E-ISSN : 2733-4538
Evidence-based assessment(EBA) is defined as psychological assessment that uses the best available evidence drawn from research and theory to guide the selection of constructs to be assessed, methods/measures to be used and the process in which the assessment unfolds (Hunsley & Mash, 2007). EBA is one of the major cornerstones of what constitutes evidence-based practice in psychology(EBPP). However, the emphasis has been on the evidence-based treatment(EBT) component since the beginning of EBPP. Thus, EBA has remained underappreciated and it is a rarely discussed topic especially in Korea. Therefore, our primary goal of this review article is to introduce from which backgrounds EBA has emerged and what is the basic concepts of EBA are. Also, we would like to illustrate how the concepts of EBA can be applied to psychological evaluation of panic disorder and depressive disorder in adults. Lastly, we discussed necessary steps to disseminate and expand EBA in Korea.
The Korean-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition (K-WAIS-IV) is used in clinical practice as a typical intelligence test, and its clinical usefulness has been empirically demonstrated. A theoretical framework regarding the nature of the test has not yet been established in Korea. The aim of this study is to establish a framework for better understanding of the test. Specifically, we compared the Wechsler and the CHC structural models in respect to the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory, the representative psychometric theory to describe the nature of the cognitive abilities. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with data from the K-WAIS-IV normative sample(N=1,228) showed that the CHC structural model fitted the data significantly better than did the Wechsler structural model. The significant difference between the two models appeared in the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) of the Wechsler model, which is separated into Fluid reasoning (Gf) and Visual processing (Gv) in the CHC model. Arithmetics subtest in the Wechsler model is relevant for the WMI, while it is included in both Gf and Gsm factors in the CHC model. These results suggested that separate examination of Gf and Gv, rather than the combined PRI, would be more effective in explaining cognitive abilities. Based on this finding, we argue that clinicians should interpret the test with Gf and Gv, particularly when there is significant variability between the subtests constituting the PRI. We also discussed the interpretation of the subtests composing each of the CHC indices. This study is the first attempt in Korea to provide important insights into how to relate clinical practice with the extant theories of human cognitive ability.
Affective instability is a construct that has not received sufficient research attention in spite of its close relation with various areas of psychopathology. Through the study, it was attempted to translate and validate in Korean sample the Affective Lability Scale-Short Form (ALS-SF; Oliver & Simons, 2004), a self-report scale measuring affective instability. In Study 523 cyber university students completed the ALS-SF along with the Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline Features Scale, Bipolar Spectrum Disorder Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory, three measures working as criteria variables for validation. ALS-SF showed significant correlations with all three measures, supporting its convergent validity. In addition, the exploratory factor analysis to examine the internal structure revealed the same 3-factor structure consisting of “Elation/Depression”, “Anxiety/Depression”, and “Anger” factor as in previous studies. As a further research effort, the construct validity of the ASL-SF was investigated against the criterion of everyday life in Study 2. For this purpose, the high and low affective lability (AL) group that were screened from the sample of Study 1 using the ALS-SF (each consisting of 21 subjects) kept mood diaries over two weeks, the standard deviations of which were analyzed as the index of mood variability. In the results, the high AL group showed greater variability in both positive and negative mood than the low AL group, supporting the construct validity of the ALS-SF. The score for the ALS-SF measured at a single point in time can predict the ups and downs of mood over time in everyday life. Finally, the limitations of this study and possible directions for future research were discussed.
The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Effects of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Group (IPT-G) on Depression Decrease, Anger Control, and Suicidal Ideation Decrease of Depression-prone Adolescents. A total of 250 students of a highschool located in Chonbuk province completed the Beck Depression Inventory-Korean version(K-BDI), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Korean Version (STAXI-K) and Scale for Suicidal Ideation(SSI). Eighteen participants who selected by those scales were random assignment of 9 participants in the IPT-G group and 9 in the control group. IPT-G program was administered for 8 sessions. All participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-Korean versio(K-BDI), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Korean Version(STAXI-K) and Scale for Suicidal Ideation(SSI) at pre-test, post-test, and at the 5weeks follow-up. The results of this study were as follows: depression and suicidal ideation were decreased in the therapy group more than in the control group, and anger control was increased in the therapy group. Finally, the implications and the limitations of this study, and the suggestions for future study were also discussed.
