Construct validity was assessed in three ways, using the validation sample. First, we tested the associations between the Internalizing Scale under development and the Internalizing Scale from the Youth and Adult Achenbach Self Reports. The Internalizing Scale from the Achenbach Self Reports is a compilation of three syndrome scales that tap psychological, emotional and behavioral problems associated with internalizing tendencies: Withdrawn (e.g., won’t talk), Somatic Complaints (e.g., headaches), and Anxious/Depressed (e.g., nervous).48,49 Second, we tested the association between the Internalizing Scale under development and the Neuroticism Scale from the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Personality Inventory.50 We targeted the Neuroticism Scale because it includes many internalizing characteristics, such as anxiety and depression, and is strongly associated with both mood and anxiety disorders.51 Because the Achenbach Self Reports and Five-Factor Personality Inventory comparisons were conducted between an interview-based scale and self-administered questionnaires (rather than between two interview-based scales or between two questionnaires), we hypothesized that validity correlations would be modest to moderate at best. Third, we examined the association of the SSAGA-based Internalizing Scale with sex to address our expectation that females would have higher scores than males.
