Inner Dialogical Communication and Pathological Personality Traits

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Dialogical self theory extensively explores dialogicality and personality traits.
• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduced a new hybrid personality disorder system and pathological trait model.
• No prior studies have investigated the relationship between self-talk, internal dialogicality, and pathological personality traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between self-talk and pathological personality traits.
• To explore the connection between the pathological structure of personality and dialogicality.

Main Methods:

• A representative sample of 458 non-clinical individuals (aged 18-67) completed the Self-Talk Scale, Internal Dialogical Activity Scale, and Personality Inventory for DSM-5.
• Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and canonical correlation analysis were employed.
• Statistical analyses were used to verify the correspondence between self-talk, internal dialogues, and pathological personality traits.

Main Results:

• Internal dialogical activity showed a specific relationship with five key dysfunctional personality traits within the DSM-5 hybrid system.
• Individuals with high negative affectivity (emotional lability, anxiousness, separation insecurity) and high psychoticism (unusual beliefs, eccentricity) were more prone to ruminative and confronting dialogues.
• Statistically significant, though very small, correlations were found between pathological personality traits and self-talk.

Conclusions:

• Internal dialogical activity is specifically linked to certain pathological personality traits defined by the DSM-5.
• Ruminative and confronting dialogue patterns are associated with negative affectivity and psychoticism traits.
• While self-talk correlates with pathological traits, the relationship is minimal, suggesting dialogicality is a more significant factor.