Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Research Articles

Integrating Alternative Conceptions of Psychopathic Personality: A Latent Variable Model of Triarchic Psychopathy Constructs.

This study undertook confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of data from 567 participants to quantify constructs specified by the triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, 2009)-boldness, meanness, and disinhibition-as latent variables. Indicators for the CFAs consisted of subscales of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure along with triarchic scales derived from items of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory, Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory, and Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. A modified three-factor model provided good fit to the data and outperformed alternative two- and one-factor models. Multiple-group CFAs demonstrated gender differences (male > female) in factor means and covariances, but not in factor loadings or intercepts. These findings support the idea that the triarchic model dimensions are embedded in differing models and measures of psychopathy and comprise essential building blocks for this clinical condition. Implications for understanding the structure of psychopathy, gender differences in psychopathic traits, and applications of latent variable modeling in future research are discussed.

Personality Traits Predict the Developmental Course of Externalizing: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study Spanning Age 17 to Age 29.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether and how personality predicts the developmental course of externalizing problems, including antisocial behavior and substance dependence. In a large, population-based longitudinal study (N = 1,252), the 11 personality traits assessed by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire were measured at age 17, and DSM diagnoses of adult antisocial behavior, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence were obtained at ages 17, 20, 24, and 29. We fit a quadratic multiple indicator latent growth model where the three diagnoses loaded onto an externalizing factor. This model fit the data well, and externalizing increased until it started to decline at age 24. High aggression and low control were the most significant predictors of the development of externalizing, with aggression playing a significant role in the development of externalizing across the 12-year time span, and control predicting the development from age 17 to 24. The findings highlight the importance of considering the developmental course of externalizing in the context of personality and suggest that the specific personality traits of aggression and control might be targeted in externalizing prevention and intervention programs.

COMORBIDITY OF BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER AND PERSONALITY DISORDERS AMONG COSMETIC SURGERY VOLUNTEERS

This research was aimed to study the comorbidity of body dysmorphic disorder and personality disorders among cosmetic surgery volunteers and it was a correlational study. The statistical population of study consisted of 50 patients (25 males and 25 females) who were volunteers for cosmetic surgery and referred to “Key of Beauty Clinic” and were evaluated by Yale Brown Body Dysmorphic Scale and Milon Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Form 3). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation method. Results showed that the mean of body dysmorphic disorder was higher in females comparing to males. Also, the correlation coefficients between body dysmorphic with subscales of avoidance, depression, hysteric, narcissistic, obsessive and self-harm in clinical patterns scale; body dysmorphic with subscales of schizotypal and severe personality patterns; body dysmorphic with subscales of anxiety, somatoform, manic, dysthymic in clinical symptoms scale; body dysmorphic with subscales of major depression in severe clinical symptoms scale were significant and 0.01 and 0.05 levels. On the basis of results of this research, it can be concluded that the applicants of cosmetic surgery were prominently vulnerable to components of mental disorders. Keywords : Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Personality Disorder, Cosmetic Surgery.

Further Validation of Triarchic Psychopathy Scales From the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire: Setting the Stage for Large-Sample Etiological Studies.

Psychopathy as conceptualized by the triarchic model encompasses three distinct dispositional constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The current study sought to further validate triarchic (Tri) construct scales composed of items from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) as a foundation for advancing research on the etiology of psychopathy using existing large-scale longitudinal studies. MPQ-Tri scales were examined in three samples: mixed-gender undergraduate students ( N = 346), male offenders from a residential substance abuse treatment facility ( N = 190), and incarcerated female offenders ( N = 216). Across these three samples, the MPQ-Tri scales demonstrated high internal consistency and clear convergent and discriminant associations with criterion measures of psychopathy and other psychopathology outcomes. Gender comparisons revealed relatively few differences in relationships with criterion measures. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for further investigation of the causal bases of psychopathy and other forms of psychopathology utilizing data from large etiologically informative studies.

Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Moderates the Etiology of Adult Personality.

