Core features of personality disorder: differentiating general personality dysfunctioning from personality traits

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• The DSM-5 revision process highlights the need to distinguish general personality dysfunctioning (GPD) from specific personality traits (SPT).
• Understanding this distinction is crucial for accurate personality disorder assessment and classification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically investigate the distinction between GPD and SPT.
• To examine the factor structure of GPD and its relationship with SPT.

Main Methods:

• Utilized principal component analysis on data from 424 psychiatric patients.
• Employed the General Assessment of Personality Disorder (GAPD) and Severity Indices for Personality Problems (SIPP-118) for GPD assessment.
• Used the NEO-PI-R to measure SPT.

Main Results:

• GPD and SPT emerged as distinct components of personality structure.
• A three-factor model of GPD (Self-identity dysfunctioning, Relational dysfunctioning, Prosocial functioning) was identified.
• This GPD model remained robust when analyzed in conjunction with SPT factors.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide empirical support for differentiating GPD from SPT.
• This distinction aligns with the proposed revisions for personality and personality disorders in the DSM-5.
• The identified GPD factors offer a structured way to conceptualize personality dysfunction.