Q-sort Measure Research Articles

Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C): a valid and clinically sensitive diagnostic tool for patient-tailored intervention planning.

The reliable clinical-diagnostic evaluation of child patients is crucial. The present research sought to examine the validity of the Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C) in assessing children’s mental functioning and personality organization, according to the framework of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, Second Edition (PDM-2). A sample of 209 clinicians assessed 209 children (aged 4-11 years) who had been in their care between 2-12 months, using the PDC-C. Each clinician also completed a clinical questionnaire to provide demographic information, the Child Behavior Checklist to evaluate children’s behavioral problems and social competences, and the Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort measure to assess children’s emerging personality patterns. The findings suggest that the PDC-C is a valid diagnostic tool that considers children’s full range of functioning. Moreover, the measure has good sensitivity and appears clinically useful in differentiating between certain clinical populations according to psychological characteristics. The PDC-C could promote more accurate assessment during childhood and inform the development of individualized therapies. One of the advantages of the tool is its ability to capture individual variations in child functioning (illuminating strengths and psychological vulnerabilities), even within children in the same diagnostic group. Of note, additional research is needed to establish the utility of PDC-C ratings in predicting clinically relevant constructs and to monitor the processes and outcomes of interventions.

Life history strategy and intelligence: Commonality and personality profile differences

Previous work on individual and group differences in life history (LH) strategy posited a central role for intelligence. Yet, empirical results failed to support the hypothesized positive association between a slow LH strategy and intelligence. The current investigation (N = 102) represents an attempt to not only re-examine the LH/intelligence hypothesis, but also to conduct an in-depth examination on how LH strategy and intelligence are expressed in personality profiles. The California Adult Q-sort measure of slow LH strategy exhibited a significant positive correlation with performance (r = 0.32), verbal (r = 0.34), and full (r = 0.38) IQ test scores. Additional findings suggest that a slow LH strategy and intelligence both include personality characteristics reflecting ambition and, possibly, social perceptiveness. Alternatively, intelligence is more closely aligned with a personality profile including intellectual ability, independence, and creativity while LH strategy was uniquely associated with interpersonal warmth, conformity, and reticence.

Crossing boundaries: A pilot study of maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries

BackgroundDefinitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so between different cultural contexts. ObjectiveIn this pilot study, we examine between-country variations in maternal notions about what constitutes child maltreatment. Participants and settingThe sample consisted of 466 mothers recruited in Chile, China, Greece, Iran, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, and Uruguay. MethodsAll mothers completed a new Q-sort measure, ranking 90 parenting behaviors linked to subtypes of maltreatment (emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and physical abuse) from least to most detrimental to child development. ResultsBetween-country agreement regarding the harmfulness of the parenting behaviors was high (r = .45), but there were different patterns of reported harmfulness of subtypes of maltreatment (although driven mostly by deviating patterns in the South African sample). Further, there were significant country effects on the number and type of behaviors labeled as maltreatment (pƞ2 = .15), and the number of items labeled as requiring intervention (pƞ2 = .19). ConclusionsVariations in conceptions of maltreatment need to be studied in larger more representative samples and taken into account in the assessment and treatment of child maltreatment across cultures.

Using the California Q-sort Measure of Life History Strategy to Predict Sexual Behavioral Outcomes.

The validity of the California Q-set measure of life history (LH) strategy was examined by conducting secondary analyses on longitudinal data that included the Q-sort measure of LH strategy at multiple ages (base year N = 106) and six measures of reproductive behavior. LH strategy Q-sort ratings showed stability from ages 14-23. Additionally, the ratings were found to be good prospective and age concurrent predictors of six reproductive behaviors. LH strategy as rated at age 14 was found to be a significant predictor of age of sexual debut, number of sexual partners, frequency of intercourse, number of abortions, age at birth of first child, and likelihood for having contracted venereal disease as measured up to age 32. Future research should test the further utility of the measure focusing on ways to reduce its cumbersomeness without reducing its ability to predict behavioral outcomes.

