In the mid-1980s, based upon his then number of years of employment as a senior psychologist in one of our Country’s largest intelligence agency, Dr. Stone mentally conceptualized that a reasonably short psychometric test could be developed that would include the evaluation area focused on when adjudicating an individual for consideration to be granted high-level security clearance status.  This was in the time-frame shortly following the so-called "Year of the Spy" (i.e., 1985), a year in which several traitorous U.S. citizens were caught and charged with committing espionage.  The Cold War was raging and the Reagan Administration was supporting a great increase in our Country’s national defense.  At that time in the mid-1980s, there was seen an increasing number of U.S. Government employees (military and civilian), as well as civilian employees of companies/corporations that held Government contracts.  According to information published in the Washington Post, the number of individuals who then held security clearances from the U.S. Department of Defense (as of March 31, 1985) was 4.3 million.  According to the 1987 Report from the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, "by 1985, over five million Americans (of which 1.5 million were in the private sector) hold clearances for access to classified information."   In addition to this, high-level security clearances, equivalent to those just mentioned, but carrying differing labels, had been granted to employees and contractor employees in other U.S. Governmental organizations, such as in those that deal with energy development (i.e., generally this is to apply to persons who have access to protected areas of nuclear power plants and the like).

     It was common knowledge at that time that the adjudication process for being evaluated for possible security clearance granting (or denial) normally would take a number of months, sometimes extending into a timeframe of a year or more.  It was in such a time that Dr. Stone envisioned the development and use of a short and quick psychometric test that conceivably could accurately predict, very early on in the security clearance initial application process, whether the candidate would or would not be eventually successful in being granted the hoped-for security clearance some months (sometimes, a year or so) later.
 

     If such an accurate testing result could be realized, then the existence and availability of such a testing instrument could prove to be a most valuable tool to use that would conceivably benefit both the individual being evaluated, as well as his/her employer (i.e., the government or a government contractor).   On his own time, and using his own private resources. Dr. Stone did develop, following well-known and understood, scientific psychometric practices and methodologies.  He titled the resulting test as the Personnel Security Standards Psychological Questionnaire (or PSSPQ).  The content for this test’s 72 multiple-choice items came from the then Director of Central Intelligence Directive 1/14, which a few years ago was slightly modified and is now known as the Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/4.  The DCID 1/14 and 6/4 have formed the basis for setting adjudication standards and areas of consideration for the security clearance level known as "Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmented Information" (or TS-SCI) access.  The best way to conceptualize what this clearance status represents is to be aware that it is a type of above Top Secret clearance that allows access to information associated with cryptologic involvement and obtaining.  According to the Washington Post figures (as of March 31, 1985) there were 98,715 persons within the Department of Defense (both civilian and military) and another 9,576 in industry who held TS-SCI access status.  It has been estimated that the evaluation and adjudication process for an individual,  that is required prior to being granted this level clearance, many times can cost the involved government entity or contractor organization more than $25,000 to conduct.  Actually, the same considerations are involved in the adjudication of all governmentally granted security clearances (i.e., from Confidential to TS-SCI), the only differences are in the extent (and cost) of the investigations conducted.

     If it were possible to accurately predict, in the first couple of hours of a job application that would later involved a security clearance process that might take more than a year to complete, just what the final decision regarding the granting or non-granting of a security clearance would be, such could result in a significantly great financial savings to the Government as well as to contractor organizations.  In addition to such financial savings, a good deal of psychological ‘face-saving’ might be possible for those employment applicants who eventually would be found to warrant a non-granting of the required security clearance.