The heritability of major normative domains of personality is well-established, with approximately half the proportion of variance attributed to genetic differences. In the current study, we examine the possibility of gene×environment interaction (G×E) for adult personality using the environmental context of intimate romantic relationship functioning. Personality and relationship satisfaction are significantly correlated phenotypically, but to date no research has examined how the genetic and environmental components of variance for personality differ as a function of romantic relationship satisfaction. Given the importance of personality for myriad outcomes from work productivity to psychopathology, it is vital to identify variables present in adulthood that may affect the etiology of personality. In the current study, quantitative models of G×E were used to determine whether the genetic and environmental influences on personality differ as a function of relationship satisfaction. We drew from a sample of now-adult twins followed longitudinally from adolescence through age 29. All participants completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and an abbreviated version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Biometric moderation was found for eight of the eleven MPQ scales examined: well-being, social potency, negative emotionality, alienation, aggression, constraint, traditionalism, and absorption. The pattern of findings differed, suggesting that the ways in which relationship quality moderates the etiology of personality may depend on the personality trait.

Alcohol use initiation is associated with changes in personality trait trajectories from early adolescence to young adulthood.

Recent work has demonstrated the codevelopment of personality traits and alcohol use characteristics from early adolescence to young adulthood. Few studies, however, have tested whether alcohol use initiation impacts trajectories of personality over this time period. We examined the effect of alcohol use initiation on personality development from early adolescence to young adulthood. Participants were male (nmen = 2,350) and female (nwomen = 2,618) twins and adoptees from 3 community-based longitudinal studies conducted at the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research. Data on personality traits of Positive Emotionality (PEM; Well-being), Negative Emotionality (NEM; Stress Reaction, Alienation, and Aggression), and Constraint (CON; Control and Harm Avoidance)-assessed via the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)-and age of first drink were collected for up to 4 waves spanning ages 10 to 32. Alcohol use initiation was associated with significant decreases in levels of Well-being and CON traits, most notably Control; and significant increases in levels of all NEM traits, particularly Aggression. In general, the effects of alcohol use initiation on personality traits were moderated by gender and enhanced among those with earlier age of first drink. From early adolescence to young adulthood, alcohol use initiation predicts deviations from normative patterns of personality maturation. Such findings offer a potential mechanism underlying the codevelopment of personality traits and alcohol use characteristics during this formative period of development.

Development and validation of triarchic psychopathy scales from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire.

Psychopathy is conceptualized by the triarchic model as encompassing 3 distinct phenotypic constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. In the current study, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), a normal-range personality measure, was evaluated for representation of these 3 constructs. Consensus ratings were used to identify MPQ items most related to each triarchic (Tri) construct. Scale measures were developed from items indicative of each construct, and scores for these scales were evaluated for convergent and discriminant validity in community (N = 176) and incarcerated samples (N = 240). Across the 2 samples, MPQ-Tri scale scores demonstrated good internal consistencies and relationships with criterion measures of various types consistent with predictions based on the triarchic model. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for further investigation of the triarchic model constructs in preexisting datasets that include the MPQ, in particular longitudinal and genetically informative datasets.

Utility of self-report and performance-based measures of risk for predicting driving behavior in young people

Road-traffic injuries are the single biggest killer of young people worldwide. Our study sought to determine whether self-report and performance-based measures of risk could be administered online to predict driving risk in young people (aged 18–25, n=102). We used a retrospective approach and compared self-reported driving behavior with outcomes on Eysenck's Impulsivity Inventory Impulsiveness subscale, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Harm Avoidance subscale, Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). As hypothesized, higher levels of driving risk were associated with higher levels of impulsivity (p<.001), and lower levels of harm avoidance (indicating fearlessness; p=.025). These personality measures can be readily incorporated into an online tool for predicting driving risk. An unexpected finding was that the IGT and BART did not significantly predict driving risk (p=.627 and .379). This study contributes to the development of an online tool for predicting driving risk. In order to further develop this tool, future research should assess the utility of other performance-based measures in online driving assessment. Identifying cognitive and psychological characteristics that can predict driving behavior will help direct prevention efforts, such as added driver safety opportunities for youth at the highest crash risk.

Psychological aspects of choosing between active and conservative treatment tactics in cases of liver echinococcosis with small sized cysts

Aim. Comparative assessment of the psychological profile in patients with liver echinococcosis with small sized cysts while diagnosing and treating the disease.Methods. A shortened version of the Minnesota multidimensional personality questionnaire MMPI (Mini-Mult) and Personal Questionnaire of the Bekhterev Institute (PQBI) were used. 142 patients with liver echinococcosis and cyst size not exceeding 40 mm were tested at the initial diagnosis and one year after the treatment initiation.Results.Test results support the overall suggestion that psychological profile of the patients is not associated with the features of the disease. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rS) between indicators of psychological profile and some clinical data (cyst size, location, number of cysts), as well as the age and sex characteristics of the patient was not statistically significant (p 0.1), or revealed only weak correlation (rsConclusion. The most favorable psychological pattern is formed when choosing active treatment approach. Conservative management and postponed treatment is probably an additional stressful factor for patients.

