Personality Traits During Depression and After Clinical Recovery

1994 ◽  
Vol 164 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Peselow ◽  
Michael P. Sanfilipo ◽  
Ronald R. Fieve ◽  
Gary Gulbenkian

We investigated whether and how acute depressive symptoms affect the self-report of maladaptive personality traits. Sixty-eight acutely depressed patients underwent the Structured Interview for DSM–III Personality Disorder (SIDP) before and after pharmacological treatment, allowing us to determine whether self-reported maladaptive personality traits are different during depression and after successful clinical recovery. After the initial SIDP administration (during an episode of major depression), patients received desipramine treatment (dose range 150–300 mg/day) over a course of 4–5 weeks before readministration of the SIDP. For those who recovered from their depression (n = 39), cluster III trait scores were significantly lower than those assessed at baseline, and there was a lower frequency of cluster III categorical diagnoses for a personality disorder after treatment than before treatment. Recovered patients also had significantly lower cluster I personality trait scores after treatment as compared with baseline ratings. For those who did not recover from their depression after treatment (n = 29), cluster I trait scores were in fact higher than those measured at baseline, but there were no differences in categorical diagnoses before and after treatment. Cluster II personality traits and categorical diagnoses were not different between those who did and did not recover from their depression. Thus, depression may have a significant effect on the assessment of cluster I and cluster III personality traits. It is possible that cluster I and III ‘personality traits’ may be interwoven with depressive features and therefore subject to state influences, whereas cluster II personality traits may entail enduring, long-term characteristic modes of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie D. Stepp ◽  
Timothy J. Trull ◽  
Rachel M. Burr ◽  
Mimi Wolfenstein ◽  
Angela Z. Vieth

This study examined the incremental validity of the Structured Interview for the Five‐Factor Model (SIFFM; Trull & Widiger, 1997) scores in the prediction of borderline, antisocial, and histrionic personality disorder symptoms above and beyond variance accounted for by scores from the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP; Clark, 1993), a self‐report questionnaire that includes items relevant to both normal (i.e. Big Three) and abnormal personality traits. Approximately 200 participants (52 clinical outpatients, and 149 nonclinical individuals from a borderline‐features‐enriched sample) completed the SIFFM, the SNAP, and select sections of the Personality Disorder Interview—IV (PDI‐IV; Widiger, Mangine, Corbitt, Ellis, & Thomas, 1995). We found support for the incremental validity of SIFFM scores, further indicating the clinical utility of this instrument. However, results also supported the incremental validity of SNAP scores in many cases. We discuss the implications of the findings in terms of dimensional approaches to personality disorder assessment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (40) ◽  
pp. 1584-1588
Author(s):  
András Láng

Introduction: Social and personality psychologists have described Machiavellianism as a pragmatic, callous-unemotional, exploitative and manipulative attitude towards others. Several former studies linked Machiavellian personality traits and interpersonal problems or personality dysfunction. Aim: The aim of this study was to reveal the connection between Machiavellianism and interpersonal problems that are characteristic of personality disorders. Method: 252 participants (146 females and 106 males, aged 32.46±5.39 years, mean±SD) filled out self-report measures of Machiavellianism and personality disorder related interpersonal problems. Results: There was a medium strength relationships between Machiavellianism and several interpersonal problems. Aggression and ambivalence proved to be significant predictors of Machiavellian personality traits. Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to the patient–therapist bond. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(39), 1584–1588.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. South ◽  
Michael J. Boudreaux ◽  
Thomas F. Oltmanns

Personality disorders (PDs) are significantly, negatively related to marital satisfaction. We examine how maladaptive personality is related to change in marital satisfaction over time utilizing data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN), a longitudinal, community-based study of personality and health in older adults. Participants were assessed at baseline for PD (self-report, informant-report, and structured interview); self- and spouse-reported relationship satisfaction assessed at baseline and five follow-ups was analyzed with latent growth curve modeling. Higher levels of PD at baseline were associated with lower self and spouse relationship satisfaction at baseline. On average, satisfaction did not change significantly over the study period, but there was significant individual variability. Higher levels of schizoid PD were protective of declines in partner's perception of satisfaction. Findings suggest that partners in long-term married unions may have adapted to the presence of their own or their spouse's level of personality pathology.