     To make a long and complicated story a bit shorter, as noted a couple of paragraphs earlier,  Dr. Stone did quite successfully develop and construct the PSSPQ.  This test only requires about 10-15 minutes administration time and, when properly scored, yields a great deal of potentially valuable psychometric score information.  Standard scores (i.e., T scores having a mean of 50 and standard deviations of 10) for each of the DCID 1/14 (and subsequent DCID 6/4) 11 adjudication consideration areas are obtainable.  Also a T score for the LIE Scale (a specially designed test for positive direction dissimulation tendencies, sometimes known as a "fake-good" response bias) is also obtainable.  The ratio of Total Scores to LIE Scores also constitutes another interpretable source of information.  Finally, a discriminant function score is computed (on a numerical score continuum that ranges from a strong failure to be granted a security clearance to a strong success for being granted a security clearance).  This discriminant function scoring thus provides a statistical estimation as to failure/success regarding eventually being granted the needed security clearance.  At its basis, the discriminant function was associated with a concept correlation coefficient of 0.79.   This is descriptive of the relationship between a best-weighted sum of scoring information from the PSSPQ and the failure/success continuum that pertains to final security clearance adjudication decisions.  It should be noted that this particular validity coefficient has held up under another independent cross-validation effort.  Surprisingly, the validity coefficient, with this ‘new’ cross-validation sample, the validity correlation was only slightly lower; it was 0.74.  The PSSPQ was found to be able to accurately predict, at better than a 95% accuracy level, whether individuals would eventually be a success or a failure in being granted a TS-SCI clearance status.  Several different varieties of very high and favorable reliability estimations were computed.

     It was previously mentioned that Dr. Stone did construct the PSSPQ on his own time and using his own resources.  This has been officially verified by the then General Counsel of the governmental agency that employed Dr. Stone at the time of the development of the PSSPQ.  Dr. Stone has in his possession a signed memo from this General Counsel in which it was clearly communicated that, based on investigation, Dr. Stone ‘owned’ the PSSPQ and that it was developed without aid or resources from the U.S. Government.
 

     At about this time, Dr. Stone contacted a major psychological test publisher and scoring equipment sales and service company, one of the two or three largest in the nation, and a contract to further develop the PSSPQ was signed.   At that time, this test publishing/sales company had in its employment, as a Senior Consultant, an extremely top-flight clinical psychologist who historically and personally is usually given credit for the initial development of computerized interpretation, in narrative form, of psychological test score information.  Interestingly enough, this same outstanding clinical psychologist consultant was just then successfully elected to be the President Elect of the American Psychological Association (APA), which then had a membership of about 150,000 psychologists.  This noted clinical psychologist, who then was also President Elect of the APA, was given, as one of his main consulting taskings, the job to extend the PSSPQ’s standardization norms to include an increased number of intelligence community organizations. This noted clinical psychologist later informed Dr. Stone that he had absolutely no expectation of the latent hostility he would encounter towards any possible interagency research cooperation that would have involved the PSSPQ.  He found that the leadership psychologists in these several intelligence community organizations (including some military) simply were polite in their words but soon it became rather obvious that they were not interested in any possible real collaboration.  At that time it was believed that these "other agency" psychologists were seen as even wanting to be destructive towards any such further development of the PSSPQ concept.
 

     In his own employing agency, Dr. Stone, at about this time, began to experience some very real personal negative directed regard in which the PSSPQ concept was mentioned by some of his management personnel as some kind of major source of trouble.  At about that time, one of his psychologist colleagues explicitly expressed something to the effect that "if this test is accepted and used by the Agency, then there will be a lesser need for us psychologists."  From the Agency’s Office of Security came somewhat similar sentiments, however since PSSPQ testing results could accurately predict an Office of Security adjudication decision that would not normally be made for many months in the future – this alone minimized the complexity and involvement of the adjudication decision process itself.  These types of regard, held by some important management within Dr. Stone’s own then employing agency, very soon developed into some intra-agency actions against Dr. Stone; he was strongly encouraged, both implicitly and explicitly (in writing) to cease any further developmental work of his new prediction tool, the PSSPQ.  The main argument, in this regard, which was employed was that he was engaging in actions that he may have been showing  some appearance of potential conflict of interest.  In effect, something similar to a kind of ‘gag order’ equivalent had been imposed upon Dr. Stone regarding matter pertaining to the PSSPQ.