Personality and neuroimaging measures differentiate PTSD from mTBI in veterans.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is common among recent veterans and often is associated with chronic post-concussive symptoms (PCS). Elevated PCS may also be a consequence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which shares symptoms with PCS. Identification of personality, biological, and psychopathology factors that contribute to the relationship between mTBI and PCS could help isolate the sources of chronic post concussive syndrome in veterans. Clinician rated diagnoses (PTSD, Major Depression, Alcohol Dependence), personality characteristics (Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire [MPQ] subscales), white matter brain imaging measures (Mean Diffusivity, Generalized Fractional Anisotropy), and diagnoses of mTBI were collected from 125 American military veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan. Linear and logistic regression models were tested to determine contributions to PCS and whether there were similar contributors to PTSD and mTBI. PCS score was associated with personality characteristics of high Stress Reaction and Traditionalism and low Control as well as mTBI. A diagnosis of PTSD was associated with low Social Closeness, PCS, Alcohol Dependence, and abnormal white matter mean diffusivity. Diagnosis of mTBI was associated with fewer white matter mean diffusivity abnormalities, PCS, and number of deployments. As commonly observed clinically, both PTSD and mTBI were associated with higher rates of PCS, though the contribution of PTSD appears to be secondary to personality traits, particularly Stress Reaction. Furthermore, the observation of factors that are uniquely associated with Blast mTBI (number of deployments) or with PTSD (Lifetime Alcohol Dependence and low Social Closeness), as well as a factor (region of abnormal MD) that had opposite effects on the likelihood of each diagnosis, indicates that the complex relationships between personality, psychopathology, and nature of mTBI need to be considered when interpreting chronic post-concussive symptoms.

Personality, negative affect coping, and drinking alone: a structural equation modeling approach to examine correlates of adolescent solitary drinking.

This study examined the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint and the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states as correlates of solitary drinking in adolescence. We hypothesized that higher levels of negative emotionality and lower levels of constraint would predict solitary drinking and that these relationships would be mediated by the ability to resist drinking in response to negative emotions. Structural equation modeling was used to fit a path model from the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint to solitary drinking status through intermediate effects on the ability to resist drinking during negative emotions using cross-sectional data. Clinical and community settings in Pennsylvania, USA. The sample included 761 adolescent drinkers (mean age = 17.1). Adolescents completed the Lifetime Drinking History, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Constructive Thinking Inventory and the Situational Confidence Questionnaire. The path model provided a good fit to the data. The association between trait negative emotionality and solitary drinking was fully mediated by adolescents' ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = 0.05, P = 0.01). In contrast, constraint had a direct effect on solitary drinking (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, b = -0.23, P<0.01), as well as an indirect effect through the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = -0.03, P = 0.02). The ability to resist drinking while experiencing negative feelings or emotions may be an important underlying mechanism linking trait negative emotionality (a tendency toward depression, anxiety and poor reaction to stress) and constraint (lack of impulsiveness) to adolescent solitary drinking.

The neuroanatomical delineation of agentic and affiliative extraversion.

Extraversion is a fascinating personality dimension that consists of two major components, agentic extraversion and affiliative extraversion. Agentic extraversion involves incentive motivation and is expressed as a tendency toward assertiveness, persistence, and achievement. Affiliative extraversion involves the positive emotion of social warmth and is expressed as a tendency toward amicability, gregariousness, and affection. Here we investigate the neuroanatomical correlates of the personality traits of agentic and affiliative extraversion using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Brief Form, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and voxel-based morphometry in a sample of 83 healthy adult volunteers. We found that trait agentic extraversion and trait affiliative extraversion were each positively associated with the volume of the medial orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally (t's ≥ 2.03, r's ≥ .23, p's < .05). Agentic extraversion was specifically and positively related to the volume of the left parahippocampal gyrus (t = 4.08, r = .21, p < .05), left cingulate gyrus (t = 4.75, r = .28, p < .05), left caudate (t = 4.29, r = .24, p < .05), and left precentral gyrus (t = 4.00, r = .18, p < .05) in males and females, and the volume of the right nucleus accumbens in males (t = 2.92, r = .20, p < .05). Trait affiliative extraversion was not found to be associated with additional regions beyond the medial orbitofrontal cortex. The findings provide the first evidence of a neuroanatomical dissociation between the personality traits of agentic and affiliative extraversion in healthy adults.

