Evaluating the Reliability of the Word-Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP) as an Interpretation bias Assessment across Ethnoracial Groups

Abstract

Background

The tendency to negatively interpret ambiguous situations (i.e., interpretation bias) is associated with the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. Reliable measures of this transdiagnostic construct are critical for mechanistic studies and for evaluating treatment effects. However, few studies have validated common measures of interpretation bias across different ethnoracial groups. The Word-Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP) is a commonly used measure of interpretation biases that has previously shown good reliability (Gonsalves, Whittles, Weisberg, Beard, & 2019). This study evaluated two versions of the WSAP in two different samples across four ethnoracial groups (Asian/Pacific Islander, Black/African, Hispanic, non-Hispanic White) in the United States.

Methods

The first sample included adults (N = 762) with ages ranging from 18 to 94 years old (M = 40.92 years, SD = 17.57). The second sample included adults (N = 1218) ages ranging from 18 to 90 years (M = 39.81, SD = 17.37).

Results

Both versions of the WSAP demonstrated acceptable split-half reliability across ethnoracial groups. There were not any group differences in WSAP scores across ethnoracial groups for either version of the WSAP.

Conclusions

Results provide preliminary support for the WSAP as a reliable measure of interpretation bias across ethnoracial groups. Future work with larger samples is needed to replicate these findings, as well as to examine validity of the WSAP across ethnoracial groups.