A number of apparently diverse personality scales—variously called trait anxiety, neuroticism, ego strength, general maladjustment, repression-sensitization, and social desirability—are reviewed and are shown to be in fact measures of the same stable and pervasive trait. An integrative interpretation of the construct as Negative Affectivity (NA) is presented. Extensive data indicate that high-NA individuals are more likely to experience discomfort at all times and across situations, even in the absence of overt stress. They are relatively more introspective and tend differentially to dwell on the negative side of themselves and the world. Further research is needed to explain the origins of NA and to elucidate the characteristics of low-NA individuals. Rorer and Widiger (1983) recently bemoaned that in the field of personality "literature reviews appear to be disparate conglomerations rather than cumulative or conclusive integrations" (p. 432). We intend this review to be an exception to this discouraging statement. Distinct and segregated literatures have developed around a number of specific personality measures that, despite dissimilar names, nevertheless intercorrelate so highly that they must be considered measures of the same construct. Following Tellegen (1982), we call this construct Negative Affectivity (NA) and present a comprehensive view of the trait that integrates data from a wide variety of relevant research. We are not the first to note this broad and pervasive personality trait. The Eysencks, for example, (e.g. Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968) have done extensive research in the area, traditionally calling the dimension "Neuroticism," although in their most recent revision (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975) they suggest a label, "emotionality," that is similar to our own. Nonetheless, in discussing the relation between our interpretation and previous views of the domain, we argue for the preferability of our term, Negative Affectivity. We also present

Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states

https://www.evidenceaid.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/1-s2.0-S0140673605610276-main.pdf

Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review.

Low-anxious, high-anxious, and repressive coping styles: psychometric patterns and behavioral and physiological responses to stress.

This article reviews evidence for the roles that mood states and personality traits play in the processing of emotion-congruent information across different cognitive tasks. Evidence is reviewed for 3 emotion-congruency frameworks, each summarizing a different route to emotional processing: the traditional approach, a moderation approach, and a mediation approach. Most of the traditional literature includes studies that examine the effects of moods and traits on emotional processing separately; these studies have yielded some inconsistent findings. The moderation and mediation approaches offer potential solutions to the lack of consistency obtained in the traditional literature by allowing for the combined effects of personality traits and mood states on the processing of emotional information. The moderation approach suggests that mood states interact with individual differences in emotion-relevant personality traits to influence emotion-congruent processing. The mediation approach suggests that personality traits predispose individuals to certain mood states, which then influence emotional processing. These approaches provide a framework for understanding the literature and a starting point for future research on emotion-congruent processing.

Personality, mood, and cognitive processing of emotional information: three conceptual frameworks.

Responses to evaluation as a function of initial self-perceptions.

A 63-item form for men and 59-item form for women of the Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness (MAD) scale resulted from three separate item analyses performed on a 243-item composite scale obtained by po...

Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness Scale: First Factor of the MMPI Revisited:

A DSM-III-R based instrument for the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-1), was modified to accommodate cultural differences and translated into the Afghan languages Pushto and Farsi (Dari) and administered to 30 Afghan refugees living in the United States. The modified CAPS-1 was found to be practical and reliable. Inter-item correlations were calculated on the frequency and intensity scores for the 17 cardinal symptoms and the eight associated features items of the modified CAPS-1. The four reexperiencing items demonstrated significant independence from the avoidance and arousal symptom clusters. However, the avoidance and arousal symptom clusters were not found to be independent cardinal components of PTSD in our participants. The CAPS-1 criteria for diagnosis of PTSD were met by 50% of the subjects evaluated.

Modification of CAPS-1 for diagnosis of PTSD in Afghan refugees

Because publicized minimum criteria for graduate school admission are rarely sufficient to gain entrance to the school of one's choice, a study was undertaken to estimate the actual or “effective” admission standards to graduate school. Booklets composed of 27 hypothetical graduate school applicants conforming to a 3 (GPA) × 3 (GRE) × 3 (trait adjectives) factorial design were evaluated by graduate program chairpersons from the marginal, low, middle, and high categories of the Roose and Andersen (1970), Cox and Catt (1977), and Endler et al. (1978) ranking systems of schools in psychology. Results showed that a linear model of judgment would account for the ratings of potential for success in graduate school and the decision to accept or reject the hypothetical applicants. GRE scores accounted for about twice as much variance (30%) as GPA (16%), which accounted for about twice as much variance (7%) as trait adjectives. The Roose and Andersen listing was shown to be the most acceptable ranking system when estimating “effective” graduate admission standards.

Estimating graduate admission standards in psychology

Summary Two groups of 28 college students scoring at the extremes of the Millimet (1970) Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness (MAD) Scale responded to two adjective check lists, the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (ISB), and Cards 13MF and 14 of TAT. The ISB significantly identified 86% of the low MAD scorers and 75% of the high MAD scorers as adjusted and maladjusted, respectively. Four subjectively determined categories of discriminating adjectives entitled Internal Discomfort, Sensitivity, Interpersonal Uncertainty, and Fatigue supported previous findings that individuals differing in defensive style differ in measures of self-description. TAT stories scored for emotional tone and outcome resulted in nonsignificant findings. Implications toward a unitary dimension of anxiety, defensive style, and personal adjustment were discussed.

C. Raymond Millimet

Papers

Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness Scale: First Factor of the MMPI Revisited:

Modification of CAPS-1 for diagnosis of PTSD in Afghan refugees

Estimating graduate admission standards in psychology

Support for a Maladjustment Interpretation of the Anxiety-Defensiveness Dimension

Trait-state anxiety and psychological stress.