Can trait measures diagnose personality disorders?

Current Opinion in Psychiatry

Volumn 16, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 83-88

  Saulsman, Lisa M ^a   Page, Andrew C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

Author keywords

Agreeableness; Five factor model; Neuroticism; Personality disorders

Indexed keywords

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS; DISTRESS SYNDROME; HUMAN; NEUROSIS; PERSONALITY DISORDER; PERSONALITY TEST; PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS; REVIEW;

EID: 0037225485     PISSN: 09517367     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/00001504-200301000-00016     Document Type: Review

References (77)

1. Maser JD, Kaelber C, Weise RE. International use and attitudes toward DSM-III and DSM-III-R: growing consensus in psychiatric classification. J Abnorm Psychol 1991; 100:271-279.
2. Westen D, Shedler J. A prototype matching approach to diagnosing personality disorders: toward DSM-V. J Pers Disord 2000; 14:109-126.
3. Widiger TA. Personality disorders as maladaptive variants of common personality traits: Implications for treatment. J Contemp Psychother 1997; 27:265-282.
4. Widiger TA, Frances A. Axis II personality disorders: diagnostic and treatment issues. Hosp Commun Psychiatry 1985; 36:619-627.
5. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders; 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.
6. World Health Organization. The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders: clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1992.
7. Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1994.
8. Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. An excellent and comprehensive book on the entire area of personality disorders and the five-factor model (i.e. background, theory, research, diagnosis and treatment), with contributions from well-known researchers in this field. Contains new material not in the first edition, and is essential reading for this area.
9. Widiger TA. Personality disorder dimensional models proposed for DSM-IV. J Pers Disord 1991; 5:386-398.
10. Widiger TA. Categorical versus dimensional classification: implications from and for research. J Pers Disord 1992; 6:287-300.
11. Widiger TA. The DSM-III-R categorical personality disorder diagnoses: a critique and an alternative. Psycholog Inquiry 1993; 4:75-90.
12. Widiger TA, Frances AJ. Toward a dimensional model for the personality disorders. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1994. pp. 19-39.
13. Widiger TA, Frances A. Toward a dimensional model of personality disorders. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 23-44. A good overview of the categorical versus dimensional debate, regarding the best classification system for personality disorders. Outlines the advantages and disadvantages of both, with preference for a dimensional model.
14. Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. The five-factor model of personality and its relevance to personality disorders. J Pers Disord 1992; 6:343-359.
15. Digman JM. Personality structure: emergence of the five-factor model. Annu Rev Psychol 1990; 41:417-440.
16. Digman JM. The curious history of the five-factor model. In: Wiggins JS, editor. The five-factor model of personality: theoretical perspectives. New York: The Guilford Press; 1996. pp. 1-20.
17. Digman JM. Historical antecedents of the five-factor model. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 17-22. This study briefly outlines the lengthy history of the five-factor model.
18. John OP. The 'big five' factor taxonomy: dimensions of personality in the natural language and in questionnaires. In: Pervin LA, editor. Handbook of personality. Theory and research. New York: The Guilford Press; 1990. pp. 66-100.
19. McCrae RR. The five-factor model and its assessment in clinical settings. J Pers Assess 1991; 57:399-414.
20. McCrae RR, John OP. An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. J Pers 1992; 60:175-215.
21. Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) [Professional manual]. Odessa, FL: Psychological ssessment Resources; 1992.
22. Widiger TA, Costa PT Jr. Personality and personality disorders. J Abnorm Psychol 1994; 103:78-91.
23. Wiggins JS, Pincus AL. Conceptions of personality disorders and dimensions of personality. Psychol Assess: J Consult Clin Psychol 1989; 1:305-316.
24. Benjamin LS. Dimensional, categorical, or hybrid analyses of personality: a response to Widiger's proposal. Psychol Inquiry 1993; 4:91-95.
25. Clark LA, Livesley WJ. Two approaches to identifying the dimensions of personality disorder: convergence on the five-factor model. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1994. pp. 261-277.
26. Davis RD, Millon T. The five-factor model for personality disorders: Apt or misguided? Psychological Inquiry 1993; 4:104-109.
27. Frances A. Categorical and dimensional systems of personality diagnosis: A comparison. Compr Psychiatry 1982; 23:516-527.
28. Frances A. Dimensional diagnosis of personality - not whether, but when and which. Psychological Inquiry 1993; 4:110-111.
29. Widiger TA, Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. A proposal for Axis II: Diagnosing personality disorders using the five-factor model. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 431-456. This chapter offers the most thorough and detailed suggestions yet as to how the five-factor model could be used to make personality disorder diagnoses. They propose a four-step diagnostic process using the five-factor model (1. personality description, 2. associated life problems, 3. clinically significant impairments, 4. profile match with personality disorder category).
