A five-factor measure of obsessive-compulsive personality traits.

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Personality psychology
• Clinical psychology

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) traits are often conceptualized within the Five-Factor Model (FFM).
• Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of OCPD traits from an FFM perspective.
• A validated instrument is needed to assess these maladaptive personality facets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the Five-Factor Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FFOCI).
• To assess the FFOCI's utility in measuring maladaptive variants of FFM facets relevant to OCPD.
• To determine if the FFOCI provides unique predictive value for obsessive-compulsive symptomatology.

Main Methods:

• Development of twelve scales within the FFOCI, representing maladaptive FFM facets.
• Data collection from 407 undergraduates, with oversampling for OCPD symptoms.
• Statistical analyses including correlational studies for convergent and discriminant validity, and regression analyses for incremental validity.

Main Results:

• The twelve FFOCI scales showed significant convergent correlations with established OCPD and FFM measures.
• Strong discriminant validity was observed between FFOCI scales and other FFM domains.
• The FFOCI, both individually and as a total score, demonstrated incremental validity in predicting obsessive-compulsive symptomatology beyond existing measures.

Conclusions:

• The FFOCI is a valid and reliable measure for assessing obsessive-compulsive personality traits.
• The FFOCI effectively captures maladaptive variants of FFM facets relevant to OCPD.
• The FFOCI offers valuable incremental predictive utility for understanding obsessive-compulsive symptomatology.