The Memory Integrated Language Test (MIL) is a novel web-based performance validity test (PVT) with promising initial psychometric properties. This study cross-validated the MIL in a diagnostically diverse clinical sample using a criterion-grouping design. Three aims were examined: (a) Evaluate classification accuracy for identifying performance invalidity and determine cut scores maximizing sensitivity (≥.50) while maintaining specificity ≥.90; (b) examine psychometric properties across diagnostic groups and levels of cognitive impairment; and (c) assess construct validity. Participants were 177 adults (Mage = 35.68; Meducation = 15.20; 63% female; 33% non-Hispanic White; 23% Hispanic; 26% Black/African American; 11% Asian; 7% other). Based on five independent criterion PVTs, participants were classified as valid (≤1 PVT failure, n = 154) or invalid (≥2 PVT failures, n = 23). The valid group was further categorized into mild cognitive impairment (n = 28), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (n = 59), and psychiatric (n = 52) groups. In the overall sample, the MIL demonstrated outstanding classification accuracy (a significant area under the curve = .96), with a cutoff score of ≤44 (96% sensitivity/91% specificity). Across diagnostic groups, the MIL maintained outstanding classification accuracy (area under the curve = .90-.97) with strong sensitivity and specificity. Convergent validity analyses indicated expected associations with other memory-based PVTs, while discriminant validity analyses yielded weak associations with executive function and memory domains. Supplemental analysis using a ≥1 PVT failure threshold yielded acceptable classification accuracy (area under the curve = .78), with a cutoff score of ≤44 (53% sensitivity/96% specificity). Findings indicate that the MIL is a psychometrically robust freestanding PVT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The Indonesian Version Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V-ID) has recently been adapted for use in Indonesia. Because evidence based on internal structure is essential for supporting the interpretation of test scores in adapted instruments, this study examined the factor structure of the 16 WISC-V-ID subtests using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Participants were 1,508 Indonesian children aged 6-16 years drawn from the WISC-V-ID norming sample, providing a large and regionally diverse representation of the target population. Exploratory factor analysis results supported a four-factor solution, whereas the five-factor solution was not satisfactory. The findings also indicated that the Picture Concepts subtest functioned poorly in the Indonesian adaptation. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that both the four- and five-factor higher order models fit the data adequately. However, the five-factor model revealed construct redundancy between the general factor (g) and the Fluid Reasoning factor, limiting the interpretability of that structure. This problem was resolved when the Picture Concepts subtest was excluded. Additional confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural plausibility of the general ability, cognitive proficiency, and nonverbal indexes as broad ancillary composites, although the general ability and cognitive proficiency indexes shared substantial variance. These findings suggest that the 15-subtest configuration provides the theoretically best-supported and practically most useful structural representation of the WISC-V-ID while also offering new evidence regarding the structural validity of the WISC-V in an Asian context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychopathy is characterized by antagonistic characteristics that often disrupt normative functioning and are a strong predictor of antisocial outcomes. However, it is unclear whether psychopathic traits are similarly predictive of externalizing correlates in both men and women. Two sets of meta-analyses examined whether gender moderates the relation between psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors. A total of 83 references (k = 88 reports) were included in the first set of meta-analyses examining within-study differences between men and women in studies using Psychopathy Checklist-related and triarchic measures of psychopathy. A total of 115 references (k = 227 reports) were included in the second set of meta-analyses examining the associations between Psychopathy Checklist-related measures and legal outcomes associated with externalizing. Of 42 comparisons, only two yielded significant differences between men and women, and these differences were small and could be attributed to Type I error. In general, psychopathic traits are as strongly associated with various externalizing behaviors in female samples as they are in male samples, regardless of the type of psychopathy measure used. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion regulation difficulties play a major role in general well-being and most psychopathologies, yet their everyday dynamics remain unclear. We adapted the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale for ecological momentary assessment and examined how such difficulties unfold in daily life. This entailed how they can be assessed, how they fluctuate over time, and how they are embedded in dynamic stress-affective contexts. In a preregistered study (N = 227; 6 surveys/day for 10 days; collected 2023-2024), adult German participants reported on stressors, affect, and the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Confirmatory analyses supported the scale's four-factor structure, with evidence against a general shared "difficulty factor". We provide psychometrically evaluated German-language 4-, 8-, and 18-item versions for ecological momentary assessment together with practical recommendations. Despite considerable convergence with trait assessments, emotion regulation difficulties showed both stability and meaningful fluctuations. They increased after stressors, co-occurred with negative affect, and predicted impaired affective recovery. Stressor effects were stronger among individuals high in trait emotion regulation difficulties and neuroticism. These findings support the assessment of several dimensions of emotion regulation difficulties as dynamic, context-sensitive processes in daily life and provide a basis for further normative