, and race bias in the Personality Inventory for Children.

The question of whether children's ability tests are biased has received much attention, but the same issue regarding children's personality tests has been neglected. In this study, we evaluated whether the external validity of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC), a parent-informant measure of child psychological status, was moderated by child age, sex, or race. Using a hierarchical multiple-regression algorithm within a clinic-referred sample, we found that child race and sex generally did not moderate the relation of PIC scales to symptom checklists completed by clinicians, teachers, and parents. Some expected relations were modified by child age. Implications for the potential use of the PIC as an unbiased personality measure are discussed. The question of whether children's intelligence tests are culturally biased has generated much controversy over the last 30 years. A large body of literature has been devoted to such topics as operationalization of test bias (e.g., content, construct, and predictive bias; Reynolds, 1982; Reynolds & Kaiser, 1990), appropriate statistical methods for the detection of bias (e.g., Berk, 1982), recommendations for examiners who assess minority children (e.g., Sattler, 1988), and the impact of numerous court cases on use of intelligence tests (e.g., Bersoff, 1982). In contrast to research with children's ability tests and with adult personality measures (especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI]; e.g., Dahlstrom, Lachar, & Dahlstrom, 1986), there has been little evaluation of whether children's personality tests are biased (Moran, 1990). Two reasons may account for the lack of attention to this problem. First, bias in children's cognitive tests or adults' personality tests can affect obvious and important decisions, including, for example, access to special education or promotion considerations. Thus, much consideration of the problem of bias is expected. Bias in personality tests for children can also be serious, however, and can affect matters such as treatment recommendations or access to services for emotionally disturbed children. Second, the psychometric properties of many personality tests are flawed, which limits use of appropriate statistical techniques (Moran, 1990). For example, low test reliability can complicate the interpretation of results of moderator variable analyses of whether test validity changes by child race (or age, sex, etc.). Low test reliability places a ceiling on a test's external validity, which makes detection of differential validity more difficult. Subjectively scored tests (e.g., projectives) present similar problems if their interrater reliabilities are low. We evaluated in this study possible bias effects in the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC; Wirt, Lachar, Klinedinst, & Seat, 1984), a parent-informa nt measure of child cognitive,

Psychosocial functioning of learning-disabled children: Relations between WISC Verbal IQ^Performance IQ discrepancies and personality subtypes.

A total of 132 children with learning disabilities (LD) between the ages of 6 and 12 years were divided equally into 3 groups on the basis of the difference between WISC VIQ-PIQ scores (viz., VIQ greater than PIQ, VIQ = PIQ, and VIQ less than PIQ). The mean Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) profiles for the VIQ = PIQ and VIQ less than PIQ groups were normal; however, the VIQ greater than PIQ group showed pathological elevations on some PIC scales. Group average linkage cluster analysis using 10 PIC scales revealed 6 psychosocial subtypes. Within these subtypes, children with VIQ greater than PIQ were found at lower than expected frequencies in normal and mildly disturbed subtypes, but at higher than expected frequencies in seriously disturbed subtypes. These results support the notion that patterns of cognitive performance are related to patterns of psychosocial functioning in children with LD.

Screening Ability of the Broad-Band versus Narrow-Band Intellectual Scales of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC)

The present study sought to shed light on the relative effectiveness of the narrow-band and broad-band intellectual scales of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) as screening measures for the need for an intensive assessment. Following family interviews and extensive psychological testing, 40 preschool children had been placed in either the treatment (n = 20) or regular (n = 20) nursery program. The ability of the PIC narrow-band scales Achievement (ACH), Intellectual Screening (IS), and Development (DVL), and the PIC broad-band Cognitive Development scale (Scale IV) to differentiate these two groups of children was assessed. Analysis of covariance procedures revealed that all four PIC scales were able to significantly differentiate the two groups, with the broad-band scale (Scale IV) as effective as the most effective of the narow-band scales. Chi-square analysis indicated that high versus low scores on Scale IV correctly identified the group placement of 36 of the 40 children. The results strongly support the proposition that Scale IV: Cognitive Development, a broad-band scale derived from a considerably abbreviated version of the PIC, is an effective, economical screening measure for the need for intensive assessment within a preschool population.

Convergence and concurrent validity of DSM-III diagnoses and the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC).

Psychiatric diagnoses and objective behaviour rating scales represent alternative means to describe children's psychological disorders. Results of several studies regarding the convergence of diagnoses and rating scales have been mixed, raising questions about the nature of the relation between the two systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relations of DSM-III diagnoses and the parentinformant Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) within a sample of behaviourally disturbed children and adolescents. In addition, the ability of DSM-III diagnoses and the PIC to predict teacher and clinician behaviour ratings was compared. High proportions of children assigned specific DSM-HI diagnoses obtained elevated scores on related PIC scales, though the overlap was imperfect. Also, covariation of the teacher and clinician behaviour ratings was much stronger with the PIC than with DSM-III diagnoses. Implications of these findings for clinical practice with children are discussed.

