Self-rated versus family-rated personality in patients undergoing capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

The Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) is a self-rated personality inventory. The validity of an observer-rated version of the KSP in unknown.

The aim of the study was to investigate how self-rated and observer-rated KSP scores related in a sample of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients who had undergone neurosurgical treatment.

The KSP was adapted for relatives by revising each item content where "I" was replaced by "NN", where "NN" was representing the relative's name. Eighteen patients and relatives completed the different versions of the KSP at a long-term visit following capsulotomy for OCD. Correlations and congruence between ratings and between KSP scores and symptom and adverse effect-ratings were calculated.

There was no significant difference between the patient's own ratings and those of their relative's in 13 of the 15 KSP scales. The correlations ranged from 0.14 to 0.86 and were significant in 11 scales.

The self-rated KSP can be used in an observer-rated version and is a relatively reliable instrument when compared with the self-rated version even in a sample of severely ill patients.