Borderline personality disorder features in nonclinical young adults: I. Identification and validation.

Two studies were conducted that sought to (a) establish and validate a self-report method of identifying nonclinical young adults who present with significant borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and (b) evaluate the clinical correlates of this classification across a number of relevant areas of functioning. Specifically, the Personality Assessment Inventory Borderline Features Scale (PAI-BOR; L. C. Morey, 1991) was used to screen and select nonclinical participants whose scores indicated the presence of significant BPD features (B+ group) and participants whose scores indicated the relative absence of BPD features (B– group). B+ and B– participants were compared across a range of domains that are believed to be related to BPD in clinical samples (e.g., depression, personality traits, coping, Axis I disorders, interpersonal problems). Results supported the validity of this method of classification based on PAI-BOR scores and documented the level of dysfunction exhibited by the B+ participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of childhood social phobia: Construct, convergent, and discriminative validity of the Social Phobia and Anxiety inventory for Children (SPA-C).

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) has shown initial promise to assess childhood social fears. In this study, convergent validity was determined by comparing scores on the SPAI-C to daily diary ratings of social distress. Social phobic children scored significantly higher on the SPAI-C, reported more distressing events, and rated these events as more distressful when compared with normal peers. A positive relationship was found between SPAI-C scores and daily diary ratings. Discriminative validity was determined by comparing SPAI-C scores of social phobic children with normal controls and children with externalizing disorders. The SPAI-C successfully differentiated children with social phobia from those with externalizing disorders or no disorder. Finally, internal consistency and factor analytic outcome data are presented. Results are discussed in terms of the SPAT-C's usefulness as a clinical and research tool. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergent and discriminant validity of overall defensive functioning

We examined the validity of the construct of overall defensive functioning and its discrimination from standard diagnostic assessments. Within a multisite field trial, patients received intake diagnostic interviews by clinicians who made standard axis I through V diagnoses, then rated defense mechanisms using the Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS). Patients filled out self-report measures of distress and defenses, the SCL-90-R, and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). Overall defensive functioning (ODF) scales were derived from both the DMRS and the DSQ. Overlap between clinical and self-report ratings of defenses was modest. By two different methods of factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis, clinical ratings of ODF were clearly discriminable from axis I, axis II personality disorders, current and usual global functioning, and subjective distress. ODF measured by the DSQ was not clearly discriminated from subjective distress ratings, consistent with the hypothesis that subjective distress may distort conscious derivatives of actual defensive processes. The DSQ alone probably should not be considered as a substitute for observer-rated assessment of defensive functioning, although further study of the issue is warranted.     

Borderline personality traits and disorder: Predicting prospective patient functioning.

Objective: Decisions about the composition of personality assessment in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–V) will be heavily influenced by the clinical utility of candidate constructs. In this study, we addressed 1 aspect of clinical utility by testing the incremental validity of 5-factor model (FFM) personality traits and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms for predicting prospective patient functioning. Method: FFM personality traits and BPD features were correlated with one another and predicted 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-year psychosocial functioning scores for 362 patients with personality disorders. Results: Traits and symptom domains related significantly and pervasively to one another and to prospective functioning. FFM extraversion and agreeableness tended to be most incrementally predictive of psychosocial functioning across all intervals; cognitive and impulse action features of BPD features incremented FFM traits in some models. Conclusions: These data suggest that BPD symptoms and personality traits are important long-term indicators of clinical functioning that both overlap with and increment one another in clinical predictions. Results support the integration of personality traits and disorders in DSM–V. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality disorder symptoms and marital functioning.

Pathological personality is strongly linked with interpersonal impairment, yet no study to date has examined the relationship between concurrent personality pathology and dysfunction in marriage--a relationship that most people find central to their lives. In a cross-sectional study of a community sample of married couples (N = 82), the authors used multilevel modeling to estimate the association of self- and spouse-reported symptoms of personality disorder (PD) with levels of marital satisfaction and verbal aggression and perpetration of physical violence. Inclusion of self- and spouse report of total PD symptoms resulted in improved model fit and greater variance explained, with much of the improvement coming after the addition of spouse report. The incremental validity of spouse report for several of the 10 PD scales was supported for marital satisfaction and verbal aggression, particularly for the Borderline and Dependent PD scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memories of abuse in borderline patients: true or false?

