1. Short Sadistic Impulse Scale (SSIS)
(O’Meara et al., 2011 ).
Variable
The construct involves a predisposition toward sadistic attitudes and behaviors ( O’Meara et al., 2011 ). Its novel
contribution is the construal of sadism as a normal personality variable /C0in contrast to earlier clinical and foren-
sic conceptions.
Description
This measure emerged from a refinement of the Sadistic Attitudes and Behaviors Scale developed by Davies
and Hand (2003) . An intermediate version of the instrument was labeled the ‘Hurting Scale’. When a principal
factor analysis was applied to 49 items in a sample of 407 undergraduate students, a clear single factor emerged.
A composite of the 10 best loading items was labeled the Short Sadistic Impulse Scale ( O’Meara et al., 2011 ).
The 10 items are presented in dichotomous format: agree or disagree. Hence the possible scores range between
0 and 10.
Sample
O’Meara et al. (2011, p. 525) reported that the original sample comprised 407 undergraduates (57.8% women;
42.2% men; mean age 521.51 years). A second sample comprised 564 participants (87% students; 13% members
of the general community; mean age 523 years; ranging from 18 /C065 years) (O’Meara et al., p. 526).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Cronbach alpha coefficients of .86 and .87 were reported by O’Meara et al. (2011, Study 1) and Buckels et al.
(2013) , respectively.
Test/C0Retest
No test /C0retest reliability coefficients have been reported to-date.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
The SSIS showed positive correlations ..60 with another self-report measure of sadistic personality, namely,
the VAST ( Buckels et al., 2013 ).
Divergent/Discriminant
An early version of the SSIS was translated into French and used by Chabrol, Leeuwen, Rodgers, and Sejourne
(2009) . They showed that sadism scores were positively correlated with, but were sufficiently distinct from Dark
Triad measures (all rs,.38).
Construct/Factor Analytic
The authors provided a follow-up principal components analysis to confirm the dimensionality of the SSIS
(N5564 students). The first component accounted for the majority of the variance suggesting a unidimensional
structure ( O’Meara et al., 2011 , p. 527).
Criterion/Predictive
The SSIS was able to predict a concrete measure of sadistic behavior (bug-crunching) in a recent laboratory
study ( Buckels et al., 2013 ).O’Meara et al. (2011) also reported that high scores were negatively predictive of self-
reported empathy ( 2.27), and paternal attachment ( 2.25).
Location
O’Meara, A., Davies, J., & Hammond, S. (2011). The psychometric properties and utility of the short sadistic
impulse scale (SSIS). Psychological Assessment, 23 , 523/C0531.583 DARK TRIAD MEASURES
V. VICES AND VIRTUES