Caregiver Confirmation and Children’s Attachment Security During the Transition to Kindergarten

This study explores the relationship between caregiver confirmation and children’s attachment security during the transition to kindergarten. Caregiver-child dyads ( N = 50) read a story about the transition to school, caregivers responded to hypothetical child statements of concern regarding starting school, and caregivers completed the Attachment Q-Sort measure (Waters, 1995). Caregivers’ behaviors during portions of the storybook task and their written responses to hypothetical child statements of concern were coded for verbal and nonverbal “confirmation as acceptance” and verbal “confirmation as challenge.” Children’s attachment security scores were produced from the Attachment Q-Sort. Caregivers’ level of education moderated the association between caregiver confirmation as verbal and nonverbal acceptance and children’s attachment security such that there was a positive association between confirmation and attachment security primarily for caregivers with low levels of formal education. Implications for the literatures on confirmation, attachment, and the transition to school are discussed.

Stability of Maternal Sensitivity Across Time and Contexts with Q-Sort Measures

This study examined stability of maternal sensitivity and efficacy of a Q-sort measure of maternal sensitivity across time and context. Two versions of the maternal behavior Q-set (MBQS) were employed, first during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and second at home, 2.5 years later based on an available subsample. Findings revealed that the MBQS scores assessed at two time points in two contexts were significantly correlated, showing the stability of maternal sensitivity of the subsample over a time period of 2.5 years. The MBQS scores assigned to mothers of preschoolers were also significantly correlated with their children's early interactive behavioural scores given during the SSP. The current findings further support validating the consistency, the versatility and the efficacy of the MBQS as a sound measure of maternal sensitivity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Child-Rearing Values in Southern Brazil

The authors examine social-class differences in parents’ child-rearing values for autonomy, self-direction, and conformity and the extent to which their values are influenced by their perceptions of their developing children’s characteristics. Parents from 25 middle-class or working-class families in a Brazilian city participated in interviews, observations, and completed Kohn’s Q-Sort measure when their children were 3, 36, and 72 months of age. Parents’ child-rearing values differed significantly by social class: middle-class parents were more likely to value autonomy and self-direction in their children, whereas working-class parents were more likely to value conformity. In addition, the strength and direction of parental values changed significantly as their children developed. Parents were less likely to value autonomy and self-direction when their children were 36 months than when they were either 3 or 72 months. Middle-class parents were more likely to value conformity when their children were 36 than when they were younger or older.

Differential expression of social dominance as a function of age and maltreatment experience.

Recent perspectives on social dominance in normative populations have suggested a developmental progression from using primarily coercive strategies to incorporation of more socially competent strategies to attain material and social resources. Parental influences on the resource control strategies children use have been proposed but not investigated empirically. The present study examined age- and gender-related differences in dominance strategies in 470 children from high-risk neighborhoods who were between 6 and 13 years of age, approximately half of whom had experienced maltreatment. A Q-sort measure of social dominance was developed and received preliminary support. Consistent with predictions from resource control theory, age-related differences in dominance-related behavior were demonstrated in both nonmaltreated and maltreated children. Maltreated children were more likely than nonmaltreated children to be identified as dominant bullies at any age. Dominance and bullying were not more likely to be associated for children who had experienced physical and sexual abuse relative to those who were neglected or emotionally maltreated. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of maltreatment on the social development of children, and intervention approaches for limiting these deleterious effects are recommended.

Summaries of the Sixth Annual Poster Session of the American Psychoanalytic Association: Part 3

Several years ago, Shedler and Westen began to report on their develop -ment of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure–200 (SWAP-200; Westen and Shedler 1999), a dynamically informed Q-sort measure in which the clinician rank orders statements about a patient on a scale rang-ing from “very descriptive” to “inapplicable or not descriptive.” After completing preliminary studies with the SWAP-200, we began a longitudi-nal study. Participating analysts describe the index patient as analysis begins and every six months until the analysis ends. As analysis progressed, scores on a sexual conflict scale increased dramatically for some patients, perhaps showing the intensification of conflicts characteristic of the mid-phase of psychoanalysis as core conflicts are more exposed and become accessible to psychoanalytic work with hysteria related to sexual conflicts and obsessiveness related to hostile conflicts (see, e.g., Freud 1926).We are concerned here with the SWAP-200 scores for histrionic and obsessive personality disorder in the first month or two of psychoanalysis and scores for sexual conflicts (e.g., “Appears to associate sexual activity with danger [e.g., injury, punishment, contamination, etc.], whether con-sciously or unconsciously”) and hostility (e.g., “Tends to be critical of others”) at the beginning of analysis and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months into it.We correlated the scores of 7 male and 8 female patients on histrionic and obsessive personality disorder scales at the beginning of analysis Downloaded from apa.sagepub.com