2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Ball ◽  
Brian Kearney ◽  
Kay Wilhelm ◽  
Jodie Dewhurst-Savellis ◽  
Belinda Barton

Longitudinal evaluations were conducted on 61 adults who were referred to a Mood Disorders Unit with a history of depression (all index episodes reached criteria for DSM-III-R major depression or dysthymia) and who had completed a cognitive behavioural therapy group either on its own or in combination with an assertion training group. Assessment of personality was made using DSM-III-R Axis II personality disorder categories. These categories were aggregated to form three groups: (i) no personality disorder; (ii) Cluster B (dramatic-erratic); and (iii) Cluster C (anxious-fearful), and were used to identify responsiveness to treatment and outcome at long-term follow-up. A battery of self-report measures were administered pretreatment, posttreatment and at long-term follow-up (1–3 years later). Both groups showed significant improvements in mean scores during treatment and these gains were maintained over the follow-up period. However, improvement in those patients without personality disorders was greater at posttreatment and at long-term follow-up, both in level of depressive symptomatology and proportion of cases meeting criteria for recovery. The treatment implications of these results are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1571-1581 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID K. MARCUS ◽  
SCOTT O. LILIENFELD ◽  
JOHN F. EDENS ◽  
NORMAN G. POYTHRESS

Background. Although the DSM-IV-TR is organized into discrete disorders, the question of whether a given disorder possesses a dimensional or a categorical latent structure is an empirical one that can be examined using taxometric methods. The objective of this study was to ascertain the latent structure of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).Method. Participants were 1146 male offenders incarcerated in state prisons (n=569), or court-ordered to residential drug treatment (n=577). Participants were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II) to assess ASPD symptoms; they also completed the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) ASPD scale. Taxometric analyses were performed to examine whether ASPD is underpinned by a discrete category or a dimensional construct.Results. Multiple taxometric procedures using two different sets of indicators provided no evidence that ASPD has a taxonic latent structure. Instead, the results were far more consistent with the proposition that ASPD exists on a continuum, regardless of whether it is assessed using a structured interview or a self-report measure.Conclusions. Evidence that ASPD is dimensional suggests that it is best studied using continuous measures and that dichotomizing individuals into ASPD versus non-ASPD groups will typically result in decreased statistical power. The findings are also consistent with a multifactorial etiology for ASPD and with recent attempts to conceptualize ASPD within the framework of extant dimensional models of personality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 191849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather W. Neave ◽  
Joao H. C. Costa ◽  
Daniel M. Weary ◽  
Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk

Personality is often defined as the behaviour of individual animals that is consistent across contexts and over time. Personality traits may become unstable during stages of ontogeny from infancy to adulthood, especially during major periods of development such as around the time of sexual maturation. The personality of domesticated farm animals has links with productivity, health and welfare, but to our knowledge, no studies have investigated the development and stability of personality traits across developmental life stages in a mammalian farm animal species. Here, we describe the consistency of personality traits across ontogeny in dairy cattle from neonate to first lactation as an adult. The personality traits ‘bold’ and ‘exploratory’, as measured by behavioural responses to novelty, were highly consistent during the earlier (before and after weaning from milk) and later (after puberty to first lactation) rearing periods, but were not consistent across these rearing periods when puberty occurred. These findings indicate that personality changes in cattle around sexual maturation are probably owing to major physiological changes that are accelerated under typical management conditions at this time. This work contributes to the understanding of the ontogeny of behaviour in farm animals, especially how and why individuals differ in their behaviour.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Woods ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright ◽  
Andrew E. Skodol ◽  
Leslie C. Morey ◽  
Christopher James Hopwood

Converging lines of evidence suggest that personality pathology is comprised of shared and unique impairments. The current study leveraged a large clinical sample (N=505) and a person-centered statistical approach, ipsative change analysis, to decompose individuals’ multidimensional profiles at two time points into a metric which captures change in the elevation of the profile (i.e., impairment severity) and change in relationships between dimensions in the profile (i.e., stylistic symptom presentation). Results demonstrated that both severity and style change were predictors of overall pathology change, although the relative importance of these metrics was influenced by assessment method. Specifically, structured interview showed strong effects of severity change relative to style change, whereas self-report was less definitive. In addition, severity change was the stronger predictor of changes in psychosocial functioning. Results support earlier evidence of shared and unique factors in personality pathology while highlighting the influence of assessment method on models of pathology structure.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailun Li ◽  
Jiaxuan Teng ◽  
Zuzanna Jagoda Tajchman ◽  
Iris Vilares

