The Italian Version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-32): Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure in Clinical and Non-clinical Groups

All versions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) are broadly used to measure people's interpersonal functioning. The aims of the current study are: (a) to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Italian version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems—short version (IIP-32); and (b) to evaluate its associations with core symptoms of different eating disorders. One thousand two hundred and twenty three participants (n = 623 non-clinical and n = 600 clinical participants with eating disorders and obesity) filled out the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems—short version (IIP-32) along with measures of self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES), psychological functioning (Outcome Questionnaire, OQ-45), and eating disorders (Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI-3). The present study examined the eight-factor structure of the IIP-32 with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). ESEM was also used to test the measurement invariance of the IIP-32 across clinical and non-clinical groups. It was found that CFA had unsatisfactory model fit, whereas the corresponding ESEM solution provided a better fit to the observed data. However, six target factor loadings tend to be modest, and ten items showed cross-loadings higher than 0.30. The configural and metric invariance as well as the scalar and partial strict invariance of the IIP-32 were supported across clinical and non-clinical groups. The internal consistency of the IIP-32 was acceptable and the construct validity was confirmed by significant correlations between IIP-32, RSES, and OQ-45. Furthermore, overall interpersonal difficulties were consistently associated with core eating disorder symptoms, whereas interpersonal styles that reflect the inability to form close relationships, social awkwardness, the inability to be assertive, and a tendency to self-sacrificing were positively associated with general psychological maladjustment. Although further validation of the Italian version of the IIP-32 is needed to support these findings, the results on its cross-cultural validity are promising.

[1]  M. Barkham,et al.  Scoping the inventory of interpersonal problems, its derivatives and short forms: 1988–2004 , 2005 .

[2]  S. Soldz,et al.  A Short Form of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumples Scales , 1995 .

[3]  L. Horowitz,et al.  Inventory of interpersonal problems: psychometric properties and clinical applications. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[4]  Confirmatory factor analysis of the personality disorder subscales from the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. , 1997, Journal of personality assessment.

[5]  J. Arcelus,et al.  A brief form of interpersonal psychotherapy for adult patients with bulimic disorders: a pilot study. , 2012, European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association.

[6]  Self‐esteem mediates the associations among negative affect, body disturbances, and interpersonal problems in treatment‐seeking obese individuals , 2015 .

[7]  G. Lo Coco,et al.  The Outcome Questionnaire 45.2. Italian validation of an instrument for the assessment of phychological treatments , 2008, Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale.

[8]  Janet Harkness,et al.  Questionnaires in translation , 1998 .

[9]  Armin Hartmann,et al.  Interpersonal problems in eating disorders. , 2010, The International journal of eating disorders.

[10]  T. Gude,et al.  Inventory of Interpersonal Problems: A Three-Dimensional Balanced and Scalable 48-Item Version , 2000, Journal of personality assessment.

[11]  Paul A. Pilkonis,et al.  Scales for Personality Disorders Developed from the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems , 1996 .

[12]  B. Byrne.  Testing for multigroup equivalence of a measuring instrument: a walk through the process. , 2008, Psicothema.

[13]  Ulrich Trautwein,et al.  Please Scroll down for Article Structural Equation Modeling: a Multidisciplinary Journal Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling, Integrating Cfa and Efa: Application to Students' Evaluations of University Teaching , 2022 .

[14]  Gordon W. Cheung,et al.  Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance , 2002 .

[15]  M. Hilsenroth,et al.  Attachment and interpersonal distress: examining the relationship between attachment styles and interpersonal problems in a clinical population. , 2009, Clinical psychology & psychotherapy.

[16]  J. Treasure,et al.  The cognitive-interpersonal maintenance model of anorexia nervosa revisited: a summary of the evidence for cognitive, socio-emotional and interpersonal predisposing and perpetuating factors , 2013, Journal of Eating Disorders.

[17]  G. Lo Coco,et al.  The factorial structure of the Outcome Questionnaire-45: a study with an Italian sample. , 2008, Clinical psychology & psychotherapy.