and clinical research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale Screen Version is a suicide screening measure used in health care settings across the United States; no study has assessed the stability of its measurement properties over time (i.e., longitudinal measurement invariance). The present study examined the longitudinal measurement invariance of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale Screen Version in a sample of 1,944 military veterans who participated in a randomized controlled trial for major depressive disorder. Longitudinal invariance was examined across six administrations both within the total sample and within subgroups separated by sex and race to ensure that full-sample results were not driven by the larger demographic subgroups. Although full invariance was not supported, measurement inconsistencies over the six assessments were minimal and limited to the initial assessment. Full-sample and subgroup analyses supported configural, threshold, and metric invariance over time. Full scalar invariance was not supported, but partial scalar invariance was supported with minor model modifications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

As the number of bilingual individuals in the United States grows, psychologists face challenges due to limited suitable measures and guidance for their administration and interpretation. This study examined the validity of college students' self-reported language proficiency and the influence of language and acculturation on performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition. Participants were Spanish-English bilingual university students (N = 59, 86.44% female) from a Hispanic-serving institution who completed subjective and objective language assessments and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition in English and Mexican Spanish across counterbalanced sessions. Most participants reported minimal differences between languages, but objective tests revealed that oral English skills often surpassed those in Spanish, with low to moderate correlations between self-assessments and objective scores. After controlling for stress and practice effects, significant differences appeared only on the Verbal Comprehension Index. Only objective language proficiency and preferred language predicted which language yielded better performance; acculturation explained no additional variance. We discuss clinical implications for using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition with English-dominant bilingual college students and recommend that clinicians routinely evaluate language and social backgrounds, as objective language proficiency may guide assessment language decisions for bilingual individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Rates of youth mental disorders vary across White, Black, and Hispanic youths in the United States. The weak evidence for the generalizability of diagnostic tools significantly challenges the understanding of racial and ethnic differences in mental disorder risks. The Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia is a widely used diagnostic interview. However, its applicability across racial and ethnic groups is questionable. The present study tested the statistical generalizability, or measurement equivalence, of the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia across Hispanic (n = 2,015), non-Hispanic White (n = 6,021) and non-Hispanic Black (n = 1,420) youths, using data from the Adolescent and Brain Cognitive Development Study. The sample was diverse in terms of child's sex assigned at birth. Our results indicated that the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia screening interview had a one-factor structure that was scalar equivalent. However, nearly 50% of its items functioned differently across groups, suggesting unequal probabilities of symptom endorsement at equivalent levels of mental disorder risks. Crucially, socioeconomic factors explained many of the measurement differences across groups, implicating their role in the validity of symptom reporting. Findings from this study can help develop clinical screening tools that are generalizable across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors, which is important for a contextualized understanding of racial and ethnic differences in youth mental disorders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases introduced a dimensional model of personality disorder diagnosis supplemented by an optional borderline pattern qualifier. The Borderline Pattern Scale (BPS; Oltmanns & Widiger, 2019) is a self-report instrument assessing this qualifier via four symptom clusters: affective instability, maladaptive self-functioning, maladaptive interpersonal functioning, and maladaptive self-regulation strategies. This study translated, adapted, and validated the BPS for German-speaking clinical populations (N = 405) using a back-translation procedure. Psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and factor structure analyses (parallel analysis, exploratory graph analysis) confirmatory factor analysis, as well as construct validity via correlations with the Borderline Symptom List-23 and the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Screening Personality Questionnaire. Receiver operating characteristic analyses assessed classification accuracy for clinician-assigned borderline personality disorder diagnoses. Results demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α¯ = .89) and test-retest reliability (r = .87). Exploratory graph analysis indicated a robust unidimensional structure, while confirmatory factor analysis supported a hierarchical four-factor model with incremental validity over a unidimensional solution. BPS total scores showed strong convergent validity with the Borderline Symptom List-23 and discriminant validity against nonborderline personality disorder scales. Receiver operating characteristic analyses revealed good classification accuracy (area under the curve = .82), with optimal cutoffs balancing sensitivity and specificity. German BPS scores demonstrate reliability and support multiple sources of validity evidence for their intended interpretation as measures of the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases borderline pattern severity. The low internal consistency of the Maladaptive Interpersonal Functioning subscale (ᾰ = .41) warrants caution; the BPS total score is psychometrically preferable for most purposes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The 13-item Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder-Parent Version (PSCD-PV) is a brief measure designed to assess multidimensional psychopathic traits in youth including grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) dimensions. Although initial validation findings are promising, further research is needed to replicate and extend psychometric support for this abbreviated form. The present study examined the factor structure, measurement invariance, and construct validity of the 13-item PSCD-PV in a large community sample of children and adolescents (N = 893; aged 11-17). