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Comorbidity and heterogeneity: Two challenges for personality pathology research
David Watson1, Lee Anna Clark1
1Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame.
Personality Disorders
|February 27, 2023
Summary
Methodological rigor in personality pathology research is challenged by comorbidity and heterogeneity. Studies should assess psychopathology as continuous dimensions and report criterion-level results for better understanding.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychopathology Research
Background:
- Contemporary personality pathology research faces methodological challenges.
- Comorbidity and heterogeneity significantly impact study design, assessment, and data analysis.
Approach:
- A systematic review of 197 articles from two leading personality disorder journals (Jan 2020–Jun 2021) was conducted.
- Focus was placed on borderline personality disorder, psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder, and narcissism/narcissistic personality disorder.
Key Points:
- Group-based designs exacerbate comorbidity issues; dimensional assessment of psychopathology is recommended.
- For diagnosis-based studies, criterion-level analyses and reporting are crucial.
- For trait-based studies, examining specific traits within heterogeneous measures is vital.
Conclusions:
- Researchers should adopt a comprehensive, trait-dimensional model for personality pathology.
- Expanding the alternative model of personality disorders to include borderline, psychopathic, and narcissistic features is suggested.
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