Assessing maladaptive traits in youth: An English-language version of the Dimensional Personality Symptom Itempool.

Abstract

The present study addresses the psychometric properties of the English version of the Dimensional Personality Symptom Item Pool (DIPSI), a comprehensive taxonomy of trait-related symptoms in childhood. The structural invariance of the English DIPSI and the original Flemish version was investigated in a large sample of Canadian (n = 341) and Flemish (n = 509) adolescents, using both self- and maternal ratings. The original 4-factor structure of the DIPSI, including the dimensions Emotional Instability, Disagreeableness, Introversion, and Compulsivity, was replicated in the Canadian sample across informants. Results provided support for metric invariance across the English and Flemish DIPSI version, indicating that associations between variables across samples can be confidently made, although the meaning of specific items may slightly differ across the different DIPSI versions. Across raters, the Flemish and English DIPSI dimensions showed a similar covariation pattern with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. High intercorrelations between the DIPSI dimensions in both the Flemish and English version suggest low discriminant validity, potentially resulting from lower variance on personality pathology in general populations, from a general pathology factor, or from developmental issues. To conclude, the English version of the DIPSI can be considered a promising tool for assessing maladaptive traits in younger age groups in internationally oriented research designs.