Development and validation of a Q-sort measure of identity processing style: The identity processing style Q-sort

Identity styles represent strategies individuals use to explore identity-related issues. Berzonsky (Berzonsky, M. D. (1992). Identity style and coping strategies. Journal of Personality, 60, 771–788) identified three styles: informational, normative, and diffuse. In three studies, this paper presents (a) the identity processing style Q-sort (IPSQ), a new measurement technique for assessing identity styles, along with the reliability and validity of three criterion sorts that represent “ideal types” for the three respective styles, (b) a description of the styles in a sample of 480 college students along with direct comparisons with the paper–pencil measure of identity styles originally developed by Berzonsky, and (c) an examination of convergent and discriminant validity of the IPSQ in a sample of 321 college students based on correlations with measures tapping identity status, family relationship quality, social competence, coping styles, and social desirability. The general discussion concludes that the reliability and validity of the sort are supported and future directions and potential uses are described.

Measuring melancholia: the utility of a prototypic symptom approach

Melancholia has long resisted classification, with many of its suggested markers lacking specificity. The imprecision of depressive symptoms, in addition to self-report biases, has limited the capacity of existing measures to delineate melancholic depression as a distinct subtype. Our aim was to develop a self-report measure differentiating melancholic and non-melancholic depression, weighting differentiation by prototypic symptoms and determining its comparative classification success with a severity-based strategy. Consecutively recruited depressed out-patients (n=228) rated 32 symptoms by prototypic or 'characteristic' relevance (using the Q-sort strategy) and severity [using the Severity-based Depression Rating System (SDRS) strategy]. Clinician diagnosis of melancholic/non-melancholic depression was the criterion measure, but two other formal measures of melancholia (Newcastle and DSM-IV criteria) were also tested. The prevalence of 'melancholia' ranged from 20.9% to 54.2% across the subtyping measures. The Q-sort measure had the highest overall correct classification rate in differentiating melancholic and non-melancholic depression (81.6%), with such decisions supported by validation analyses. In differentiating a melancholic subtype or syndrome, prototypic symptoms should be considered as a potential alternative to severity-based ratings.

Therapeutic aims and outcomes of psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysts described real and ideal patients ending psychoanalysis with a Q-sort measure, the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200). Of 25 descriptions of patients ending analysis with mutual agreement between patient and analyst, 17 described patients ending psychoanalysis with and 8 described patients ending psychoanalysis without maximum benefit. A third group of 22 psychoanalysts described their ideal prototype of a patient at the end of analysis, providing a perspective on positive mental health. Analyses with maximum benefit were longer than those without maximum benefit (M 83.0 vs. 52.4 months, p .05). Patients ending analysis with maximum benefit were seen as happier and more comfortable with others than were patients ending analysis without maximum benefit. With the ideal, the person is able to love and work with contentment.

Situating Adolescent Gender and Self-Esteem with Personal Memories

To identify social schemas that are associated with self-esteem in adolescence, the contents of approximately 1,400 memories from a longitudinal sample of 41 males and 43 females were correlated with a Q-sort measure of self-esteem. Each memory concerned an important or problematic encounter, and was coded for social motive, affect, and identity of significant other. For young women, memories about wanting to help female friends were associated with chronically high and increasingly high levels of self-esteem from ages 14 to 23. For young men, memories about successfully asserting oneself with male friends were associated with chronically high and increasingly high levels of self-esteem. Low self-esteem in women, both chronic as well as decreasing, was associated with memories about failing to get approval from friends. Decreasing self-esteem for males was associated with memories about wanting love from female friends. The results confirm and refine prior findings that adolescent self-esteem is localized in relationships with peers rather than parents, and is based on different relational schemas for females than for males. The findings may help to identify contexts for preventative interventions to enhance adolescent self-esteem.

