TY - JOUR T1 - Validation of the MMPI-2 computerized adaptive version (MMPI-2-CA) in a correctional intake facility JF - Psychological Services Y1 - 2009 A1 - Forbey, J. D. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Gartland, D. AB - Computerized adaptive testing in personality assessment can improve efficiency by significantly reducing the number of items administered to answer an assessment question. The time savings afforded by this technique could be of particular benefit in settings where large numbers of psychological screenings are conducted, such as correctional facilities. In the current study, item and time savings, as well as the test–retest and extratest correlations associated with an audio augmented administration of all the scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 Computerized Adaptive (MMPI-2-CA) are reported. Participants include 366 men, ages 18 to 62 years (M = 33.04, SD = 10.40), undergoing intake into a large Midwestern state correctional facility. Results of the current study indicate considerable item and corresponding time savings for the MMPI-2-CA compared to conventional administration of the test, as well as comparability in terms of test–retest and correlations with external measures. Future directions of adaptive personality testing are discussed. VL - 6 SN - 1939-148X ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Computerized adaptive personality testing: A review and illustration with the MMPI-2 Computerized Adaptive Version JF - Psychological Assessment Y1 - 2007 A1 - Forbey, J. D. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. KW - Adolescent KW - Adult KW - Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/*statistics & numerical data KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Male KW - MMPI/*statistics & numerical data KW - Personality Assessment/*statistics & numerical data KW - Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data KW - Reference Values KW - Reproducibility of Results AB - Computerized adaptive testing in personality assessment can improve efficiency by significantly reducing the number of items administered to answer an assessment question. Two approaches have been explored for adaptive testing in computerized personality assessment: item response theory and the countdown method. In this article, the authors review the literature on each and report the results of an investigation designed to explore the utility, in terms of item and time savings, and validity, in terms of correlations with external criterion measures, of an expanded countdown method-based research version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the MMPI-2 Computerized Adaptive Version (MMPI-2-CA). Participants were 433 undergraduate college students (170 men and 263 women). Results indicated considerable item savings and corresponding time savings for the adaptive testing modalities compared with a conventional computerized MMPI-2 administration. Furthermore, computerized adaptive administration yielded comparable results to computerized conventional administration of the MMPI-2 in terms of both test scores and their validity. Future directions for computerized adaptive personality testing are discussed. VL - 19 SN - 1040-3590 (Print) N1 - Forbey, Johnathan DBen-Porath, Yossef SResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tUnited StatesPsychological assessmentPsychol Assess. 2007 Mar;19(1):14-24. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Toward efficient and comprehensive measurement of the alcohol problems continuum in college students: The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire JF - Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Y1 - 2005 A1 - Kahler, C. W. A1 - Strong, D. R. A1 - Read, J. P. A1 - De Boeck, P. A1 - Wilson, M. A1 - Acton, G. S. A1 - Palfai, T. P. A1 - Wood, M. D. A1 - Mehta, P. D. A1 - Neale, M. C. A1 - Flay, B. R. A1 - Conklin, C. A. A1 - Clayton, R. R. A1 - Tiffany, S. T. A1 - Shiffman, S. A1 - Krueger, R. F. A1 - Nichol, P. E. A1 - Hicks, B. M. A1 - Markon, K. E. A1 - Patrick, C. J. A1 - Iacono, William G. A1 - McGue, Matt A1 - Langenbucher, J. W. A1 - Labouvie, E. A1 - Martin, C. S. A1 - Sanjuan, P. M. A1 - Bavly, L. A1 - Kirisci, L. A1 - Chung, T. A1 - Vanyukov, M. A1 - Dunn, M. A1 - Tarter, R. A1 - Handel, R. W. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Watt, M. KW - Psychometrics KW - Substance-Related Disorders AB - Background: Although a number of measures of alcohol problems in college students have been studied, the psychometric development and validation of these scales have been limited, for the most part, to methods based on classical test theory. In this study, we conducted analyses based on item response theory to select a set of items for measuring the alcohol problem severity continuum in college students that balances comprehensiveness and efficiency and is free from significant gender bias., Method: We conducted Rasch model analyses of responses to the 48-item Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire by 164 male and 176 female college students who drank on at least a weekly basis. An iterative process using item fit statistics, item severities, item discrimination parameters, model residuals, and analysis of differential item functioning by gender was used to pare the items down to those that best fit a Rasch model and that were most efficient in discriminating among levels of alcohol problems in the sample., Results: The process of iterative Rasch model analyses resulted