     At this point, both from within and outside his own agency, the PSSPQ seemed to be a "dead in the water" concept.  Dr. Stone initiated a communication action that requested the then interested test publisher to withdraw from the potential publishing of the PSSPQ.  The APA President Elect psychologist consultant, who had been also involved as one who would encourage and maybe manage some interagency cross-validation of the PSSPQ, quite naturally also ceased to have any further involvement.  For all practical purposes, the PSSPQ in 1989 was dead.  In one of his last conversations with Dr. Stone, the psychologist consultant indicated that, knowing what he had learned in all of this, he came to believe that any type of inter-intelligence-agency cooperation, that might be needed to additionally validity-test the PSSPQ, or any other such similar type instrument, was simply not possible, at least not at that time.  One of the potential publishing company's top managers later made a comment to Dr. Stone that if the then APA President Elect consulting psychologist was unable to generate any real interest in further validation research among the leadership psychologists in the various governmental intelligence agencies and organizations, then such a hoped-for accomplishment was simply not one that was possible.
 

     Shortly following the then commercial potential demise of the PSSPQ, in the late 1980’s, came the fall of the Soviet Union and the resulting disappearance of the Iron Curtain.  A down sizing of our Country’s DoD soon began to be seen.  In 1992, with the winning of the Presidency by Bill Clinton, the County began a widely seen down sizing and down-emphasis of whole matter of national defense.  Also with this trend, the number of high-level security clearances held greatly declined and even the concept of security clearance underwent some type of trend into non-importance.  The number of persons who were being adjudication processed for security clearance had declined to be just a trickle.

     However, during the early/mid 1990’s, Dr. Stone still spent some time devoted to his PSSPQ test.  A few of the items were updated to keep abreast with our changing culture; for example, the financial figures in questions dealing with indebtedness had to be increased to keep up with inflation.  Also, Dr. Stone continued to utilize the PSSPQ as an assessment instrument, in his own forensic psychology practice, when evaluating individuals involved in the criminal justice system.

     After Dr. Stone’s retirement from his federal employing agency, on 3 January 1997, his then limited part-time forensic psychology practice was enlarged to involve just about a full-time commitment.  Several attorneys, located in Maryland, Virginia and in the District of Columbia, who seemed to handle a goodly fraction of those individuals who were having difficulties with their security clearance statuses, discovered Dr. Stone’s availability and expertise to conduct psychological evaluations of these kinds of clients (i.e., those having security clearance continuance problems).  Dr. Stone included the administration of the PSSPQ test as a component part of the usually extensive test battery that he normally utilized in these type cases.  When using this instrument in this fashion, he always identified, in the subsequently prepared psychological evaluation reports, his use of the PSSPQ as an "experimental instrument."  Since 1997, Dr. Stone’ employment of the PSSPQ, in these type cases, has contributed a number of new cases to his cross-validation samples.  In fact, those individuals, who were being very realistically threatened with the loss of their security clearance statuses, constituted a very valuable validity testing sample.  This continued work with the PSSPQ, right to just about the present time, rather clearly has demonstrated that this psychological testing instrument does continue to predict the continued holding of a security clearance as well as the original adjudicative granting of a security clearance.
 

     Early in 2001, after receiving a number of requests (starting in about mid-2000) from individuals who wanted to take the PSSPQ, Dr. Stone initially started advertising the ‘selling’ of administration of this instrument on the Internet.  On a couple of sub-pages within his Web Site, Dr. Stone described an arrangement procedure one could follow so as to be administered the PSSPQ and to then subsequently be provided with interpretive results.  To date, providing predictive results from use of the PSSPQ has become somewhat of a ‘cottage industry’ for Dr. Stone.  So far, advertisement ‘over the Internet’ has been the only means that have been employed to "sell" use of the PSSPQ.  In the past year or so, sales of PSSPQ administration and scoring, along with interpretation, has been surprisingly a growth industry.  Surprisingly enough, sales of the administration of the PSSPQ to citizens of a couple British Commonwealth countries as well as to some other citizens of some NATO countries. 