This review will examine issues related to the validity of memories of child abuse in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A large body of research has shown that all memories are distorted by cognitive schema, and that "recovered memories" may be particularly unreliable. Empirical findings on trauma in BPD will be reviewed, as well as the difficulties in verifying trauma histories. Evidence will be examined suggesting that borderline patients have a distorted perception of interpersonal events. Clinical recommendations will be made for the evaluation of memories of abuse in patients with BPD.     

Psychosocial functioning and depression: Distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, and consequences.

In this article we attempt to distinguish empirically between psychosocial variables that are concomitants of depression, and variables that may serve as antecedents or sequelae of this disorder. We review studies that investigated the relationship between depression and any of six psychosocial variables after controlling for the effects of concurrent depression. The six variables examined are attributional style, dysfunctional attitudes, personality, social support, marital distress, and coping style. The review suggests that whereas there is little evidence in adults of a cognitive vulnerability to clinical depression, disturbances in interpersonal functioning may be antecedents or sequelae of this disorder. Specifically, marital distress and low social integration appear to be involved in the etiology of depression, and introversion and interpersonal dependency are identified as enduring abnormalities in the functioning of remitted depressives. We attempt to integrate what is known about the relationships among these latter variables, suggests ways in which they may influence the development of depression, and outline specific issues to be addressed in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The validity of the Katz Adjustment Scale among people with traumatic brain injury.

Deficits in self- and social awareness can impair adjustment following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and draw into question the accuracy of self-report measures of adjustment. This study evaluates the validity of Katz Adjustment Scale (KAS) factor components identified by R. J. Fabiano and D. A. Goran (1992). The KAS is an observer rating scale often used to assess the social adjustment of people with traumatic brain injury. The responses of 105 individuals with TBI to the Symptom Checklist 90—Revised (SCL-90–R; L. R. Derogatis, 1983), a self-report measure of distress, were correlated with observer ratings on the KAS. Results support the use of observer ratings and self-report to assess adjustment and social behavior following TBI. Each contributes valuable information that can guide treatment and enhance adaptive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of relationship functioning for patients with bipolar disorder and their partners.

Previous investigations have examined family functioning, including marital functioning, as an important predictor of the course of bipolar disorder, but limited research exists identifying the factors that influence relationship functioning in patients with bipolar disorder. In the current study, 56 patients with bipolar disorder and their partners were assessed for Axis II pathology, general family functioning, and relationship distress. Patient mood symptoms and Axis II pathology variables were examined as predictors of general relationship functioning (Family Assessment Device, McMaster Clinical Rating Scale, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale) in regression models. Analyses indicated that patients' depressive symptomatology was associated with patient ratings of general family functioning and couple functioning, while patients' manic symptoms were associated with partners' ratings of the romantic relationship. Partners' total Axis II pathology, but not patients' Axis II pathology, was associated with patient and partner perception of the couple's relationship. These findings highlight the importance of mood and personality pathology to relationship functioning, and represent one of the first investigations to verify the impact of personality pathology on patients' and partners' perceptions of relationship functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Benchmarks: Integrating affective and interpersonal circles with the Big-Five personality factors.

Previous research on the Big Five personality factors has not accounted for trait variables interstitial to the factor poles. To better integrate interstitial variables with the Big Five and to provide a framework for reconciling variant versions of the 5 factors, 636 self- and peer ratings using a set of 394 trait adjectives were analyzed. Pairings of 3 factors (I, II, and IV) showed a markedly large incidence of interstitial variables. These 3 factors, referencing affective and interpersonal traits, formed a 3-dimensional space. Adjective clusters defining both factor-univocal and interstitial benchmark positions in this space were developed. The 3 circles defined by the clusters showed appropriate circumplex characteristics when examined in an independent sample of 205 peer ratings. Two of these circles corresponded to the affective and interpersonal circles defined by personality research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118): Development, factor structure, reliability, and validity.

This article describes a series of studies involving 2,730 participants on the development and validity testing of the Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP), a self-report questionnaire covering important core components of (mal)adaptive personality functioning. Results show that the 16 facets constituted homogeneous item clusters (i.e., unidimensional and internally consistent parcels) that fit well into 5 clinically interpretable, higher order domains: self-control, identity integration, relational capacities, social concordance, and responsibility. These domains appeared to have good concurrent validity across various populations, good convergent validity in terms of associations with interview ratings of the severity of personality pathology, and good discriminant validity in terms of associations with trait-based personality disorder dimensions. Furthermore, results suggest that the domain scores are stable over a time interval of 14-21 days in a student sample but are sensitive to change over a 2-year follow-up interval in a treated patient population. Taken together, the final instrument, the SIPP-118, provides a set of 5 reliable, valid, and efficient indices of the core components of (mal)adaptive personality functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Barkley et al. (2011).