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a hierarchical four-factor model encompassing grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and CD facets under a higher order psychopathy factor. Measurement invariance analyses indicated that this structure was equivalent across child sex and age groups. The 13-item PSCD-PV total and facet scores demonstrated acceptable-to-good internal consistency and strong convergent validity with measures of externalizing psychopathology including callous-unemotional traits, oppositional defiant disorder, CD, and general conduct problems. Correlations with internalizing psychopathology (neuroticism, anxiety) were weaker, supporting discriminant validity. Criterion validity was evidenced by significant associations with delinquency and impairment across multiple relational and academic domains. Importantly, PSCD-PV total scores explained unique variance in CD and conduct problem symptoms beyond the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits, underscoring its incremental validity. Findings support the 13-item PSCD as a psychometrically sound, efficient, and multidimensional tool for assessing psychopathic traits and CD symptoms in youth across demographic groups with potential utility in both research and applied settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The recommended screening cutoff of ≥6 on the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) has been found to produce high false-positive rates in forensic populations. However, comprehensive testing of feigned psychopathology may be unfeasible, especially in resource- and time-limited forensic contexts. Using protocols from 172 forensic patients who were administered the M-FAST and Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms/Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms-Second Edition, this study examined whether there were nonspecific or nondiscriminant M-FAST items. This study also explored whether the removal of poor performing items from the scoring could result in improved classification accuracy compared to the standard 25-item scoring procedure. Results showed that removing four to six items that were not specific or did not discriminate between presumed honest and presumed feigning patients reduced false-positive error rates while maintaining similar sensitivity levels to the 25-item M-FAST. Using a pool of 19 or 21 M-FAST items in the scoring could increase confidence in assertions about noncredible presentations (i.e., invalid test response) and reduce the need for unwarranted comprehensive testing among forensic patients with severe mental illness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

When assessing adolescent psychopathology, discrepancies in adolescent self-report versus caregiver informant-report scores on symptom measures are typical. As anxiety is the most common mental health concern among adolescents, understanding variables associated with adolescent-caregiver informant discrepancies on anxiety measures is valuable for assessment and treatment planning. However, although anxiety often co-occurs with other problems, no existing work has examined how other common emotional/behavioral problems (i.e., depression, school avoidance) among adolescents moderate the magnitude of adolescent-caregiver score discrepancies on anxiety measures. The present study used latent difference score modeling within a sample of adolescent-caregiver dyads recruited from an adolescent partial hospitalization program (N = 328, 47.81% female, 46.06% White; N = 145-204 for primary analyses) to examine whether adolescent depression, school avoidance, and adolescent-caregiver (dis)agreement on top problems for treatment moderate adolescent-caregiver score discrepancies on anxiety scales. Results suggest adolescents and caregivers provide similar scores for adolescents' anxiety symptoms. However, adolescents who self-report higher levels of depression and school avoidance behavior may self-report higher panic/somatic symptom levels and generalized anxiety levels than their caregivers attribute to them. Adolescent-caregiver agreement on top problems for treatment was not associated with adolescent-caregiver agreement on anxiety scale scores. Carefully assessing experiences of somatic and worry-related symptoms may be beneficial for adolescents presenting with depression and/or school avoidance. Moreover, identifying reasons why adolescents and caregivers provide similar anxiety scale scores but vary in endorsing anxiety as a top problem for treatment or vice versa would aid in further understanding adolescent-caregiver informant discrepancies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS) consists of seven items from the Beck Depression Inventory-II and is used to screen for depression in individuals with medical illness. The BDI-FS omits somatic items common in physical health conditions. However, these items may more accurately predict depression for some individuals, and their utility has not been empirically evaluated. This study aimed to (a) evaluate the convergent validity for the Beck Depression Inventory-II and BDI-FS within an ethnoculturally heterogeneous sample of middle-aged and older adults, including individuals with chronic medical conditions and (b) identify the subset of items from the Beck Depression Inventory-II that best predict current major depressive episode. We hypothesized that an alternate, empirically derived model would outperform the existing BDI-FS. Participants included 186 adults (age M = 65.66 years, SD = 6.36) enrolled in an observational research study. Two random forests (RF)-derived scales were compared to the