Reliability of an Idiographic Q-Sort Measure of Defense Mechanisms

Despite the important insights the concept of defense mechanisms may offer to our understanding of human behavior, no standardized definitions of defense mechanisms have been universally accepted. Inconsistencies in the definition and conceptualization of defense mechanisms has limited the practical utility of research involving these constructs. In addition, lack of interrater reliability, use of anecdotal evidence, and reliance on self-reports has retarded their investigation. Conducting methodologically rigorous investigations with a psychometrically sound instrument is the first step in addressing some of the issues concerning defense mechanisms and their theoretical postulates. This study was conducted to determine the reliability associated with the Defense-Q, an observer-based Q-sort measure of defense mechanisms. Thirty participants who had undergone an interpersonally stressful interview (the Type A Structured Interview; Rosenman, 1978) were rated by 11 trained coders, both for their use of the 25 defense mechanisms and for their ego strength. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Individual defense mechanisms demonstrated reliability ranging from .28 (undoing) to .92 (humor), with an average reliability of .73. Coder reliability ranged from .63 to .76, with an average of .69. These results indicate that defense mechanisms can be reliably assessed by the Defense-Q. Reliability of the Defense-Q is compared to existing observational measures of defense mechanisms.

Reliability and Validity of a Q-Sort Measure of Attachment Security in Hispanic Infants

An existing set of items for the Q-sort methodology was adapted for a Hispanic population by reducing the numberof items, rewriting the items into "easy English" and translating the items into Spanish. Hispanic mothers completed Q-sort ratings, participated in the Strange Situation with their infants, and were visited in their homes. Observers completed Q-sort ratings after a laboratory or home visit. The mean correlation between Q-sort ratings was .56for mothers, .66for laboratory observations, and .68for home observations. The mean correlations of the easy English Q-sort items with the original wording and with the Spanish translation were .78 and .66, respectively. Ratings on the atachment items in the Q-set significantly differentiated attachment classifications determined from infant behavior in the Strange Situation. The results suggest that the Q-sort scores provide a quantitative measure of individual differences in security of infant attachment.

HOSPITAL CULTURE VALUES AND STAFF RETENTION.

This study examines the validity of a Q-sort measure designed to assess organizational culture values in acute care hospitals. Culture values had a significant effect on the voluntary survival rate...

Q-Sort security and first-year nonmaternal care

Can a Q-Sort measure of attachment security take the place of a Strange Situation Assessment to study infant day care? Apparently not, but it can be used in conjunction with the more traditional measurement strategy.

A Q-Sort assessment of parents' beliefs about parenting in six midwestern states

Little is known about what today's new parents believe about parenting. A team of seven researchers from six midwestern universities have initiated a longitudinal investigation of rural and urban parents' beliefs concerning ideal and actual parenting practices. This article describes the research and the development of the Inventory of Parenting Behavior, a Q-Sort measure developed by the project team specifically for this study.

Audiotape self-confrontation in group psychotherapy.

Numerous benefits have been attributed to use of playback during psychotherapy. To test its usefulness, 24 inmates at a federal women's prison were randomly divided into an audiotape-playback group, a regular therapy group, and a non-therapy control group. All Ss were administered a Q-sort measure immediately before and following a 6-wk. therapy or control period. The three groups did not significantly differ on any of the three Q-sort indices used. Taped excerpts from the two experimental groups showed that the playback Ss were significantly more verbally productive per unit of time, and it was suggested that playback may have affected the process but not the outcome of psychotherapy.

Development and validation of ego-identity status.

4 modes of reacting to the late adolescent identity crisis were described, measured, and validated. Criteria for inclusion in 1 of 4 identity statuses were the presence of crisis and commitment in the areas of occupation and ideology. Statuses were determined for 86 college male Ss by means of individual interviews. Performance on a stressful concept-attainment task, patterns of goal setting, authoritarianism, and vulnerability to self-esteem change were dependent variables. Ss higher in ego identity performed best on the conceptattainment task; those in the status characterized by adherence to parental wishes set goals unrealistically high and subscribed significantly more to authoritarian values. Failure of the self-esteem condition to discriminate among the statuses was attributed to unreliability in self-esteem measurement. Ego identity and identity diffusion (Erikson, 19S6, 1963) refer to polar outcomes of the hypothesized psychosocial crisis occurring in late adolescence. Erikson views this phase of the life cycle as a time of growing occupational and ideological commitment. Facing such imminent adult tasks as getting a job and becoming a citizen, the individual is required to synthesize childhood identifications in such a way that he can both establish a reciprocal relationship with his society and maintain a feeling of continuity within himself. Previous studies have attempted to determine the extent of ego-identity achievement by means of an adjustment measure and the semantic differential technique (Bronson, 19S9), a Q-sort measure of real-ideal-se lf discrepancy (Gruen, 1960), a measure of role variability based on adjective ranking (Block,