30. Andresen B. Six basic dimensions of personality and a seventh factor of generalized dysfunctional personality: a diathesis system covering all personality disorders. Neuropsychobiology 2000; 41:5-23.
31. Axelrod SR, Widiger TA, Trull TJ, Corbitt EM. Relations of five-factor model antagonism facets with personality disorder symptomatology. J Pers Assess 1997; 69:297-313.
32. Ball SA, Tennen H, Poling JC, et al. Personality, temperament, and character dimensions and the DSM-IV personality disorders in substance abusers. J Abnorm Psychol 1997; 106:545-553.
33. Blais MA. Clinician ratings of the five-factor model of personality and the DSM-IV personality disorders. J Nerv Ment Dis 1997; 185:388-393.
34. Brieger P, Sommer S, Bloink R, Marneros A. The relationship between the five-factor personality measurements and ICD-10 personality disorder dimensions: results from a sample of 229 subjects. J Pers Disord 2000; 14:282-290.
35. Brooner RK, Herbst JH, Schmidt CW, et al. Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers: relations to other personality diagnoses and the five-factor model of personality. J Nerv Ment Dis 1993; 181:313-319.
36. Byravan A, Ramanaiah NV. Structure of personality disorders from the perspective of the revised NEO personality inventory domain scales and the psychopathology - 5 scales. Psychol Rep 1999; 85:1119-1122.
37. Clark LA. Personality disorder diagnosis: limitations of the five-factor model. Psychol Inquiry 1993; 4:100-104.
38. Clarkin JF, Hull JW, Cantor J, Sanderson C. Borderline personality disorder and personality traits: a comparison of SCID-II BPD and NEO-PI. Psychol Assess 1993; 5:472-476.
39. Cloninger CR, Svrakic DM. Differentiating normal and deviant personality by the seven-factor personality model. In: Strack S, Lorr M, editors. Differentiating normal and abnormal personality. New York: Springer Publishing Company; 1994. pp. 40-64.
40. Coolidge FL, Becker LA, DiRito DC, et al. On the relationship of the five-factor personality model to personality disorders: four reservations. Psychol Rep 1994; 75:11-21.
41. Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. J Pers Disord 1990; 4:362-371.
42. Duijsens IJ, Diekstra RFW. DSM-III-R and ICD-10 personality disorders and their relationship with the big five dimensions of personality. Pers Ind Diff 1996; 21:119-133.
43. Dyce JA, O'Connor BP. Personality disorders and the five-factor model: a test of facet-level predictions. J Pers Disord 1998; 12:31-45.
44. Haigler ED, Widiger TA. Experimental manipulation of NEO-PI-R items. J Pers Assess 2001; 77:339-358. This study altered the items of the NEO-PI-R to better capture the maladaptiveness of high conscientiousness, high agreeableness and high openness to experience (which are not well represented by the NEO-PI-R), and examined their associations with obsessive-compulsive, dependent and schizotypal personality disorders, respectively. They found expected associations, which have not been found in previous research using the standard NEO-PI-R.
45. Hyer L, Braswell L, Albrecht B, et al. Relationship of NEO-PI to personalitystyles and severity of trauma in chronic PTSD victims. J Clin Psychol 1994; 50:699-707.
46. Lehne GK. The NEO-PI and the MCMI in the forensic evaluation of sex offenders. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1994. pp. 175-188.
47. McCrae RR, Yang J, Costa PT Jr, et al. Personality profiles and the prediction of categorical personality disorders. J Pers 2001; 69:155-174. This study used a large cross-cultural clinical sample, to examine the ability of five-factor model prototypical profiles to predict personality disorders. They found significant, but modest accuracy using this diagnostic method.
48. Morey LC, Gunderson J, Quigley BD, Lyons M. Dimensions and categories: The 'big five' factors and the DSM personality disorders. Assessment 2000; 7:203-216.
49. Morey LC, Gunderson JG, Quigley BD, Shea MT. The representation of borderline, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and schizotypal personality disorders by the five-factor model. J Personal Disord 2002; 16:215-234. This paper studies the accuracy of previously hypothesized relationships between the five-factor model and Borderline, Schizotypal, Avoidant, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders (using a large clinical population). They found it difficult to differentiate between these four disorders using the five-factor model, and suggested that these disorders are variants of the same five-factor model profile.
50. Phillips KA, McElroy SL. Personality disorders and traits in patients with body dysmorphic disorder. Compr Psychiatry 2000; 41:229-236.
51. Ramanaiah NV, Sharpe JP. Structure of the Coolidge axis II inventory personality disorder scales from the five-factor model perspective. Psychol Rep 1998; 83:947-952.
52. Reynolds SK, Clark LA. Predicting dimensions of personality disorder from domains and facets of the five-factor model. J Pers 2001; 69:199-222. This paper compared the ability of five factor model dimensions and facets in predicting personality disorder. They found that the facets greatly improved the predictive ability of the five-factor model, compared with the five dimensions.
53. Samuels J, Nestadt G, Bienvenu OJ, et al. Personality disorders and normal personality dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Br Journal Psychiatry 2000; 177:457-462.
54. Schroeder ML, Wormworth JA, Livesley WJ. Dimensions of personality disorder and their relationships to the big five dimensions of personality. Psychol Assess 1992; 4:47-53.