existing BDI-FS in predicting current major depressive episode. Scales were compared using confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance, and receiver operating characteristic analysis. Overall, results were comparable across scales. Models based on RF-selected items did not demonstrate better model fit than those based on the BDI-FS; however, scores derived from the RF-selected items exhibited higher reliability. In addition, models based on the RF-derived scales and the BDI-FS showed invariance across demographic and clinical variables. Scores derived from all scales, including RF-derived scales and BDI-FS, showed excellent classification performance in receiver operating characteristic analysis. Future research should further investigate these RF-derived scales, with the BDI-FS, to evaluate their reliability and validity across other diverse populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The purpose of this article was to define and describe impairment from the perspective of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). This work is intended to establish a foundation for the development of a system for assessing impairment to complement HiTOP measures of psychopathology. We define impairment as the direct or indirect impact of psychopathology that is not itself part of psychopathology, involving (a) difficulty achieving important and reasonable personal goals and/or (b) direct or indirect interference with the goals of others. We articulate seven specific assessment features of a HiTOP-optimal impairment measurement approach and, having found no existing measures with all seven features in a review of the literature, sketch a prototype approach using a case example and outline a plan for generating a suite of tools for assessing impairment from a HiTOP perspective. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychometric techniques are increasingly critical for refining the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders (SUDs), but core assumptions of these techniques are often untested and potentially unmet. We examined the assumption of local independence-that indicators are uncorrelated after conditioning on their latent variable-among SUD criteria across 11 classes of psychoactive drugs using data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health surveys from 2021 to 2023 (N = 165,249) by applying unique variable analysis, factor analysis, and item response theory analysis to identify psychometric redundancy. Across all drugs, unique variable analysis identified 44 instances of psychometric redundancy (out of the 585 possible instances) in the SUD criteria set, with variation across drugs. Item response theory suggested that redundancy also varied across SUD severity. Gave up activities and role interference were redundant across all drugs, and time spent and larger/longer were redundant for six drugs. Dropping any of these redundant criteria resulted in a gain in SUD information, with information gained being nearly equivalent within redundant pairs. We discuss psychometric and diagnostic implications of criterion redundancy, including but not limited to inflated support for a unidimensional SUD structure, skewing of the SUD definition toward sources of redundancy (e.g., functional impairment), and inflated misclassification rates (particularly false positives). We offer several remedies to psychometric redundancy, including modeling residual covariances, consolidating redundant items into testlets, applying gating criteria where applicable, and using cognitive interviewing to maximally distinguish conceptually unique but psychometrically overlapping criteria. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Reports an error in "Interpreting the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for individuals with traumatic brain injury: Clinical correlates and empirical severity cutoffs" by Tayla Fox, Alexia Samiotis, Jennie Ponsford, Gershon Spitz and Jai Carmichael (Psychological Assessment, 2026[Mar], Vol 38[3], 220-234; see record 2026-96062-001). In the article, a typographical error occurred in the Results section on pages 227-228. The sentence originally read: "For the HADS-D, they were 0-4 ("normal"), 5-10 ("mild"), 11-15 ("moderate") and 15-21 ("severe")." The sentence has been corrected to read, "For the HADS-D, they were 0-4 ("normal"), 5-10 ("mild"), 11-15 ("moderate") and 16-21 ("severe")." The recommended severe range for the HADS-D scale based on the study's findings is 16+, as correctly denoted in both the Discussion and Supplementary Materials. All statistical and follow-up analyses were executed using the correct 16+ range; therefore, the statistical outputs and overall conclusions of the study remain unchanged. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2026-96062-001.) Anxiety and depression symptoms are more prevalent in individuals with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) than in the general population, underscoring the need for effective screening. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is widely used for this purpose, yet how best to use and interpret the HADS in individuals with TBI remains an open question. This study evaluated the HADS total score, subscale scores, and individual items in 402 individuals with moderate-severe TBI. The sample was on average 13 years postinjury, originally recruited during inpatient rehabilitation. HADS scores were regressed against five clinically important variables to determine their concurrent criterion validity, and regression tree analyses were used to establish severity cutoffs for the total and subscale scores. Results indicated that while the HADS subscale scores provided no meaningful advantage over the total score in accounting for variance in suicidal ideation, self-harm, or mental health treatment, the subscales-particularly depression subscale items-were more informative with respect to functional disability and life satisfaction. Benchmarked against these clinically important variables, we established graded severity cutoffs ("normal," "mild," "moderate," and "severe") for both the HADS total and subscale scores. This study provides clinicians and researchers with empirically derived guidance for using and interpreting the HADS when assessing emotional distress in individuals with moderate-severe TBI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).