Personality traits and disorders among psychiatric outpatients and normal subjects on the basis of the SCID screen questionnaire

Abstract

SCID screen questionnaire – a self-report instrument for axis-H diagnoses – was distributed to 65 psychiatric outpatients and 133 normal subjects. In addition, independent clinical DSM-III-R diagnoses were made in the patients. When cut-off was adjusted in the SCID screen, specificity was 64% and sensitivity 86%, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.52 (p<0.001). The results from the SCID screen were analysed in two different ways – a dimensional approach estimating the proportion of criteria fulfilled and a traditional categoric approach estimating the prevalence of different personality disorders. All cluster-A disorders and obsessive compulsive personality disorder were more frequent among male than female patients. When analysed dimensionally, no sex differences were identified among patients or normal subjects. Among patients 62% had at least one and 46% multiple axis-II diagnoses, avoidant being the most prevalent. Among normal subjects narcissistic and obsessive compulsive personality disorders were most frequent for males and histrionic and borderline for females. The SCID screen showed good screening properties and also turned out to be promising as sole diagnostic instrument for axis-II disorders. It could easily be administered in an epidemiologic research setting. By rating and displaying every single criterion, the SCID screen also records potentially valuable “subthreshold” personality traits.