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Screening for personality disorders in a nonclinical population
A Scarpa1, K A Luscher, K J Smalley
1Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.
Journal of Personality Disorders
|January 14, 2000
Summary
The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Personality Disorder (IIP-PD) and IIP-C scales effectively screen for personality disorders (PD) in nonclinical settings. These validated tools reliably identify individuals with or without PD and specific cluster types.
Area of Science:
- Psychological assessment
- Clinical psychology
- Personality disorder research
Background:
- The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) is a foundational tool for assessing interpersonal difficulties.
- Existing IIP scales (IIP-PD and IIP-C) were developed for clinical populations to screen for personality disorders (PD) and Cluster C PD.
- The utility of these scales in nonclinical populations and for screening Cluster A PD requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity and reliability of the IIP-PD and IIP-C scales for personality disorder screening in a nonclinical college student population.
- To assess the specificity of the IIP-C scale in identifying Cluster C personality disorders.
- To determine the usefulness of the IIP scales for screening Cluster A personality disorders.
Main Methods:
- Two studies involving college students (N = 454 in Study 1, N = 87 in Study 2) utilized the IIP-PD and IIP-C scales for screening.
- Participants with high and low scores completed further PD-related questionnaires (Study 1) or a clinical interview for PD symptomatology (Study 2).
- Statistical analyses assessed test-retest reliability, internal consistency, factorial, convergent, and external validity.
Main Results:
- The IIP-PD and IIP-C scales demonstrated strong test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and robust factorial, convergent, and external validity.
- The scales identified a common deficit in interpersonal relatedness, with distinctions between externalizing and internalizing dimensions.
- Both scales showed significant positive associations with schizotypal traits, supporting their utility in identifying PD-related symptomatology.
Conclusions:
- The IIP-PD and IIP-C are validated and reliable screening instruments for identifying the presence or absence of personality disorders in nonclinical populations.
- These scales offer a practical method for preliminary screening of personality disorders in individuals without a prior clinical diagnosis.
- The findings support the broader application of IIP-based scales in diverse populations for mental health screening.