Psychometric characteristics of a measure of emotional dispositions developed to test a developmental propensity model of conduct disorder

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Benjamin B. Lahey, University of Chicago; Brooks Applegate, Western Michigan University; Andrea M. Chronis, University of Maryland; Heather A. Jones, University of Maryland; Stephanie Hall Williams, University of South Carolina; Jan Loney, University of Iowa; Irwin Waldman, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge): STM, Behavioural Science and Public Health Titles
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15374410802359635
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
• ISSN: 1537-4416
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 794
• End Page: 807
• Grant/Funding Information: The present studies and analyses were supported by National Institute of Mental Health grants U01-MH54281, R01-MH59111, and R01-MH53554 to Benjamin B. Lahey; and K01-MH01818 to Irwin D. Waldman.
• Keywords: Child, Preschool; Socialization; Humans; Empathy; Conduct Disorder; Risk-Taking; Psychometrics; Cooperative Behavior; Character; Mother-Child Relations; Emotions; Male; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Female; Diseases in Twins; Reproducibility of Results; Adolescent; Social Environment; Child
• Research Categories: Psychology, Developmental; Psychology, Behavioral; Health Sciences, Mental Health

Abstract

Lahey and Waldman proposed a developmental propensity model in which three dimensions of children's emotional dispositions are hypothesized to transact with the environment to influence risk for conduct disorder, heterogeneity in conduct disorder, and comorbidity with other disorders. To prepare for future tests of this model, a new measure of these dispositions was tested. Exploratory factor analysis of potential items was conducted in a sample of 1,358 participants 4 to 17 years of age. Confirmatory factor analyses then confirmed the three dispositional dimensions in a second sample of 2,063 pairs of 6- to 17-year-old twins. Caretaker ratings of the dispositional dimensions were associated as predicted with symptoms of conduct disorder and other psychopathology. In a third sample, caretaker ratings of each disposition correlated uniquely with relevant observational measures of child behavior and unintentional injuries. These findings provide initial support for the new dispositional measure.