Concept Of Personality Organization Research Articles

The Dimensional Conceptualization of Personality Disorders: Personality Organization, Personality Functioning, and Personality Disorders.

Over the past several decades, significant criticism of the categorical classification system for personality disorders has highlighted the need to transition to a dimensional classification system. This study reviewed key issues involved in the potential conversion of the diagnostic system of personality disorders from a categorical to a dimensional model. The result suggests that Kernberg's concept of personality organization can be used to indicate the overall severity of personality pathology.

Empirical typology of adolescent personality organization

The concept of personality organization (PO) is central to current psychodynamic understanding of normal personality development as well as the development of personality disorders (PDs). However, individual differences in PO have primarily been studied in adult populations, and it remains unclear whether the clinical indicators of normal, neurotic and borderline PO manifest differently during adolescence. This study aimed to address the gaps in current knowledge regarding the potentially different manifestation of pathological PO in adolescence. In addition, we wanted to further establish the validity of the adolescent version of the Inventory of Personality Organization, by identifying cut-off points for each of the main dimensions of Normal, Neurotic, and Borderline PO. Participants included 430 adolescents (M = 16 years old) from the community. Cluster analysis identified three levels of PO corresponding to Normal, Neurotic, and Borderline PO. Cut- off points between the different POs were successfully established using ROC curve analyses.

The relationship between personality organization, reflective functioning, and psychiatric classification in borderline personality disorder.

Relationships between personality organization, reflective functioning (RF), and the number of Axis I and Axis II disorders were examined. Ninety-two female patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV-TR) borderline personality disorder (BPD) were administered the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO), the Adult Attachment Interview for assessment of RF, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders. Significant correlations were found between the level of personality organization and the number of Axis I and Axis II diagnoses. In contrast, no association was found between RF and the severity of Axis I and Axis II pathology. RF and level of personality organization were moderately associated. The results indicate that the concept of personality organization is related to the descriptive approach of the DSM-IV-TR. The STIPO provides a differentiated picture of the severity of personality pathology and allows dimensional ratings of several domains central to personality functioning. The RF findings confirm previous studies indicating impairments of mentalizing capacity in BPD patients. The association between RF and level of personality organization supports both shared and divergent conceptual considerations underlying mentalization and personality organization. Further investigation of the relationship between these structural constructs would shed light on the complex interplay of an individual's capacity to mentalize and the personality structure shaped by identity integration, defense mechanisms, and reality testing. In addition to the psychiatric classification, measurements of RF and personality organization should be considered in psychotherapeutic treatment planning as well as evaluation of therapy response.

Personality Organization, Five-Factor Model, and Mental Health

Otto Kernberg has developed a model of personality and psychological functioning centered on the concept of personality organization. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the relationships between this model, the five-factor model, and mental health. The Personality Organization Diagnostic Form (Diguer et al., The Personality Organization Diagnostic Form-II (PODF-II), 2001), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Costa and McCrae, Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) Professional Manual. 1992a), and the Health-Sickness Rating Scale (Luborsky, Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1962;7:407-417) were used to assess these constructs. Results show that personality organization and personality factors are distinct but interrelated constructs and that both contribute in similar proportion to mental health. Results also suggest that the integration of personality organization and factors can provide clinicians and researchers with an enriched understanding of psychological functioning.

The Concept of Personality Organization: A Long-Term Comparative Follow-Up Study With Special Reference to Borderline Personality Organization

In a 5-year long-term follow-up study, index and end-point diagnoses were made on 44 psychiatric inpatients according to DSM-III, the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines according to Gunderson, and the Structural Interview for assessment of personality organization according to Kernberg. Working capacity and psychiatric hospitalization during follow-up were registered. Analyses were made in a comparative design between the three diagnostic categories defined by Otto Kernberg: neurotic, borderline, and psychotic personality organization (NPO, BPO, and PPO). BPO turned out to be a wide concept including patients with a variety of Axis I and Axis II DSM-III disorders: 21% received a diagnosis of major affective disorder, 13% a diagnosis of schizophrenic disorder (residual type), and 46% fulfilled criteria for an Axis II diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Long-term prognosis was severe. Patients with BPO were hospitalized, on average, during 23% of the follow-up period and only 8% managed without ...

A clinical consideration of psychopathic personalities.

The concept of psychopathic personality in this presentation stresses a disorder of personality development. In these patients one finds a poorly organized personality with contradictory strivings, lacking consistency and unity in experiencing and acting. Disturbances of organization may be noticed in any phase of personality development but for various reasons they are most noticeable in adolescence and adult life. In this concept of personality organization and its disorders, psychologic, physiologic, and social aspects are considered but none of them is made the basic issue. The organization of the personality may be too loose or too rigid. In the too rigid organization, we find unbending persons with, or without, projection. In these persons certain personality features may be exaggerated and adaptation to the demands of life might be difficult. This discussion will be limited to the loosely organized personality with its features of immaturity, dependency and inadequacy, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and inappropriate control of drives and desires.