Abstract
Some psychometric problems with the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) were observed by Boyle and Lennon (1994). However, Morey (1995) asserted there were “several methodological and conceptual limits” and alternative explanations of the Boyle and Lennon data. Although Morey asserted that age and clinical status were confounded, Boyle and Lennon statistically partialled out variance due to age, using ANCOVA procedures. Morey's description of Boyle and Lennon's sample as “unusual” was strange—schizophrenic and alcoholic patients in a psychiatric hospital comprised the clinical groups—the PAI was designed specifically to assess psychopathology in such patients. Although Morey claimed that alpha coefficients were misinterpreted, Boyle and Lennon based their conclusions solely on the obtained coefficients. Morey's attempt to downplay the finding of suboptimal stability for several PAI scales also runs counter to the empirical results actually observed. Finally, Morey attempted to minimize the role of factor analysis in investigating construct validity, apparently to deflect attention from deficiencies in the factor analysis of a clinical sample reported in the PAI manual.
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Boyle, G.J. Psychometric limitations of the Personality Assessment Inventory: A reply to Morey's (1995) rejoinder. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 18, 197–203 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229118