     Feedback of results information, from satisfied users of the PSSPQ, has further bolstered ongoing and continuing validity testing study and research.  A goodly number of those who have purchased PSSPQ testing for themselves and who were predicted to be successful in being granted high-level security clearances, and who eventually were, in fact, have been pleased to later notify Dr. Stone of the validity of his test in their own personal situations.  The same has been true, with a much smaller group of those who purchased PSSPQ testing and who were predicted to be unsuccessful in being granted high-level security clearances, and who, despite this information, continued on in the clearance adjudication process.  They also informed Dr. Stone that, in their cases, the PSSPQ had been correct in its predictions, even though they had unfortunately elected to continue on in the clearance evaluation adjudication process.   In the ‘real world,’ at the present time, the PSSPQ  is continuously  seen to produce a very high level of correct and valid predictions regarding potential success/failure in being adjudicated by governmental authorities regarding the granting of high-level security clearances.  It quite adequately does the job for which it was constructed.
 

     Normally, a test developer will not detail the many unusual problems and pitfalls that were encountered in the building and development of a psychological test.  However, what has been described and explained in the above several pages rather clearly indicates just why the PSSPQ is the only such existing instrument that has been developed to accurately predict whether an individual will or will not be successful when being adjudicated for a governmentally granted, high-level, security clearance.  In the past couple of decades or so, the U.S. Government has factually rather strongly discouraged development of any such instrument such as the PSSPQ.  It is possible that more recently governmental regard for PSSPQ type testing matters may have changed (i.e., in the past year(s) or so since "9/11").  The now bona fide existence of the Department for Home Security is testament to the fact that cooperation and coordination, on the part of our County’s intelligence agencies and organizations has historically been well-known to be sadly lacking and was hopefully remedied by this new governmental entity.

     The type of explanation given in this present paper is rather unusual when describing the historical background of an existing psychological test.  However, with a test such as the PSSPQ, that has no competitors at all, the reason for such seemed to almost 'cry out' for statement.  It is hoped that the unusual test development history for the PSSPQ, provided here, will help the reader, and possible user, of this highly accurate prediction instrument develop some increased appreciation of the test's existence; even though the U.S. Government has, in the past, formally and informally attempted to surpress its development.
 

For anyone truly interested in the subject material presented in this Web Page, the reader is strongly encouraged to also take a look at the additional following Web Pages, which also describe important aspects and matters associated with use of the PSSPQ.  There may be some duplication, but not necessarily so, between the below given links and some of the links given in some of the above paragraphs. http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/psspq.html (This can be considered to be the PSSPQ index/home page) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/psspqfaq.html (This is the "frequently asked questions" that pertain to the PSSPQ) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/atyourservicepsspq.html (More valuable information about use of PSSPQ obtained information) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/howtotakepsspq.html (This one is especially important as it describes, in detail, the procedure one must go through in order to purchase an administration [i.e., to ‘take’], obtain results and interpretation of the PSSPQ) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/hrandsecdirectors.html (Describes how the PSSPQ can be used by directors of offices of human resources and/or security) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/increasesuccesschances.html (Describes how a job applicant/candidate can improve his employment chances with PSSPQ obtained information) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/individualsales.html (Describes use/value of the PSSPQ for individuals) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/onlyonepsspq.html (Describes how the PSSPQ is the only such prediction instrument in existence) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/psspqreliabilityvalidity.html (Describes the technical psychometric reliability and validity information regarding the PSSPQ) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/securityclearancewaiting.html  (Being administered the PSSPQ and learning its results can be expected to be a very smart job-hunting decision that can easily lead to increased chances for job-obtaining success.  To decide to 'take' the PSSPQ can prove to be a very wise decision indeed!) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/britishcommonwealth.html (Describes that the PSSPQ logically, and based upon empirical data results, can accurately predict success/failure for being granted high-level security clearance status by some of the more major British Commonwealth countries) http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/natocountries.html (Describes that the PSSPQ logically, and based upon some limited empirical data results, can accurately predict success/failure for being granted high-level security clearance status by some of the more major NATO Countries)      Thanks for Your Interest and Good Luck!