Background: Impulsivity as a multidimensional construct is commonly linked with a wide range of mental health disorders, such as Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BorPD). Previous research suggests that individuals with BD and BorPD are more likely to be associated with lower academic achievement. This experiment aims to investigate the interrelation between BD or BorPD traits, impulsivity, and poor academic performance (GPA). Method: Our pre-registered study tested bipolar and borderline personality traits from a sample of 125 college students. Two behavioral tasks (Two-choice impulsivity paradigm; Go/no-go) and a self-report questionnaire (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11) were used to measure impulsivity. Students’ Grade Point Averages (GPAs) were also collected. Results: Both bipolar and borderline personality traits were positively correlated with the self-report impulsivity questionnaire (BIS-11) but not with the behavioral tasks. Students’ GPA were not significantly correlated with BD, BorPD traits, and impulsivity measures (behavioral and self-report). The self-report impulsivity questionnaire (BIS-11) was only significantly correlated with the Go/no-go task performance, but not the two-choice impulsivity paradigm. Limitations: This study is a correlational study in which participants have pre-existing conditions, therefore we cannot get a causal relationship. Besides, due to the normative sample, the study can only look at traits instead of diagnosis. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest that students with bipolar and/or borderline personality traits tend to have higher self-report impulsivity, without a noticeable impact on their GPA. Our results also support the growing consensus that impulsivity describes a diverse set of processes and traits.


2010 ◽  
Vol 196 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aina Basilier Vaage ◽  
Per Hove Thomsen ◽  
Derrick Silove ◽  
Tore Wentzel-Larsen ◽  
Thong Van Ta ◽  
...  

BackgroundThere is no long-term prospective study (> 20 years) of the mental health of any refugee group.AimsTo investigate the long-term course and predictors of psychological distress among Vietnamese refugees in Norway.MethodEighty Vietnamese refugees, 57% of the original cohort previously interviewed in 1982 (T1) and 1985 (T2), completed a self-report questionnaire prior to a semi-structured interview. Mental health was measured using the Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL–90–R).ResultsThe SCL–90–R mean Global Severity Index (GSI) decreased significantly fromT1toT3(2005–6), but there was no significant change in the percentage reaching threshold scores (GSI =1.00). Trauma-related mental disorder on arrival and the trajectory of symptoms over the first 3 years of resettlement predicted mental health after 23 years.ConclusionsAlthough the self-reported psychological distress decreased significantly over time, a substantial higher proportion of the refugee group still remained reaching threshold scores after 23 years of resettlement compared with the Norwegian population. The data suggest that refugees reaching threshold scores on measures such as the SCL–90–R soon after arrival warrant comprehensive clinical assessment.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Dowson ◽  
A. McLean ◽  
E. Bazanis ◽  
B. Toone ◽  
S. Young ◽  
...  

AbstractCharacteristics of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults can also be found as part of other psychiatric disorders. This study investigated the specificity of adult ADHD features in relation to patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a syndrome which shares some of its intrinsic features with ADHD and often co-occurs with ADHD. A group of 20 adult patients selected on the basis of a diagnosis of ADHD and 20 patients selected on the basis of a diagnosis of BPD were assessed by the self-report Attention Deficit Scales for Adults (ADSA). The two groups were matched for age, verbal IQ and gender. Of the nine ADSA scales, seven showed significant inter-group differences, in particular involving attention, organisation and persistence. The ‘Consistency/Long-Term’ scale, which mainly reflects impaired task and goal persistence, was the best discriminator between the groups. Furthermore, ratings on this scale correlated significantly with the error score of a computer-administered task of spatial working memory, the performance of which has been reported to be impaired in patients with ADHD. The results provide further validation for the ADSA scales and support a previous claim that ‘long-term consistencies’, i.e., related to task and goal persistence, is ‘the centrepiece behavioural issue’ for adults with ADHD.


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