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Avoidant personality disorder: empirical support for DSM-IV revisions
1Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety Disorders, St. Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia. andrew.baillie@mq.edu.au
Journal of Personality Disorders
|May 9, 1998
Summary
This study validates the seven criteria for avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) as a single dimension, supporting diagnostic changes in DSM-IV. Moderate internal consistency suggests the criteria effectively assess this personality disorder.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) is a complex diagnostic category.
- Previous diagnostic criteria may lack coherence or empirical validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the unidimensionality of avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) criteria.
- To validate the diagnostic threshold of meeting four or more criteria for AVPD.
- To evaluate the empirical support for changes made in the DSM-IV diagnostic manual.
Main Methods:
- Factor analysis of Personality Disorder Examination data from 434 anxiety patients.
- Internal consistency measures (Cronbach's alpha) to assess criterion reliability.
- Confirmatory factor analysis to determine the best fit for diagnostic criteria relationships.
Main Results:
- Confirmatory factor analysis supported a single-factor model for the seven DSM-III-R AVPD criteria.
- Moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .76) and median intercriterion correlation (.29) were observed.
- Three criteria showed lower factor loadings and were subsequently revised or removed in DSM-IV.
Conclusions:
- The seven DSM-III-R criteria for AVPD represent a coherent, single dimension.
- The diagnostic threshold of four or more criteria is supported by the data.
- Empirical findings provide justification for the revisions implemented in DSM-IV for AVPD.