Relationship between the five-factor model of personality and Axis I disorders in a nonclinical sample

The relationship between the five-factor model (FFM) of personality and Axis I disorders was evaluated in a nonclinical sample of 468 young adults. In general, scores on the 5 personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (assessed via the NEO Five-Factor Inventory) distinguished subjects with and without a variety of Axis I diagnoses from the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In several instances, results indicate that scores on these dimensions were differentially sensitive to diagnosis. Furthermore, scores on these 5 personality dimensions accounted for unique variance in several Axis I diagnoses above and beyond that accounted for by a general measure of current psychopathological symptoms. These results support the utility of the FFM of personality in Axis I diagnostic assessment.