55. Shopshire MS, Craik KH. The five-factor model of personality and the DSM-III-R personality disorders: correspondence and differentiation. J Pers Disord 1994; 8:41-52.
56. Soldz S, Budman S, Demby A, Merry J. Representation of personality disorders in circumplex and five-factor space: explorations with a clinical sample. Psychol Assess 1993; 5:41-52.
57. Soldz S, Budman S, Demby A, Merry J. The relation of defensive style to personality pathology and the big five personality factors. J Pers Disord 1995; 9:356-370.
58. Trull TJ. DSM-III-R personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality: an empirical comparison. J Abnorm Psychol 1992; 101:553-560.
59. Trull TJ, Useda JD, Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. Comparison of the MMPI-2 personality psychopathology five (PSY-5), the NEO-PI, and the NEO-PI-R. Psychol Assess 1995; 7:508-516.
60. Trull TJ, Widiger TA, Burr R. A structured interview for the assessment of the five-factor model of personality: facet-level relations to the Axis II personality disorders. J Pers 2001; 69:175-198. This study examines the ability of five-factor model facets (obtained through a new structured interview) to predict personality disorder. Predicted relationships between facets and personality disorders were generally supported.
61. Widiger TA, Costa PT Jr. Five-factor model personality disorder research. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 59-87. An excellent and comprehensive qualitative review of all empirical literature on the five-factor model and personality disorders. It details 56 studies that have conducted research in this area using a variety methods (i.e. examining all personality disorders, specific personality disorders, five-factor dimensions and facets, other dimensional models, etc).
62. Wilberg T, Urnes O, Friis S, et al. Borderline and avoidant personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality: a comparison between DSM-IV diagnoses and NEO-PI-R. J Pers Disord 1999; 13:226-240.
63. •] between the five-factor model and personality disorders, in a large cross-cultural clinical sample.
64. Yeung AS, Lyons MJ, Waternaux CM, et al. The relationship between DSM-III personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. Compr Psychiatry 1993; 34:227-234.
65. Zweig RA, Paris J. The five-factor model of personality in borderline and nonborderline personality disorders. Can J Psychiatry 1995; 40:523-526.
66. O'Connor BP, Dyce JA. Tests of general and specific models of personality disorder configuration. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 223-246. This chapter presents data previously published by these two authors in 1998. First, data regarding the validity of competing models of personality disorder configuration are presented. Second, data on a facet-level analysis of personality disorders using the five-factor model are presented.
67. Saulsman L, Page A. The five-factor model and personality disorder empirical literature: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review; (in press).
68. Widiger TA, Trull TJ, Clarkin JF, et al. A description of the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV personality disorders with the five-factor model of personality. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1994. pp. 41-56.
69. Clark LA, Watson D. Personality, disorder, and personality disorder: towards a more rational conceptualization. J Pers Disord 1999; 13:142-151.
70. Block J. A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description. Psychol Bull 1995; 117:187-215.
71. Costa PT Jr, McCrae RR. Domains and facets: hierarchical personality assessment using the revised NEO personality inventory. J Pers Assess 1995; 64:21-50.
72. Dyce JA. The big five factors of personality and their relationship to personality disorders. J Clin Psychol 1997; 53:587-593.
73. Harkness AR. Fundamental topics in the personality disorders: candidate trait dimensions from lower regions of the hierarchy. Psychol Assess 1992; 4:251-259.
74. Widiger TA. Personality disorders in the 21st century. J Pers Disord 2000; 14:3-16.
75. Widiger TA, Trull TJ, Clarkin CS, et al. A description of the DSM-IV personality disorders with the five-factor model of personality. In: Costa PT Jr, Widiger TA, editors. Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality; 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002. pp. 89-99. This study provides a revised version of hypothesized relationships between the five personality dimensions and the 10 personality disorders, which were previously presented by these same authors in the first edition of this book. These predicted relationships have been very influential in this area of research, and have been cited numerous times in the literature.
76. Livesley WJ. Commentary on reconceptualizing personality disorder categories using trait dimensions. J Pers 2001; 69:277-286. This article provides a concluding commentary on a special section of the Journal of Personality devoted to research on personality disorders and the five-factor model. It gives an overview of where the research literature lies, and the limitations of the five-factor model at this stage.
77. Ball SA. Reconceptualizing personality disorder categories using personality trait dimensions: introduction to special section. J Pers 2001; 69:147-153. This article introduces a special section of the Journal of Personality devoted to research on personality disorders and the five-factor model. A good recent introduction to this field of study.