Personality Differences Between the United States and the Netherlands

Cross-cultural comparisons of personality have yielded inconsistent results, which might be partly due to poor model fit and disregard of differential item functioning (DIF). Here, the brief Dutch form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BF-NL) was tested for cross-cultural measurement invariance (MI), using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) for categorical outcomes. Representative Dutch and U.S. samples (both Ns = 1,055) were used for model exploration and student samples (both Ns = 410) for cross-validation. The MPQ-BF-NL appeared partially strict invariant. In all, 19% of the items contained DIF when scales were treated separately, while in the full model, allowing for 150 cross-loadings, 40% of the items contained DIF. The majority of DIF was observed in thresholds (i.e., difficulty parameters). Not accounting for DIF would yield invalid inferences for 4 out of 11 primary scales. Higher corrected factor scores were evident in the U.S. sample for Social Closeness and Stress Reaction, whereas lower for Achievement and Aggression, respectively, suggesting that the U.S. society, relative to the Dutch, fosters more community and less agency.

Specific Patterns of Family Aggression and Adolescents’ Self- and Other-Directed Harm: The Moderating Role of Personality

The aim of the current study was to explore distinct patterns of family aggression and their relationship to youths’ self- and other-directed harm, as well as the moderating role of personality. Participants included 184 adolescents (mean age of 14) from the community and in treatment. Family aggression and self- and other-directed harm were assessed by youth and/or parent reports on various scales. Youth personality was assessed by self-report on the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire—Simplified Wording Form (MPQ-SF). A cluster analysis revealed three distinct patterns of family aggression: 1) Witness + Victim, 2) Youth as Witness, and 3) Low Family Aggression. Youth who reported being both victims of and witnesses to family aggression (Witness + Victim) reported the highest levels of self- and other-directed harm compared to Youth in the other two clusters. There was also a significant interaction between temperamental Negative Emotionality (NEM) and family aggression cluster, in that there was a dose effect of family aggression on other-directed harm at high levels of NEM. In contrast, at low levels of NEM, family aggression was not related to other-directed harm. These results suggest that specific patterns of family aggression have distinct relationships with youths’ self- and other-directed harm. Further, these results highlight the role of individual differences like NEM as risky or protective depending on the family context.

Personality and gambling involvement: a person-centered approach.

Individual differences in personality are likely to play an important role in explaining the propensity to gamble. One of the potential roadblocks to elucidating the relation between personality and gambling may be inadequately accounting for the diversity of gambling activities. The goal of the present study was to provide a comprehensive and nuanced portrait of the relation between personality and gambling by taking a multivariate approach to the co-use of multiple gambling activities and employing a broad inventory of potentially relevant personality dimensions. Participants were 4,669 individuals from a national Australian twin registry. Structured interviews including an extensive assessment of gambling behaviors were conducted, and personality questionnaires that included the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Magical Ideation Scale were completed. A latent class analysis of past-year involvement in 10 different gambling activities was performed to classify the participants into 5 groups. Unique personality configurations characterized the 3 more gambling-involved latent classes: (a) low behavioral control in the context of high negative emotionality and magical thinking typified extensive, versatile gamblers at high risk of gambling problems; (b) average behavioral control in the context of high negative emotionality and magical thinking typified those who primarily gambled on non-strategic games of chance; (c) low behavioral control in the context of high positive emotionality and low magical ideation typified those who primarily gambled on strategic games of skill. This study illustrates the value of using a multivariate person-centered approach for characterizing the personality correlates of the multifaceted phenomenon that is gambling.

Personality traits modulate emotional and physiological responses to stress.

