Disinhibition and Anankastia as Distinct Domains of Maladaptive Control

The nature of associations between disinhibition, anankastia, and conscientiousness as overlapping domains of control is not well understood. This study aimed to parse the shared and unique components of trait disinhibition and anankastia and examine their associations with trait conscientiousness and relevant outcomes.

We used confirmatory bifactor analysis across two preregistered samples of undergraduates and community adults (total N = 1068).

Across both samples, disinhibition and anankastia were represented by specific latent factors, but a coherent general factor capturing shared variance across the two domains did not clearly emerge. The disinhibition-specific factor had small negative associations with the anankastia-specific factor and large negative associations with latent conscientiousness. In contrast, the anankastia-specific factor was moderately and positively related to latent conscientiousness. Disinhibition showed the most consistent and robust associations with poorer functioning and behavioral addiction outcomes, whereas associations for anankastia were fewer and more modest.

These findings suggest that disinhibition and anankastia are largely distinct trait dimensions. Disinhibition and conscientiousness appear to reflect closely related but opposing traits, whereas anankastia and conscientiousness are positively related but separable. This study has implications for the broader structure of personality pathology and the polarity of maladaptive traits.