Development of the Personality Inventory for Youth: A Self-Report Companion to the Personality Inventory for Children

Abstract

This research explored the ability of parent-informant Personality Inventory for Children (PIC; Lachar, 1982) questionnaire items to form the foundation for self-report scales. An iterative rational and internal consistency approach using 585 clinical protocols constructed nine nonoverlapping clinical scales. Twenty-four complementary subscales were also constructed through scale item analysis. Acceptable estimates of scale reliability and internal consistency were established in substantial, diverse normal and clinical samples. Personality Inventory for Youth scales effectively separated normal and clinical protocols. Age and sex effects were investigated as were correlations with parent-informant PIC scales. Follow-up research includes the development of validity and adjustment screening scales, as well as the collection of diverse psychometric and clinical rating data to advance scale construct validity.