Reports an error in "Correspondence and disparity in the self- and other ratings of current and childhood ADHD symptoms and impairment in adults with ADHD" by Russell A. Barkley, Laura E. Knouse and Kevin R. Murphy (Psychological Assessment, , , np). There was an omission in the author note. The author note should have included a disclosure as follows, “Russell A. Barkley receives royalties for books, videos, and rating scales from Guilford Publications, and is the author of Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV), Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS), and Barkley Functional Impairment Scale (BFIS), all published by Guilford Press.” (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2011-04636-001.) Experts recommend that clinicians evaluating adults for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) obtain information from others who know the patient well. The authors examined correspondence between the self- and other-ratings of ADHD symptoms and impairment using 3 groups of adults recruited on the basis of their severity of ADHD: ADHD diagnosis (n = 146), clinical controls self-referring for ADHD but not diagnosed (n = 97), and community controls (n = 109). The influences of diagnostic group, informant relationship, sex of participant, IQ, and comorbid anxiety and depression on self-informant disparities were also examined. Results indicated moderate to high agreement (.59–.80) between self and others on current functioning and slightly lower levels (.53–.75) between self- and parent ratings of childhood functioning. Examination of difference scores between self- and other ratings revealed small mean disparities (?0.1 to +5.0 points) but substantial variation (SDs = –2.4 to 8.9 points) for both current and childhood ratings. Clinic referrals not diagnosed with ADHD, particularly women, had higher disparities than was evident in the ADHD and community groups. Age, IQ, and education were not associated with disparities in most ratings. Higher anxiety, in contrast, was associated with greater disparities on all current and childhood measures of both ADHD and impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective instability: Measuring a core feature of borderline personality disorder with ecological momentary assessment.

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994) was used to characterize and quantify a dynamic process--affective instability in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Sixty outpatients (34 with BPD and affective instability; 26 with current depressive disorder but not with BPD or affective instability) carried electronic diaries for approximately 1 month and were randomly prompted to rate their mood state up to 6 times a day. Results indicated that BPD patients (a) did not report significantly different mean levels of positive or negative affect; (b) displayed significantly more variability over time in their positive and negative affect scores; (c) demonstrated significantly more instability on successive scores (i.e., large changes) for hostility, fear, and sadness than did patients with depressive disorders; and (d) were more likely to report extreme changes across successive occasions (≥90th percentile of change scores across participants) for hostility scores. Results illustrate different analytic approaches to quantifying variability and instability of affect based on intensive longitudinal data. Further, results suggest the promise of electronic diaries for collecting data from individuals in their natural environment for purposes of clinical research and assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggregation, moderator variables, and the validity of personality tests: A peer-rating study.

A study with 85 college fraternity members investigated the effects of aggregation and moderator variables on the validity of personality tests. Aggregation over items and raters yielded an average self–peer correlation of .44 for ratings on 4 personality dimensions. The combination of social communication skill and self-knowledge produced significant moderating effects. Ss high on the Acting subscale and high on a composite of Private Self-Consciousness and Personal Identity scales had stronger agreement between self- and peer ratings than did those low on these measures. Results for 4 specific moderator variables (the importance, variability, and observability of each rating dimension) were in the predicted direction, although weaker than expected. It is concluded that aggregation and the use of moderator variables are both important techniques for obtaining convincing validity coefficients in personality research. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Validity of the Five-Factor Model Prototypes for Personality Disorders in Two Clinical Samples.

The authors examined the validity of D. R. Lynam and T. A. Widiger's (2001) prototypes for personality disorders (PDs) derived from the facets of the 5-factor model (FFM) of personality in 2 clinical samples. In the 1st sample (N = 94), there was good agreement between the prototypes generated by experts and the profiles reported by patients. These FFM PD similarity scores also demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with results from a semistructured interview and a self-report measure of Axis II pathology. In the 2nd sample (N = 132), the FFM PD similarity scores demonstrated excellent longitudinal stability and good predictive validity with regard to consensus ratings of PD features. The implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting unpredictability: Do measures of interpersonal rigidity/flexibility and distress predict intraindividual variability in social perceptions and behavior?

