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. 2007 Nov;116(4):645-66.
doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.116.4.645.

Linking antisocial behavior, substance use, and personality: an integrative quantitative model of the adult externalizing spectrum

Robert F Krueger  1 , Kristian E Markon, Christopher J Patrick, Stephen D Benning, Mark D Kramer
Affiliations

Linking antisocial behavior, substance use, and personality: an integrative quantitative model of the adult externalizing spectrum

Robert F Krueger et al. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007 Nov.

Abstract

Antisocial behavior, substance use, and impulsive and aggressive personality traits often co-occur, forming a coherent spectrum of personality and psychopathology. In the current research, the authors developed a novel quantitative model of this spectrum. Over 3 waves of iterative data collection, 1,787 adult participants selected to represent a range across the externalizing spectrum provided extensive data about specific externalizing behaviors. Statistical methods such as item response theory and semiparametric factor analysis were used to model these data. The model and assessment instrument that emerged from the research shows how externalizing phenomena are organized hierarchically and cover a wide range of individual differences. The authors discuss the utility of this model for framing research on the correlates and the etiology of externalizing phenomena.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Test information of externalizing subscales. Latent trait values are given in a standardized (i.e., z) metric.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Test information of externalizing subscales. Latent trait values are given in a standardized (i.e., z) metric.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dendrogram representing hierarchical clustering of externalizing scales. Scales were clustered via methods described in the text. Branches of the dendrogram merge at a height that is inversely proportional to the degree of correlation between the scales in each branch. Branches formed at the bottom of the dendrogram thus represent clusters of more highly correlated scales; branches formed at the top of the dendrogram represent clusters of less highly correlated scales.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example higher order factor model. V1 through V6 are the observed measures, and F0 through F2 are the factors.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Example hierarchical factor model. V1 through V6 are the observed measures, and F0 through F2 are the factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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