In the interest of early identification and prevention of dissociative disorders, this author has contributed to the research history of various screening instruments and has commented on the degree to which such instruments are appropriate for screening subjects in a college population. The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam & Putnam, 1986) was administered to approximately 2500 college freshmen. Subjects from various levels of the distribution of DES scores were recalled to the laboratory for further testing on the abbreviated version of the Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders (Mini-SCID-D) (Steinberg, Rounsaville & Cicchetti, 1987) to determine how many of these subjects might actually qualify for a diagnosis of dissociative disorder. The results of this study supported the factor structure of the DES as reported by Ross, Joshi, and Currie (1991). In addition, the DES evidenced a significant predictive relationship with the Mini SCID-D. The research was designed to screen a population at large for dissociative tendencies, the results of which will be useful to people who wish to identify ostensibly normal individuals who may be at risk for dissociative disorders. This research was supported in part by Grant #MH35856 from the National Institute of Mental Health to John F. Kihlstrom.

A psychometric scale to measure consumer perceptions of the aesthetic dimensions of consumer durable goods is developed in this dissertation. The scale contributes an approach to measuring how a consumer durable is perceived along various aesthetic dimensions of judgment, an approach to comparing alternative product designs along these dimensions, and a basis for segmenting markets based on consumer responses to aesthetic criteria. The scale development process followed here established the feasibility of a psychometric approach to measuring the perception and evaluation of the aesthetic qualities in the case of common consumer durables. Although there was evidence of reliability problems, the scale generally performed satisfactorily in terms of unidimensionality and discriminant validity. Further, it offered satisfactory discrimination among products that were a priori judged to be of different aesthetic quality. This scale represents an initial effort to calibrate consumption stimuli in terms of qualities apart from those that contribute to their functional value. It provides a way to go beyond uncalibrated consumer utterances and to circumvent the problems surrounding the comprehension of obtuse jargon used in the design literature. Although the present effort focused on consumer durables, the role of aesthetic qualities in core product design, primary and secondary packaging, and in promotional augmentation extends beyond the product categories studied.

Narrative data enable evaluators to understand other people's viewpoints without predetermining those viewpoints by using preselected questionnaire categories. Narrative data yield rich detail, insight, and information. However, reducing narrative data into meaningful conclusions is difficult and time consuming, and requires attention, commitment, and skill on the part of trained coders. The personal and situational characteristics of the coders (called value inertia and cognitive limitation biases) affect data reduction. The effects of coder exposure to expected project outcomes and the level of coder research methodology sophistication were investigated. Coders considered either sophisticated or naive in research methodology were exposed to positive, ambiguous, or negative project outcome expectations. The coders reduced, or categorized, 25 open-ended interview response sets into previously established positive, negative, and ambiguous statement-type, content-code categories. The effectiveness of coder training was also explored by computing generalizability (reliability) coefficients. High generalizability coefficients were found, regardless of level of exposure to project outcome expectations. This indicates that coders were able to code the same statements the same way and is an indication of the coders' ability to reproduce the results. Results of this study also indicate that evaluators should use sophisticated coders for the reduction of narrative data, given that option. Sophisticated coders appear more resistant to the effect of exposure to project outcome expectations, coding narrative data more positively with less variability than naive coders when exposed to positive outcome expectations.

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The purpose of this study was to compare the results obtained on the Stanford-Binet, Form L-M, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children for a group of cultural-familial and undifferentiated mental retardates. Such as study should provide some evidence as to whether the two instruments adequately measure similar abilities and whether the IQ's obtained from one can be considered comparable with the IQ's obtained from the other.

It is proposed that the nature of the self or, more correctly, the "selves" predisposes some individuals to depression in the face of aversive life events. Theorists characterize the complexity of this multifaceted self according to two structural features, i.e., differentiation and integration. Differentiation, first discussed by James Bieri, was evaluated empirically by Linville (e.g., 1982) for its relationship to depressive symptomatology. Differentiation refers to the number of relatively independent elements within the self-structure. Integration reflects the hierarchical interrelationships among those elements. / A recently-developed statistical procedure, the Hierarchical Classes Model (HICLAS; De Boeck & Rosenberg, 1988), was employed to provide measures of the complexities of each subject's self-structure. Consonant with more sophisticated theoretical discourse on the "self", the HICLAS analysis provides more refined representation of the multidimensionality of the self than is available from other statistical methods. / This two-month prospective investigation employed non-clinical female subjects to investigate the role of self-complexity, derived from the HICLAS paradigm, as a vulnerability factor in subsequent dysphoria. Partialling out initial dysphoria, individuals with a less differentiated self-structure reported significantly more depressive symptoms under conditions of increasingly unpleasant life events. Under conditions of greatest unpleasantness, differentiation was strongly negatively associated with depressive symptoms, supporting Linville's "buffering hypothesis". Results for integration measures were similar but less robust. / Interestingly, under conditions of fewest unpleasant events, there was a reliable and positive relationship between differentiation and dysphoria. As Markus and colleagues have remarked, it is important to begin to evaluate the conditions under which a highly "complex" self-structure may serve as a vulnerability rather than an invulnerability to depression. / Questions are also raised in regard to the role of affect within the self-structure, the importance of self-discrepancies (e.g., actual/ideal), conceptual refinement of "integration", the relative contributions of differentiation and integration to a complex system, and the utility of measuring the selves within their phenomenological context (i.e., self-with-other). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: B, page: 4916. / Major Professor: Jack E. Hokanson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The potential negative impact of cognitive impairment on the treatment of recently detoxified alcoholic inpatients has received increasing research attention. The usefulness of the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE) (Kiernan, Mueller, Langston, & VanDyke, 1987) for cognitive assessment of alcohol dependent inpatients was investigated. The NCSE, a brief test that uses a differentiated approach to assess various aspects of cognitive functioning, was developed to overcome weaknesses of other brief instruments. Characteristics of the NCSE, and research conducted to date on its effectiveness, are discussed. / Subjects were 120 alcohol dependent adults admitted to an inpatient substance abuse treatment program at a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center. The sample was comprised of 111 males and 9 females, from 23 to 72 years old, with 6 to 19 years of education, and a mean Full Scale IQ of 93.6. Canonical correlation analysis was used to compare subjects' NCSE test results to results from an assessment battery of more traditional cognitive tests. Two additional canonical correlation analyses analyzed the relationship of other variables to NCSE performance including: age; years of education; Full Scale IQ; length of abstinence; severity of addiction; and alcohol abuse only vs. polysubstance abuse. / A significant canonical correlation was found between the NCSE and an assessment battery comprised of the Denman Paired Associate Learning Test, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test $(R=.70,\ F(32,399)=3.23,\ p<.001).$ A significant canonical correlation was also found between Full Scale IQ, age, and NCSE performance $(R=.72,\ F(24,316)=4.91,\ p<.001),$ while years of education did not significantly correlate with NCSE results. Severity of addiction, length of abstinence, and use of alcohol alone vs. with other substances were not significantly correlated with NCSE performance. Two ancillary Chi-Square analyses did not find significant relationships between NCSE performance and either a diagnosis of Depression or prescribed psychotropic medication at the time of testing. / Recommendations for using the NCSE to assess alcohol dependent inpatients are made, in addition to suggestions for adjusting treatment programs for cognitively impaired individuals. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: B, page: 1448. / Major Professor: Charles H. Madsen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

