Person reliability of psychiatric patients' responses to a psychopathology inventory

J Clin Psychol. 1999 Oct;55(10):1299-306. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1299::AID-JCLP10>3.0.CO;2-Z.

Abstract

Person-reliability indices can assist clinicians in determining the interpretability of a patient's responses to the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI). Using an initial sample of 65 psychiatric patients, we found that: (1) different person-reliability indices showed modest evidence of psychometric adequacy and tended not to be confounded with general psychopathology; (2) a content consistency index of person reliability was predictably related to other item change variables, whereas within-session profile stability was related to across-session measures of profile stability: and (3) evidence for the ability of person-reliability indices to moderate the validity of clinical criteria was weak. Results provide cautious support for a multidimensional conceptualization of the person reliability construct on the BPI but demand further evaluation of the clinical utility of person reliability indices.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Mental Disorders / psychology
  • Middle Aged
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Personality Disorders / etiology
  • Personality Inventory
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Psychometrics
  • Severity of Illness Index