preview

Psychological Test Properties Of A Person Is Not Universal

Decent Essays

Introduction Lowe’s (2007) study addresses the various psychological test properties of the newly developed Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale—Adult Version, ranging from test-retest reliability to convergent and discriminant validities. The researcher introduces the unfortunate increase in DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of anxiety in the United States and how there is paucity in age-specific measures of anxiety disorders. Interestingly, the researcher cites various studies suggesting that the presentation of anxiety in a person is not universal, in that anxiety can appear differently between children and adults. She also cites various personality studies that suggest that anxiety is stable throughout life, which may explain the terminology behind …show more content…

Discriminant validity will be evident between the AMAS-A scores and a depression inventory, showing that anxiety and depression are different constructs. Finally, the AMAS-A scores will show a negative relationship with scores from the Quality of Life Questionnaire, therefore validating the AMAS instrument’s ability to measure negative affectivity (Lowe, 2007). Method Around 225 adults aged 19-59 participated in the study. Most participants were female (56%), Caucasian (52%), completed around ten years of education, and resided in the Midwest and Western portions of the United States. Participants were made aware of the purpose of the study and were administered six psychological self-report measures: the new Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale—Adult Version (AMAS-A), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations—Adult (CISS-A), Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire (MAQ), Quality of Life Inventory (QOL), Reynolds Depression Screening Inventory (RDSI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Lowe, 2007). The author provided brief descriptions of each psychological assessment in her report, addressing similarities and differences between the AMAS subscales and the subscales from the five different tests. A notable finding was that portions of the CISS-A test did not correspond with the AMAS-A test since it was not affect-based, which is important regarding

Get Access