I am always amazed how I continue to learn, from my clients, new ways of using the Personnel Security Standards Psychological Questionnaire (PSSPQ) to benefit themselves.  Basically, I (Dr. LeRoy A. Stone, the developer of the PSSPQ; whose Web Site home page can be found at: 
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/home.html) have attempted to ‘sell’ use
of the PSSPQ as a means whereby an individual, who is currently interested in new employment that requires one to be granted a high-level security clearance, to discover what his/her chances are regarding, when being processed and adjudicated for the required security clearance status, being successful or not.  In other words, I have been trying to 'sell' use of my PSSPQ instrument as a prediction means that enables individuals to learn whether they can eventually be granted the wanted and required clearance status.

     During the past couple of years, I have been asked by few clients as to whether I would administer the PSSPQ to them a second time, following their being informed, based upon their having learned of their predictive results from a first time administration of the PSSPQ.  These particular clients originally had been informed from their testing results that they were predicted to be unsuccessful were they, at that time, be processed for high-level security clearances.  These particular
individuals (all were males) asked to ‘take’ the PSSPQ again; however, this time
they indicated that they wanted to respond to the PSSPQ instrument as if it were
about five years in the future and that they, during the coming five years, had
refrained from any further behaviors of the kind that they believed (this knowledge was obtained from their PSSPQ scales scores)  would be expected (i.e., at the present time) to have caused them to be negatively regarded by governmental security clearance adjudicators.

      To make a long story short, a new  use for results obtained from a PSSPQ testing had been conceptualized.  It now seems more logical and realistic to believe that being administered the PSSPQ, and employing a response ‘set’ that involves
responding as if one was some specified number of years in the future and had been (for the specified number of years) entirely successful in refraining from one or more specific type behaviors that obviously would be evaluated by governmental adjudicators when processing an individual for potential security clearance status.

     Initially, I was somewhat doubtful that this type of ‘test-taking’ would constitute a valid use of the PSSPQ.  However, the more I thought about it the more it seemed perhaps to be a useful and legitimate use of the PSSPQ.  Upon inspection of the instrument, about 21 of the PSSPQ’s items were seen as being very time oriented.   As an example, the following item (which is not a PSSPQ item, but is of their type format) can be considered to be time oriented.

               I am addicted to the smoking of cigarettes containing tobacco.

                  (A)   I have never smoked cigarettes.
                  (B)   I have smoked, but never inhaled, and was never addicted.
                  (C)   I used to be addicted to cigarettes, but quit smoking over
                           ten years ago.
                  (D)   I used to be addicted to cigarettes, but quit smoking, over
                           five years ago.
                  (E)    I am currently addicted to the smoking of cigarettes. 

     With the above example item, changing one’s response from (E) to (D) could be expected to drastically change an examining physician's advice to the examinee. 
Such a response change could significantly lower the size of one’s life insurance
premium.  In a similar fashion, an actuarial prediction of one’s life span could also
be markedly altered if such a response change was indeed valid.   In like fashion,
one’s prediction score (based upon a discriminant function equation that involves a large number of PSSPQ items) will significantly change (in the direction for
prediction success instead of denial) the prediction that can be made using PSSPQ
item responses.

     Most of the other remaining PSSPQ items are of a frequency or intensity type
question.  However, it can be easily argued that even this type of item/question,
many times,  implicitly suggests some type of time element.   For example, when one involves oneself in doing some type of activity or behavior at a low or high rate of frequency, some aspect of time is inherent in the different frequency levels.

     Quite recently, Dr. Stone was contacted by a young man who, in his initial
communication, indicated that he was quite aware that, at the present time, he
already was fully believing, if he were currently processed/adjudicated regarding
possible security clearance status, he would be denied just about any level of
security clearance.  At the time he contacted Dr. Stone, this young man was soon to be graduating from college with a bachelors degree in a highly technical scientific discipline.  He was planning on going to graduate school and was hoping to work toward being eventually awarded a Ph.D. degree in his highly technical field.  He informed Dr. Stone that he was interested in now ‘taking’ the PSSPQ.   He further explained that he was planning on taking a new life path that would result in a number of major changes in his future behavior.  He was wondering whether he abstained from these particular problematic behaviors for about five years or so (this length of time was believed by him to be approximately the time it would take him to be granted his Ph.D. degree), whether he then might be more favorably regarded by governmental security clearance adjudicators; the result being that he then might be successful in being granted a needed security clearance.

     I did agree to cooperate with his wishes and allowed this young man to ‘take’ the PSSPQ.   If he is successful to do as he has planned in the next coming five years, he can be (based upon the PSSPQ prediction paradigm) expected to be considered in a bit more favorable light by governmental security clearance granting adjudicators.  This is not to say, for this particular young man, that he would stand a markedly good chance then for being favorably considered.   Actually, his prediction score was just about at the cutting score point.   It was not overly clear that he would be successful or not.  He was informed that he might be favorably considered at that future time provided he did actually and truly desist in those behaviors that he was certain, that at the present time, would prohibit him from being favorably considered for security clearance.  However, he was also clearly informed that his PSSPQ scorings were actually only ‘borderline.’  The PSSPQ can tell you if a 'fresh start' will make any difference for potentially being granted a security clearance sometime in the future.
 

      Therefore, it can be understood that Dr. Stone will entertain (and most likely
cooperate with) requests to ‘take’ the PSSPQ in the manner that has been described in the above paragraphs.  Persons interested in learning more about the PSSPQ instrument are encouraged to inspect the following web site location:
               http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/psspq.html
Directions for making application to ‘take’ the PSSPQ can be found at:
               http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/howtotakepsspq.html
Dr. Stone’s index/home web site can be found at:
               http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/home.html.