An individual's susceptibility to psychological and physical disorders associated with chronic stress exposure, for example, cardiovascular and infectious disease, may also be predicted by their reactivity to acute stress. One factor associated with both stress resilience and health outcomes is personality. An understanding of how personality influences responses to acute stress may shed light upon individual differences in susceptibility to chronic stress-linked disease. This study examined the relationships between personality and acute responses to stress in 125 healthy adults, using hierarchical linear regression. We assessed personality traits using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BF), and responses to acute stress (cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure, mood) using a standardized laboratory psychosocial stress task, the Trier Social Stress Test. Individuals with high Negative Emotionality exhibited greater emotional distress and lower blood pressure responses to the Trier Social Stress Test. Individuals with high agentic Positive Emotionality exhibited prolonged heart rate responses to stress, whereas those with high communal Positive Emotionality exhibited smaller cortisol and blood pressure responses. Separate personality traits differentially predicted emotional, cardiovascular, and cortisol responses to a psychosocial stressor in healthy volunteers. Future research investigating the association of personality with chronic stress-related disease may provide further clues to the relationship between acute stress reactivity and susceptibility to disease.

Personality Predicts Individual Variation in Fear Learning

Although fear-learning research has tended to focus on typical responses, there is substantial individual variation in response to threat. Here, we investigated how personality is related to variability in associative fear learning. We used multilevel growth curve modeling to examine the unique and interactive effects of Stress Reaction (SR) and Harmavoidance (HA; Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire scales) and their corresponding higher-order factors on differential fear conditioning ( n = 225) and extinction ( n = 109; 24–48 hr later). Fear was indexed by fear potentiation of the eyeblink startle reflex. Our findings demonstrated weaker discrimination between threat and safety with high levels of SR. Subsequently, both retention of differential fear acquisition and extinction were weaker with high levels of SR and HA, thereby indicating maladaptive fear learning, whereas they were stronger with low levels of SR and high levels of HA, which suggests efficient fear learning. These findings illustrate how specific personality traits may operate to confer vulnerability or resilience for anxiety disorders.

Toward a deeper characterization of the social phenotype of Williams syndrome: The association between personality and social drive.

Previous research has robustly established a Williams syndrome (WS) specific personality profile, predominantly characterized a gregarious, people-oriented, and tense predisposition. Extending this work, the aims of the current, cross-sectional study were two-fold: (1) to elucidate the stability of personality characteristics in individuals with WS and typically developing (TD) comparisons across development, and (2) to explore the personality attributes that may be related to the respective profiles of social functioning characterizing the two groups, which is currently poorly understood. The sample comprised of participants with WS and TD matched on chronological age. The test battery included the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Salk Institute Sociability Questionnaire (SISQ), an index of real-life social behavior. The main results showed that compared to the TD individuals, the WS group were consistently rated higher in Social Closeness, and this trait remained stable across development. Interpersonal behaviors were best predicted by Social Closeness in WS and by Social Potency in TD. Regression analysis highlighted that while a central motive underlying the increased drive toward social interaction in individuals with WS pertains to a desire to form affectionate relationships, TD individuals by contrast are motivated by a desire to exert social influence over others (leadership, social-dominance) and Well-Being (positive emotional disposition). In conclusion, these findings provide novel insight into social motivational factors underpinning the WS social behavior in real life, and contribute toward a deeper characterization of the WS affiliative drive. We suggest potential areas for behavioral intervention targeting improved social adjustment in individuals with WS.

Extending the measurement of the latent traits in the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

If personality traits are truly dimensional, our measures will assess standing on those dimensions best if items tap their full ranges at relatively even intervals. This level of measurement precision has not generally been examined for common personality measures, but item response theory (IRT) models offer powerful tools for doing so. The frequency of skewed score distributions suggests that it could be informative. We report results of such analysis in the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), among the most psychometrically robust measures of “normal” range personality. They indicated substantial but different gaps in item coverage in each of the 11 primary scales. We wrote 10 new items for each scale, intended to fill its particular gaps. We report the extent to which we succeeded and discuss implications for thinking of ‘abnormal’ personality as lying at the extremes of ‘normal’ personality. What, for example, does it mean to be ‘a little’ aggressive?.

Measurement properties of personality traits: Social desirability, dimensionality, and assessment of correlates

Personality traits can be measured with reasonable dependability and are related to important real-life outcomes. On the other hand, there remain several important questions in relation to personality measurement. In this symposium, we investigate three interrelated issues of interpretation and measurement properties of personality traits. The first two presentations are about social desirability: Konstabel addresses the question of why do people consider a trait desirable and which factors influence these judgements; Lönnqvist shows how failure in an application situation may accentuate socially desirable responding in subsequent testing. Booth and Johnson investigate the degree to which Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire scales cover different trait-standings and whether this degree can be improved by modifying the questionnaire. Finally, Mõttus introduces a novel method of testing the specificity of trait-outcome relationships.