The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of early maladaptive schema and emotional experiences in juvenile delinquents with borderline personality trait. The subjects of this study were 180 juvenile delinquents sampled from the Probation Offices and the Juvenile Misdemeanors Prevention Centers in D Metropolitan City and A City in Gyeonggi‐do, and data were collected through a self‐reporting survey using questionnaires on early maladaptive schema, emotional intensity, emotional awareness, and emotion regulation. The subjects were divided into two groups using the PAI‐BOR scale, and 56 of them were classified into the group of borderline personality trait. When the two groups were compared, the juvenile delinquents with borderline personality trait showed higher scores than those without in impaired autonomy and performance of early maladaptive schema, other‐centeredness, overvigilance and inhibition schema, and impaired limits. In addition, the former showed higher positive/negative emotional intensity than the latter. According to the results of discriminant analysis (stepwise) for finding factors discriminating the two groups, the discriminant function consisting of ‘negative emotional intensity,’ ‘overvigilance and inhibition schema,’ and ‘positive emotion’ showed a discriminative value of 89.45%. These results show that delinquent adolescents with borderline personality trait tend to exaggerate their positive and negative emotions more than ordinary delinquent adolescents, and suggest that they have the characteristics of overvigilance and inhibition schema. Lastly, the implications of this study and suggestions for future studies were presented.
Witnessing interparental violence during childhood is considered to be a traumatic event, which may have enduring effects on one's interpersonal and affective domains. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to interparental violence in childhood and emotion recognition biases for facial displays of emotion. College students(n=11) who witnessed interparental violence without a history of childhood abuse displayed recognition bias for anger to a stimulus in which anger and joy were mixed. The group exposed to interparental violence in addition to abuse during childhood(n=8) exhibited recognition bias for anger when anger was mixed with joy and with surprise. Their recognition bias was specific to anger rather than sadness. This indicates that recognition bias for anger may occur generally in a group with childhood abuse history. These results suggest that witnessing interparental violence in childhood may contribute to the development of information-processing biases such as emotion recognition bias. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study, and the suggestions for the future study were discussed.
The present study was designed to elucidate attentional bias in social anxiety using a spatial cueing task and to examine whether attentional biases are differentiated by threat level. The participants were recruited from a larger sample of about 1500 undergraduates completing the Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Those who had scores above the moderate level of social anxiety on these scales and agreed to participate were assigned to the social anxiety group and those with scores under the mean to the normal control group. Social anxiety group was divided into clinical social anxiety disorder group and subclinical social anxiety disorder group using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Participants were informed that they would make a speech to a live video camera in which they would be evaluated for their performance. Next, they completed the spatial cueing task which assessed the speed of engagement and disengagement from pictorial cues depicting high-threat, low-threat, or neutral content with three exposure durations (80msec, 300msec, and 500msec). Firstly, clinical social anxiety disorder group did not show initial vigilance toward high-threat pictures at 80msec exposure time, but showed difficulty in disengagement at 300msec, which was followed by avoidance for high-threat pictures at 500msec. Secondly, subclinical social anxiety disorder group did not show any attentional bias both high-threat pictures. Thirdly, the effect of low-threat on disengagement delay and avoidance was different between clinical social anxiety disorder group and subclinical social anxiety disorder group: clinical social anxiety disorder group showed disengagement delay at 300msec and avoidance at 500msec which was same with attentional bias pattern with high-threat pictures due to negative interpretation bias effect for low-threat stimuli, but subclinical social anxiety disorder group showed enhanced disengagement delay 500msec instead of attentional avoidance at 500msec due to threat negation. Implication and future research direction was discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate psychological flexibility mediating the relationship between borderline personality traits and depression. For this study, self-reported data were collected from 328 adults(131 males and 197 females) belong to universities located in the GyeongNam area. The following questionnaires were administered: Korean Personality Disorder Tests(K-PDT), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Ⅱ(AAQ-Ⅱ), and Korea Depression Scale(KDS). Structural equation modeling(SEM) was applied in order to verify the mediating effect of psychological flexibility on the relation between borderline personality traits and depression. The results of this study were as follows. Positive correlation was found between borderline personality traits and depression and negative correlations between depression, borderline personality traits, and psychological flexibility. Structural equation modeling(SEM) revealed that psychological flexibility partially mediated the relation between borderline personality traits and depression. Finding of the current study showed that borderline personality traits influenced depression through identifying the role of psychological acceptance. This result showed difference between male and female. Based on these results, findings and implications are discussed.