in a final 24-item scale with the data fitting the unidimensional Rasch model very well. The scale showed excellent distributional properties, had items adequately matched to the severity of alcohol problems in the sample, covered a full range of problem severity, and appeared highly efficient in retaining all of the meaningful variance captured by the original set of 48 items., Conclusions: The use of Rasch model analyses to inform item selection produced a final scale that, in both its comprehensiveness and its efficiency, should be a useful tool for researchers studying alcohol problems in college students. To aid interpretation of raw scores, examples of the types of alcohol problems that are likely to be experienced across a range of selected scores are provided., (C)2005Research Society on AlcoholismAn important, sometimes controversial feature of all psychological phenomena is whether they are categorical or dimensional. A conceptual and psychometric framework is described for distinguishing whether the latent structure behind manifest categories (e.g., psychiatric diagnoses, attitude groups, or stages of development) is category-like or dimension-like. Being dimension-like requires (a) within-category heterogeneity and (b) between-category quantitative differences. Being category-like requires (a) within-category homogeneity and (b) between-category qualitative differences. The relation between this classification and abrupt versus smooth differences is discussed. Hybrid structures are possible. Being category-like is itself a matter of degree; the authors offer a formalized framework to determine this degree. Empirical applications to personality disorders, attitudes toward capital punishment, and stages of cognitive development illustrate the approach., (C) 2005 by the American Psychological AssociationThe authors conducted Rasch model ( G. Rasch, 1960) analyses of items from the Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST; S. C. Hurlbut & K. J. Sher, 1992) to examine the relative severity and ordering of alcohol problems in 806 college students. Items appeared to measure a single dimension of alcohol problem severity, covering a broad range of the latent continuum. Items fit the Rasch model well, with less severe symptoms reliably preceding more severe symptoms in a potential progression toward increasing levels of problem severity. However, certain items did not index problem severity consistently across demographic subgroups. A shortened, alternative version of the YAAPST is proposed, and a norm table is provided that allows for a linking of total YAAPST scores to expected symptom expression., (C) 2004 by the American Psychological AssociationA didactic on latent growth curve modeling for ordinal outcomes is presented. The conceptual aspects of modeling growth with ordinal variables and the notion of threshold invariance are illustrated graphically using a hypothetical example. The ordinal growth model is described in terms of 3 nested models: (a) multivariate normality of the underlying continuous latent variables (yt) and its relationship with the observed ordinal response pattern (Yt), (b) threshold invariance over time, and (c) growth model for the continuous latent variable on a common scale. Algebraic implications of the model restrictions are derived, and practical aspects of fitting ordinal growth models are discussed with the help of an empirical example and Mx script ( M. C. Neale, S. M. Boker, G. Xie, & H. H. Maes, 1999). The necessary conditions for the identification of growth models with ordinal data and the methodological implications of the model of threshold invariance are discussed., (C) 2004 by the American Psychological AssociationRecent research points toward the viability of conceptualizing alcohol problems as arrayed along a continuum. Nevertheless, modern statistical techniques designed to scale multiple problems along a continuum (latent trait modeling; LTM) have rarely been applied to alcohol problems. This study applies LTM methods to data on 110 problems reported during in-person interviews of 1,348 middle-aged men (mean age = 43) from the general population. The results revealed a continuum of severity linking the 110 problems, ranging from heavy and abusive drinking, through tolerance and withdrawal, to serious complications of alcoholism. These results indicate that alcohol problems can be arrayed along a dimension of severity and emphasize the relevance of LTM to informing the conceptualization and assessment of alcohol problems., (C) 2004 by the American Psychological AssociationItem response theory (IRT) is supplanting classical test theory as the basis for measures development. This study demonstrated the utility of IRT for evaluating DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Data on alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine symptoms from 372 adult clinical participants interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Expanded Substance Abuse Module (CIDI-SAM) were analyzed with Mplus ( B. Muthen & L. Muthen, 1998) and MULTILOG ( D. Thissen, 1991) software. Tolerance and legal problems criteria were dropped because of poor fit with a unidimensional model. Item response curves, test information curves, and testing of variously constrained models suggested that DSM-IV criteria in the CIDI-SAM discriminate between only impaired and less impaired cases and may not be useful to scale case severity. IRT can be used to study the construct validity of DSM-IV diagnoses and