Abstract
BackgroundPersonality disorders are common in substance abusers. Self-report questionnaires that can aid in the assessment of personality disorders are commonly used in assessment, but are rarely validated.MethodsThe Danish DIP-Q as a measure of co-morbid personality disorders in substance abusers was validated through principal components factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis. A 4 components structure was constructed based on 238 protocols, representing antagonism, neuroticism, introversion and conscientiousness. The structure was compared with (a) a 4-factor solution from the DIP-Q in a sample of Swedish drug and alcohol abusers (N = 133), and (b) a consensus 4-components solution based on a meta-analysis of published correlation matrices of dimensional personality disorder scales.ResultsIt was found that the 4-factor model of personality was congruent across the Danish and Swedish samples, and showed good congruence with the consensus model. A canonical correlation analysis was conducted on a subset of the Danish sample with staff ratings of pathology. Three factors that correlated highly between the two variable sets were found. These variables were highly similar to the three first factors from the principal components analysis, antagonism, neuroticism and introversion.ConclusionThe findings support the validity of the DIP-Q as a measure of DSM-IV personality disorders in substance abusers.
Highlights
Personality disorders are common in substance abusers
Any given study may find a particular factor structure, but will be unable to determine whether this factor structure is a reflection of the instrument's characteristics, the sample's particular characteristics, random error, or a general factor structure underlying personality disorders
The present study showed that the factor structure of the DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Questionnaire (DIP-Q) is invariant over the Danish and Swedish version for samples of drug abusers
Summary
Personality disorders are common in substance abusers. Self-report questionnaires that can aid in the assessment of personality disorders are commonly used in assessment, but are rarely validated. Any given study may find a particular factor structure, but will be unable to determine whether this factor structure is a reflection of the instrument's characteristics, the sample's particular characteristics, random error, or a general factor structure underlying personality disorders These same limitations have applied to studies that have attempted to link personality disorders with models of normal personality [5,6]. In order to overcome these limitations, O'Connor [7] conducted a meta-analysis of personality disorders in order to produce a consensual factor structure based on different measures He included 33 different published correlation matrixes of personality disorders in his analysis, using a wide array of measurement instruments and samples. He produced aggregated factors to produce what he called a consensus structure of personality disorders. He reported both 2, 3 and 4-component consensus solutions
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