Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 42, Issue 2, June 2011, Pages 249-262
Behavior Therapy

The Reward Probability Index: Design and Validation of a Scale Measuring Access to Environmental Reward

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2010.05.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Behavioral models of depression implicate decreased response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR) as critical toward the development and maintenance of depression (Lewinsohn, 1974). Given the absence of a psychometrically sound self-report measure of RCPR, the Reward Probability Index (RPI) was developed to measure access to environmental reward and to approximate actual RCPR. In Study 1 (n = 269), exploratory factor analysis supported a 20-item two-factor model (Reward Probability, Environmental Suppressors) with strong internal consistency (α = .90). In Study 2 (n = 281), confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure and convergent validity was established through strong correlations between the RPI and measures of activity, avoidance, reinforcement, and depression (r = .65 to .81). Discriminant validity was supported via smaller correlations between the RPI and measures of social support and somatic anxiety (r =  .29 to – .40). Two-week test–retest reliability was strong (r = .69). In Study 3 (n = 33), controlling for depression symptoms, hierarchical regression supported the incremental validity of the RPI in predicting daily diary reports of environmental reward. The RPI represents a parsimonious, reliable, and valid measure that may facilitate understanding of the etiology of depression and its relationship to overt behaviors.

Section snippets

Participants and Procedure

A demographic form and 24-item RPI were administered to 269 students attending undergraduate psychology courses at the University of Tennessee: 180 females (66.9%) and 89 males (33.1%) with a mean age of 19.6 years (SD = 3.5 years). The sample consisted of 227 Caucasians (84.4%), 28 African Americans (10.4%), 3 Latinos (1.1%), 4 Asians (1.5%), 1 American Indian (0.4%), and 6 individuals who identified themselves as “Other” (2.2%).

Assessment Measure

The original 24-item RPI self-report measure was designed to assess

Participants and Procedure

Study 2 was conducted to further assess reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity of the RPI with measures of environmental reward, depression, anxiety, and social support. These instruments were administered with a demographic questionnaire in the context of introductory psychology undergraduate classes. The sample included 281 students, 168 (59.8%) females and 113 (40.2%) males, with a mean age of 18.8 years (SD = 2.5 years). The sample consisted of 235 Caucasians (83.6%), 33

Participants and Procedure

Study 3 was conducted to assess the predictive validity of the RPI, specifically examining the incremental validity of the RPI in predicting daily diary reports of rewarding behaviors and activities above variance associated with depression. Participants included 33 undergraduates, females: n = 23 (69.7%), males: n = 10 (30.3%), and the sample consisted of 30 Caucasians (90.9%), 1 African American (3.0%), 1 Asian (3.0%), and 1 individual who self-classified as “Other” (3.0%). The mean age of

Discussion

These three studies were designed to establish the psychometric properties of the RPI, a brief self-report instrument assessing access to environmental reward as defined in theories of RCPR (i.e., the number of potential reinforcers, availability of reinforcers, the ability to obtain reinforcement, and exposure to aversive events; Lewinsohn, 1974, Lewinsohn et al., 1980). In other words, the RPI was a proxy measure of RCPR in which the contingencies of interest were the relation of behaviors

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