title: Test-retest reliability and validity of a frustration paradigm and irritability measures.
abstract: Data on the reliability and validity of assessments for irritability, particularly behavioral paradigms, are limited. This study examined the test-retest reliability and validity of a frustration paradigm (the Affective Posner 2 task) and two irritability measures [the Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) irritability].
  
  
  
  Participants were 109 youth from a general population sample of twins (aged 9-14 years). Participants completed two visits that were 2-4 weeks apart. At both visits, participants completed the Affective Posner 2 task and self-reported their irritability using the ARI. Parents reported their child's irritability using the ARI and completed the CBCL.
  
  
  
  The Affective Posner 2 task demonstrated good test-retest reliability, with intraclass correlations (ICCs) ranging from .44 to .78. The task effectively evoked negative affect (frustration and unhappiness) at both test and retest, demonstrating its construct validity. Moreover, self-rated frustration and unhappiness during the frustration components of the task correlated positively with self-reported but not parent-reported irritability, providing modest support for convergent validity. Parent- and child-reports of the ARI and parent-reports of the CBCL irritability measure showed excellent test-retest reliability, with ICCs ranging from .88 to .90.
  
  
  
  The sample consists of mostly twins aged 9-14 years from the communities. Thus, results may not generalize to non-twin samples or clinical samples outside of this age range.
  
  
  
  The Affective Posner 2 paradigm and the ARI and CBCL irritability scales may be useful tools for longitudinal or treatment research on irritability.
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: wan-ling.tseng@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Wan-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moroney
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Machlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Roxann
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberson-Nay
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hettema
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Dever
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Towbin
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibenluft
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Brotman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005639:Frustration; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010556:Personality Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Frustration; Irritability; Parent-child agreement; Test-retest reliability; Validity