This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of Korean-California Verbal Learning Test (K-CVLT) for detecting malingering. The K-CVLT was administrated to three groups: malingering group(n=28) and effortful group(n=28) with mild traumatic brain injury which were classified according to the criteria for probable Malingering of Neurocognitive Dysfunction(MND) by Click, Sherman, and Iverson(1999), and patient group without brain injury(n=27). Comparison of the z-score and the raw score among the three groups showed that the malingering group performed significantly worse than the effortful group and the patient group without brain injury across a majority of K-CVLT variables and six composite K-CVLT malingering indicators. In contrast, no statistically significant differences between the effortful and the patient groups over all the variables of K-CVLT. Therefore, the study finalized into two groups: the malingering, and the non-malingering which includes the effortful and the patient groups. As a result, for examining the sensitivity, specificity, and classification accuracy between the malingering and the non-malingering groups, the recognition discriminability (.61), total intrusion(.54), short-delay free recall(.50), long-delay free & cued recall(.50), Millis formula(.64), and six malingering indicators(.54∼.57) by Mills & Volinsky(2001) showed good sensitivity while maintaining a specificity of at least .91. Especially, the examination had significant diagnostic validity when classified between the malingering and the non-malingering groups with recognition discriminability(≤80), total intrusion(≥14), short-delay free recall(≤4), long-delay free recall(≤5), long-delay cued recall(≤6), and Millis formula(≤.52). The clinical implications and the limitations of this study are also discussed.
Gray's original Reinforcement Theory is the bio-psychological model of personality that is composed of the behavioral activation system(BAS), the behavioral inhibition system(BIS) and the fight/flight system(FFS). Each system is related in psychopathology as well as motivation, emotion and behavior of human. But, in 2000, Gray and McNaughton presented revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory(rRST) that are many differences form oRST. As sharp of the anxiety and fear, Behavioral Inhibition system and FFFS that previously were included with the punishment sensitivity was differentiated. However, There was no appropriate psychometric tool designed to assess the construct of the revised RST. Jackson(2009) has developed the Jackson-5 scales for measurement of rRST. The purpose of this study was to verify the validity of the newly developed Jackson-5 scales. For this study, 465 undergraduate students conducted Korean Jackson-5 scales, the K-EPQ(Korean version Eysenck Personality Scale), the Trait Anxiety of STAI-YZ(Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-form Korean YZ), Dickman’s the Impulsivity scales and the FFFS scale were extracted from factor analysis using Caver and White’s BIS/BAS scales. To investigate the factor structure of the Jackson-5, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The internal consistency(⍺) is .54 to .77, test-retest reliability(r) was generally acceptable as .62 to .83. A factor analysis revealed that generally five factors were appropriate, but two items were loaded on other factors. The validity of the Jackson-5 was adequate. some of limitations of this study and further research of this study were discussed.
This study examined psychological characteristics of college students with suicide risk in MMPI-2-RF. Among 204 students who visited counseling centers at 4 universities in Seoul, 85 students with suicide risk were selected according to BSS screening criteria. A series of hierarchical regression analyses was performed to examine whether MMPI-2-RF higher-order scales, restructured clinical scales, internalizing scales, and interpersonal scales can significantly predict suicide risk after controlling for gender. The results showed significant prediction of MMPI-2-RF scales for suicide risk. Severity of mental pain (EID) and impulsive acting-out tendency of that mental pain (BXD) were identified as important psychological characteristics of college students with suicide risk. Clinical implication and limitations of this study were further discussed.