to identify diagnostic criteria with poor performance., (C) 2004 by the American Psychological AssociationThis study examined the psychometric characteristics of an index of substance use involvement using item response theory. The sample consisted of 292 men and 140 women who qualified for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis and 293 men and 445 women who did not qualify for a SUD diagnosis. The results indicated that men had a higher probability of endorsing substance use compared with women. The index significantly predicted health, psychiatric, and psychosocial disturbances as well as level of substance use behavior and severity of SUD after a 2-year follow-up. Finally, this index is a reliable and useful prognostic indicator of the risk for SUD and the medical and psychosocial sequelae of drug consumption., (C) 2002 by the American Psychological AssociationComparability, validity, and impact of loss of information of a computerized adaptive administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were assessed in a sample of 140 Veterans Affairs hospital patients. The countdown method ( Butcher, Keller, & Bacon, 1985) was used to adaptively administer Scales L (Lie) and F (Frequency), the 10 clinical scales, and the 15 content scales. Participants completed the MMPI-2 twice, in 1 of 2 conditions: computerized conventional test-retest, or computerized conventional-computerized adaptive. Mean profiles and test-retest correlations across modalities were comparable. Correlations between MMPI-2 scales and criterion measures supported the validity of the countdown method, although some attenuation of validity was suggested for certain health-related items. Loss of information incurred with this mode of adaptive testing has minimal impact on test validity. Item and time savings were substantial., (C) 1999 by the American Psychological Association VL - 29 N1 - MiscellaneousArticleMiscellaneous Article ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A real data simulation of computerized adaptive administration of the MMPI-A JF - Computers in Human Behavior Y1 - 2000 A1 - Forbey, J. D. A1 - Handel, R. W. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. VL - 16 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A real data simulation of computerized adaptive administration of the MMPI-A JF - Computers in Human Behavior Y1 - 2000 A1 - Fobey, J. D. A1 - Handel, R. W. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. AB - A real data simulation of computerized adaptive administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) was conducted using item responses from three groups of participants. The first group included 196 adolescents (age range 14-18) tested at a midwestern residential treatment facility for adolescents. The second group was the normative sample used in the standardization of the MMPI-A (Butcher, Williams, Graham, Archer, Tellegen, Ben-Porath, & Kaemmer, 1992. Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A): manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.). The third group was the clinical sample: used in the validation of the MMPI-A (Williams & Butcher, 1989. An MMPI study of adolescents: I. Empirical validation of the study's scales. Personality assessment, 1, 251-259.). The MMPI-A data for each group of participants were run through a modified version of the MMPI-2 adaptive testing computer program (Roper, Ben-Porath & Butcher, 1995. Comparability and validity of computerized adaptive testing with the MMPI-2. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65, 358-371.). To determine the optimal amount of item savings, each group's MMPI-A item responses were used to simulate three different orderings of the items: (1) from least to most frequently endorsed in the keyed direction; (2) from least to most frequently endorsed in the keyed direction with the first 120 items rearranged into their booklet order; and (3) all items in booklet order. The mean number of items administered for each group was computed for both classification and full- scale elevations for T-score cut-off values of 60 and 65. Substantial item administration savings were achieved for all three groups, and the mean number of items saved ranged from 50 items (10.7% of the administered items) to 123 items (26.4% of the administered items), depending upon the T-score cut-off, classification method (i.e. classification only or full-scale elevation), and group. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. VL - 16 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Computerized adaptive assessment with the MMPI-2 in a clinical setting JF - Psychological Assessment Y1 - 1999 A1 - Handel, R. W. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Watt, M. E. VL - 11 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Comparability and validity of computerized adaptive testing with the MMPI-2 using a clinical sample T2 - Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Symposium and Recent Developments in the use of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A. Minneapolis MN. Y1 - 1997 A1 - Handel, R. W. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Watt, M. JF - Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Symposium and Recent Developments in the use of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A. Minneapolis MN. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Comparability and validity of computerized adaptive testing with the MMPI-2 JF - Journal of Personality Assessment Y1 - 1995 A1 - Roper, B. L. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. AB - The comparability and validity of a computerized adaptive (CA) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were assessed in a sample of 571 undergraduate college students. The CA MMPI-2 administered adaptively Scales L, E the 10 clinical scales, and the 15 content scales, utilizing the countdown method (Butcher, Keller, & Bacon, 1985). All subjects completed the MMPI-2 twice, with three experimental conditions: booklet test-retest, booklet-CA, and conventional computerized (CC)-CA. Profiles across administration modalities show a high degree of similarity, providing evidence for the comparability of the three forms. Correlations between MMPI-2 scales and other psychometric measures (Beck Depression Inventory; Symptom Checklist-Revised; State-Trait Anxiety and Anger Scales; and the Anger Expression Scale) support the validity of the CA MMPI-2. Substantial item savings may be realized with the implementation of the countdown procedure. VL - 65 SN - 0022-3891 (Print) N1 - Roper, B LBen-Porath, Y SButcher, J NUnited StatesJournal of personality assessmentJ Pers Assess. 1995 Oct;65(2):358-71. ER - TY - CONF T1 - Computerized adaptive testing with the MMPI-2: Reliability, validity, and comparability to paper and pencil administration T2 - Paper presented at the 27th Annual Symposium on Recent Developments in the MMPI/MMPI-2 Y1 - 1992 A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Roper, B. L. JF - Paper presented at the 27th Annual Symposium on Recent Developments in the MMPI/MMPI-2 CY - Minneapolis MN ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Comparability of computerized adaptive and conventional testing with the MMPI-2 JF - Journal of Personality Assessment Y1 - 1991 A1 - Roper, B. L. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. AB - A computerized adaptive version and the standard version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were administered 1 week apart to a sample of 155 college students to assess the comparability of the two versions. The countdown method was used to adaptively administer Scales L, F, the I0 clinical scales, and the 15 new content scales. Profiles across administration modalities show a high degree of similarity, providing evidence for the comparability of computerized adaptive and conventional testing with the MMPI-2. Substantial item savings were found with the adaptive version. Future directions in the study of adaptive testing with the MMPI-2 are discussed. VL - 57 SN - 0022-3891 (Print) N1 - Roper, B LBen-Porath, Y SButcher, J NUnited StatesJournal of personality assessmentJ Pers Assess. 1991 Oct;57(2):278-90. ER - TY - CONF T1 - An empirical study of the computer adaptive MMPI-2 T2 - Paper presented at the 25th Annual Symposium on recent developments in the MMPI/MMPI-2 Y1 - 1990 A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Roper, B. L. A1 - Butcher, J. N. JF - Paper presented at the 25th Annual Symposium on recent developments in the MMPI/MMPI-2 CY - Minneapolis MN ER - TY - CONF T1 - Illustration of computerized adaptive testing with the MMPI-2 T2 - Paper presented at the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association Y1 - 1990 A1 - Roper, B. L. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. JF - Paper presented at the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association CY - Boston MA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A real-data simulation of computerized adaptive administration of the MMPI JF - Psychological Assessment Y1 - 1989 A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Slutske, W. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. KW - computerized adaptive testing AB - A real-data simulation of computerized adaptive administration of the MMPI was conducted with data obtained from two personnel-selection samples and two clinical samples. A modification of the countdown method was tested to determine the usefulness, in terms of item administration savings, of several different test administration procedures. Substantial item administration savings were achieved for all four samples, though the clinical samples required administration of more items to achieve accurate classification and/or full-scale scores than did the personnel-selection samples. The use of normative item endorsement frequencies was found to be as effective as sample-specific frequencies for the determination of item administration order. The role of computerized adaptive testing in the future of personality assessment is discussed., (C) 1989 by the American Psychological Association VL - 1 N1 - Article ER - TY - CONF T1 - A comparison of two methods for the adaptive administration of the MMPI-2 content scales T2 - Paper presented at the 86th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association Y1 - 1988 A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Waller, N. G. A1 - Slutske, W. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. JF - Paper presented at the 86th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association CY - Atlanta GA ER - TY - CONF T1 - A real-data simulation of adaptive MMPI administration T2 - Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Symposium on recent developments in the use of the MMPI Y1 - 1988 A1 - Slutske, W. S. A1 - Ben-Porath, Y. S. A1 - Butcher, J. N. JF - Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Symposium on recent developments in the use of the MMPI CY - St. Petersburg FL ER -