Maladjusted individuals have been theorized to exhibit problematic intraindividual variability of social behavior across situations. This variability is either excessively high (i.e., unpredictable) or low (i.e., rigid), or the behavior is inappropriately matched to the interpersonal context (noncomplementary). However, research has not tested systematically whether interpersonal distress and purported measures of rigidity actually predict these different types of variability across a broad range of social situations. Participants completed measures of interpersonal functioning and then responded to a range of hypothetical interpersonal scenarios, rating perceptions of others and their own expected behavioral responses (Study 1). A subset of participants also rated others’ and their own social behaviors across a week of naturalistic social interactions (Study 2). Results most consistently suggested that interpersonal distress predicts high intraindividual variability, with little support for the measurement or theory of rigidity. Moreover, variability of social perceptions partially mediated the link between distress and behavioral variability. Results largely persisted even after accounting for gender and variables’ mean levels, and cannot be fully explained by interpersonal complementarity. The implications of these dynamic processes for understanding personality and interpersonal adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of the testing situation on item responding: Cause for concern.

The effects of faking on personality test scores have been studied previously by comparing (a) experimental groups instructed to fake or answer honestly, (b) subgroups created from a single sample of applicants or nonapplicants by using impression management scores, and (c) job applicants and nonapplicants. In this investigation, the latter 2 methods were used to study the effects of faking on the functioning of the items and scales of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. A variety of item response theory methods were used to detect differential item/test functioning, interpreted as evidence of faking. The presence of differential item/test functioning across testing situations suggests that faking adversely affects the construct validity of personality scales and that it is problematic to study faking by comparing groups defined by impression management scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correspondence and disparity in the self- and other ratings of current and childhood ADHD symptoms and impairment in adults with ADHD.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 23(2) of Psychological Assessment (see record 2011-09525-001). There was an omission in the author note. The author note should have included a disclosure as follows, “Russell A. Barkley receives royalties for books, videos, and rating scales from Guilford Publications, and is the author of Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV), Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS), and Barkley Functional Impairment Scale (BFIS), all published by Guilford Press.”] Experts recommend that clinicians evaluating adults for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) obtain information from others who know the patient well. The authors examined correspondence between the self- and other-ratings of ADHD symptoms and impairment using 3 groups of adults recruited on the basis of their severity of ADHD: ADHD diagnosis (n = 146), clinical controls self-referring for ADHD but not diagnosed (n = 97), and community controls (n = 109). The influences of diagnostic group, informant relationship, sex of participant, IQ, and comorbid anxiety and depression on self-informant disparities were also examined. Results indicated moderate to high agreement (.59–.80) between self and others on current functioning and slightly lower levels (.53–.75) between self- and parent ratings of childhood functioning. Examination of difference scores between self- and other ratings revealed small mean disparities (?0.1 to +5.0 points) but substantial variation (SDs = –2.4 to 8.9 points) for both current and childhood ratings. Clinic referrals not diagnosed with ADHD, particularly women, had higher disparities than was evident in the ADHD and community groups. Age, IQ, and education were not associated with disparities in most ratings. Higher anxiety, in contrast, was associated with greater disparities on all current and childhood measures of both ADHD and impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

e-Perceptions: Personality Impressions Based on Personal Websites.

This research examined the accuracy of personality impressions based on personal websites, a rapidly growing medium for self-expression, where identity claims are predominant. Eighty-nine websites were viewed by 11 observers, who rated the website authors' personalities. The ratings were compared with an accuracy criterion (self- and informant reports) and with the authors' ideal-self ratings. The websites elicited high levels of observer consensus and accuracy, and observers' impressions were somewhat enhanced for Extraversion and Agreeableness. The accuracy correlations were comparable in magnitude to those found in other contexts of interpersonal perception and generally stronger than those found in zero-acquaintance contexts. These findings suggest that identity claims are used to convey valid information about personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity of self- and peer evaluations of performance dimensions in an assessment center.

The construct validity of final self- and peer evaluations in an assessment center was examined within a nomological network of conceptually related and unrelated variables. Data included self-, peer, and assessor evaluations; cognitive ability and personality measures; and job advancement. The evidence for construct validity was stronger for peer than for self-evaluations and for more easily observable dimensions than for dimensions requiring greater inferential judgment. Self- and peer evaluations were associated with assessor ratings of management potential, whereas only peer evaluations predicted job advancement. Implications for the use of self- and peer evaluations in assessment centers and the need for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)