Examination of the general factor with the interpersonal circumplex structure: Application to the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems

The relation of the general factor of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP, Horowitz, Rosenberg, Baer, Ureno, & Villasenor, 1988) to several response set and personality measures as well its relation to the circumplex structure was examined. The correlation of the IIP general factor to the personality and response measures was examined on a sample of 105 undergraduates. The general factor was significantly related to a symptom severity measure as well as negative affectivity and self-deception, supporting its interpretation in a substantive manner. Subsequently, the circular structure of the IIP was examined as it varied across different levels of the general factor in a sample of 1093 college students. The sample was divided into five relatively equally sized groups on the general factor. At each level, the IIP scales were examined for their circularity and circular variance accounted for to determine if the structure of the IIP scales resembled a cylinder, a sphere, or a truncated cone. Evaluations of both the circular order model and the circumplex model supported the circularity of the IIP at all levels of the general factor. Support for the cone structure was supported for lower levels of the general distress factor but higher levels did not demonstrate the expected increased correlational dispersion.