[18]  G. Arbanas.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) , 2015 .

[19]  J. Salazar,et al.  Validity of the Spanish version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and its use for screening personality disorders in clinical practice. , 2010, Journal of personality disorders.

[20]  S. Reise,et al.  Scoring and Modeling Psychological Measures in the Presence of Multidimensionality , 2013, Journal of personality assessment.

[21]  C. Fairburn.  Interpersonal psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. , 1997 .

[22]  E. Cumella.  Review of the Eating Disorder Inventory–3 , 2006 .

[23]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[24]  G. Tasca,et al.  Does the interpersonal model apply across eating disorder diagnostic groups? A structural equation modeling approach. , 2015, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[25]  M. Rosenberg.  Conceiving the self , 1979 .

[26]  F. Chen.  Sensitivity of Goodness of Fit Indexes to Lack of Measurement Invariance , 2007 .

[27]  Y. Rosseel,et al.  The factorial structure of the Dutch translation of the inventory of interpersonal problems: a test of the long and short versions. , 2006, Psychological assessment.

[28]  F. Scrima,et al.  Obesity and interpersonal problems: an analysis with the interpersonal circumplex. , 2012, Clinical psychology & psychotherapy.

[29]  J. S. Wiggins,et al.  Construction of circumplex scales for the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. , 1990, Journal of personality assessment.

[30]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using multivariate statistics, 5th ed. , 2007 .

[31]  B. Muthén,et al.  Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling , 2009 .

[32]  H. Marsh,et al.  In Search of Golden Rules: Comment on Hypothesis-Testing Approaches to Setting Cutoff Values for Fit Indexes and Dangers in Overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler's (1999) Findings , 2004 .

[33]  G. Tasca,et al.  Outcomes of Specific Interpersonal Problems for Binge Eating Disorder: Comparing Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , 2012, International journal of group psychotherapy.

[34]  A. Panter,et al.  Writing about structural equation models. , 1995 .

[35]  Caroline Meyer,et al.  The role of interpersonal functioning in the maintenance of eating psychopathology: a systematic review and testable model. , 2013, Clinical psychology review.

[36]  T. Joiner,et al.  Interpersonal functioning deficits: temporary or stable characteristics of depressed individuals? , 2004, Journal of affective disorders.

[37]  J. Hoyer,et al.  Interpersonal Subtypes Within Generalized Anxiety Disorder , 2008, Journal of personality assessment.

[38]  Marisol Perez,et al.  Pathoplasticity of bulimic features and interpersonal problems. , 2007, The International journal of eating disorders.

[39]  F. Caspar,et al.  Interpersonal differentiation within depression diagnosis: Relating interpersonal subgroups to symptom load and the quality of the early therapeutic alliance , 2014, Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.

[40]  M. Barkham,et al.  The IIP-32: a short version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. , 1996, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[41]  A. Compare,et al.  Does the Interpersonal Model Generalize to Obesity Without Binge Eating? , 2016, European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association.

[42]  G. Knight,et al.  An examination of the cross-ethnic equivalence of measures of negative life events and mental health among Hispanic and Anglo-American children , 1994, American journal of community psychology.

[43]  P. McEvoy,et al.  Interpersonal problems across anxiety, depression, and eating disorders: a transdiagnostic examination. , 2013, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[44]  Daniel A. Sass,et al.  Testing Measurement Invariance and Comparing Latent Factor Means Within a Confirmatory Factor Analysis Framework , 2011 .

[45]  L. Clark,et al.  Interpersonal problems, personality pathology, and social adjustment after cognitive therapy for depression. , 2003, Psychological assessment.

[46]  A. Pincus,et al.  Assessment of borderline pathology using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales (IIP-C): A comparison of clinical samples. , 2007 .

[47]  Gianluca Lo Coco,et al.  Competing factor structures of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and its measurement invariance across clinical and non-clinical samples , 2017 .