Five-factor model personality disorder prototypes in a community sample: self- and informant-reports predicting...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Growing need for empirically validated, dimensional personality disorder systems.
• The five-factor model shows promise in capturing personality pathology.
• Prior research tested personality disorder prototypes (Lynam & Widiger, 2001) in various samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• Validate personality disorder prototypes in a large, representative community sample of later middle-aged adults.
• Utilize both self and informant reports for validation.
• Extend existing literature on the five-factor model's application to personality pathology.

Main Methods:

• Administered personality disorder prototypes to a community sample of later middle-aged adults.
• Collected both self-report and informant-report data.
• Analyzed convergent and discriminant validity of the prototypes.

Main Results:

• Prototypes largely validated in this age group.
• Schizoid, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic, and Avoidant disorders showed good convergent validity.
• Strong discriminant validity observed for Histrionic, Narcissistic, and Avoidant disorders.
• Informant reports mirrored self-reports and added predictive validity for several disorders.

Conclusions:

• Personality disorder prototypes based on the five-factor model are applicable to later middle-aged adults.
• Informant reports offer nuanced and valid personality assessments, complementing self-reports.
• Future research should explore these findings further and their clinical implications.