The purpose of this research was to fill a gap in childhood psychological assessment, namely, the lack of a comprehensive, self-report, childhood stress instrument. The Stress Inventory for Children (STRICH) was designed to fill that gap by measuring the quality and intensity of children's stress associated with coping skills, school, family issues, social supports, and physical well-being. No psychological instrument existed which assessed the dimensions of stress specific to those on the STRICH for the targeted age group (ages 8-14). Items were derived by deductive categorization of stress-related research literature and, as a result, 76 items measuring childhood stress were written for the categories identified. Factor analyses were conducted to test the orthogonality of seven proposed factors. Sixty-three items were maintained after weak items, based on empirical analyses, were discarded. An adequate measure of reliability was obtained on the STRICH (r =.73). The issue of validity was resolved by correlating the STRICH to the Stress Response Scale, an established instrument measuring children's behavioral responses to stressors. The two scales correlated significantly (r =.48, p $<$.01) providing evidence that the two scales were measuring similar constructs. Additionally, normative data was generated for racial/cultural, age, grade, and gender classifications. Based on the empirical findings, it may be stated that the STRICH is a comprehensive, reliable, and valid, childhood stress measure. Further, psychologists can now isolate the qualities and intensity of childhood stress factors and, consequently, be better equipped to remediate stress difficulties and ensure the psychological well-being of children. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4635. / Major Professor: Stephen A. Rollin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

The psychometric properties of the computer-administered form of the Generalized Contentment Scale (GCS), a rapid assessment instrument designed to measure non-psychotic depression, were evaluated following a single administration (Study 1) and following multiple administrations (Study 2). Subjects came from clinic (n = 41) and nonclinic (n = 80) samples. / Study 1 involved evaluating the reliability and validity of the GCS. Included in the evaluation was estimation of the conditional standard error of measurement utilizing a new technique. Study 2 involved determining whether there was evidence that multiple administration of the GCS resulted in loss of accuracy of the instrument. / Additionally, individuals in the clinic sample were surveyed as to their attitudes toward use of computer-administered scales in general and the computer-administered GCS in particular. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-01, Section: A, page: 0299. / Major Professor: Dianne Harrison Montgomery. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

Latent class variables are often used to predict outcomes. The conventional practice is to first assign observations to one of the latent classes based on the maximum posterior probabilities. The assigned class membership is then treated as an observed variable and used in predicting the outcomes. This widely used classify-analyze strategy ignores the uncertainty of being in a certain latent class for the observations. Once an observation is classified to the latent class with the highest posterior probability, its probability of being in the assigned class is treated as being one. In addition, once observations are classified to the latent class with the highest posterior probability, their representativeness of the class becomes the same because they will all have a probability of one of being in the assigned class. Finally, standard errors are underestimated because the residual uncertainty about the latent class membership is ignored. This dissertation used simulation studies and an analysis of a real-world data set to compare five commonly adopted approaches (most likely class regression, probability regression, probability-weighted regression, pseudo-class regression, and the simultaneous approach) for measuring the association between a latent class variable and outcome variables to see which one can better account for the uncertainty in latent class membership in such a situation. The model considered in the study was a latent class extension of the signal detection model (LC-SDT) by DeCarlo, which has proved to be able to address certain measurement issues in the educational field, more specifically, rater issues involved in essay grading such as rater effects and rater reliability. An LC-SDT model has the potential for wide applications in education as well as other areas. Therefore it is important to explore the issue of accounting for uncertainty in latent class membership within this framework. Three ordinal outcome variables having a negative, weak, and strong association with the latent class variable were considered in the simulations. Results of the simulations showed that the simultaneous approach performed best in obtaining unbiased parameter estimates. It also yielded larger standard errors than the other approaches which have been found by previous research to underestimate standard errors. Even though the simultaneous approach has its advantages, including outcome variables in a latent class model can affect parameters of the response variables. Therefore, cautions need to be taken when using this approach. The analysis results of the real-world data set confirmed the trends observed in the simulation studies.