Screening preschoolers with special problems: Use of the personality inventory for children (PIC)

A precise and simple screening device completed by their parents can prove valuable in identifying children in need of special education services. Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) profiles of 153 normal and impaired preschoolers were studied. Appropriate PIC scales were found to correlate significantly with teacher ratings as well as with measures of intelligence and language ability, suggesting both convergent and discriminant validity. Regression analysis of the PIC was also performed for the pre-school children. These studies suggest the effectiveness of using parents as informants in screening children to assess the need for special education services.

Personality Inventory for Children

The scores of 70 learning disabled (LD), 47 emotionally disturbed (ED) and 24 intellectually handicapped (IH) children were compared on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). The data were submitted to a series of 2 x 2 x 3 ANOVAs. The results indicated that the IH group was differentiated from the others on PIC scales reflecting cognitive weaknesses (Intellectual Screening and Development) and limited reality testing (Psychosis), and that the ED group was discriminated from the LD group on scales which predict general maladjustment (Adjustment) and from the IH group on scales which predict hyperactive behavior (Hyperactivity). When the protocols were analyzed using actuarial guidelines, the majority of children in all three groups showed significant elevations on scales intended to measure cognitive deficits and general maladaptive behavior (e.g. 100 percent of the IH group had significant scores on the Intellectual Screening and Development scales; a similarly high proportion of ED children had marked elevations on the Adjustment scale). It was actually the degree of scale elevation relative to the remaining profile which defined each group.

Differentiation of Infantile Autistic, Child‐onset Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Mentally Retarded Children, With the Personality Inventory for Children

AbstractThe accurate assessment of children with developmental disabilities is very challenging. This is particularly true when clinicians must differentiate pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) from mentally retarded (MR) children, and among the various types of PDD syndromes. This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of a multidimensional, parent‐informant child behavior rating scale—the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC)—in the discrimination of children who met DSM‐III diagnostic criteria for infantile autism (IA), child‐onset PDD (COPDD), or MR. These three samples differed significantly across 10 of 16 PIC profile scales. Discriminant function analyses with the PIC scales indicated correct classification of over 90% of the cases from the IA, COPDD, and MR samples. These findings suggest that the PIC may be a valuable aid in the psychiatric evaluation of children with severe developmental disorders. Implications of these results regarding the external validity of DSM‐III PDD diagnoses are also discussed.

Respondent psychopathology and interpretive accuracy of the Personality Inventory for Children: the evaluation of a "most reasonable" assumption.

This study investigates the relationship between maternal psychopathology and the validity of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that psychopathology in the parent informant limits the ability of the resulting scale scores to predict actuarially derived descriptions of child emotional and behavior disorders. Mothers of 223 children and adolescents who had been referred for an evaluation to a child psychiatry service completed the PIC. These mothers also completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The sample of mothers and their children was divided into two subsamples according to the mother's MMPI profile: within normal limits and clinically elevated. Nineteen factor dimensions scores derived from these separate behavior rating forms served as external criteria. Analyses indicated that maternal psychopathology, as represented by MMPI scale elevations, did not moderate or limit the predictive accuracy of PIC scales.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Personality Inventory for Children

The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was compared with measures of cognitive functioning (e.g., WISC-R) and classroom behavior (e.g., WPBIC). The results demonstrated that the PIC can identify salient personality and cognitive features of learning-disabled, emotionally disturbed, and intellectually handicapped children. Furthermore, correlations between the PIC profile scales and the WISC-R showed that the majority of significant correlations clustered around PIC scales intended to identify cognitive deficits, whereas significant correlations with the WPBIC were with PIC scales intended to identify disruptive, acting-out behavior. These relationships provide support for both the construct validity and diagnostic potential of the PIC with children referred for special education services.

Hyperactive and normal girls and boys: mother-child interaction, parent psychiatric status and child psychopathology.

This study compared hyperactive and normal girls and boys on their mother-child interactions, family psychiatric status and ratings on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). Hyperactive children were less compliant and more negative, and their mothers responded more negatively to their compliance than mothers of normal children. Mothers of hyperactive children reported more depression, marital discord and psychiatric problems in their relatives, and rated their children more deviant on 15 of 16 PIC scales than normal children. Hyperactive boys received more direction and praise, and had greater maternal concern about their adjustment than hyperactive girls or normal children.