Normal Personality Dimensions Research Articles

Evidence that specific personal relationships evoke maladaptive personality expression

ABSTRACT Introduction This research applied relational regulation theory (RRT) to maladaptive personality as identified in the DSM-5, dimension trait model. RRT describes how individual social network members help people regulate their own affect, thought and action. Previous research found that people expressed different levels of normal personality dimensions and affect depending upon the network members that people were with or thinking about. Methods College students (N = 719) rated their expression of maladaptive dimensions and affect when with important network members, as well as the interpersonal characteristics of network members. Results People’s maladaptive personality expression was strongly consistent across network members (recipient effects). Yet, personality expression also varied strongly depending upon which network member the recipient was with or thinking about (dyadic effects). PID-5 negative affectivity and PANAS negative affect more strongly reflected dyads than recipients. Antagonism and disinhibition more strongly reflected recipients than dyads. Network members who evoked maladaptive expressions were seen by recipients as unsupportive, unresponsive, as evoking conflict, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. However, the interpersonal constructs were mostly redundant in predicting maladaptive personality. Findings were replicated across random subsamples and gender. Conclusion The findings provide evidence that important personal relationships can evoke the expression of maladaptive personality.

A Hierarchical Integration of Normal and Abnormal Personality Dimensions: Structure and Predictive Validity in a Heterogeneous Sample of Psychiatric Outpatients.

Hierarchical, quantitative models of psychopathology focus primarily on higher-order constructs, whereas less is known about the structure and content comprising lower-order dimensions of psychopathology. Here, we address this gap in the literature by using targeted factor analysis to integrate the 25 maladaptive facet-level traits of the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-Fifth edition and the 10 aspect-level traits of the normal personality hierarchy within a sample of 198 psychiatric outpatients. A 10-factor solution replicated previous work, with each of the 10 aspects primarily characterizing only one factor. In addition, the 10 factors differentially predicted a range of diagnoses, including alcohol use disorder, major depression, panic disorder, social anxiety, and borderline and avoidant personality disorders. Our results suggest that research on the development, causes, and structure of lower-order traits within the normal personality hierarchy may serve as an important guide to research on the causes and structure of maladaptive personality.

The many faces of personality: The DSM-5 dimensional and categorical models and the five-factor model

The classical nosographical approach to personality disorders leads to a set of categories that may be considered to be both conceptually and empirically problematic. In this regard, the DSM-5 includes an alternative dimensional model for which the Personality Inventory Disorders (PID-5) has been developed. Our study compares this alternative dimensional model in regards to both personality disorder categories and normal personality dimensions. The 537 participants in our study, 65.4% of whom were women, completed both the PID-5 and the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) screening questionnaire. Among these participants, 273 participants (64.1% women) also completed the revised version of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-R). A multiple factor analysis indicated that two higher-order principal dimensions described the relationships between the PID-5 and both the IPDE and the NEO-FFI-R. These relationships were analyzed in greater detail using a Principal Axis Factor Analysis. Five and four, respectively, intercorrelated lower-level factors were considered after a parallel analysis that confirmed to a certain extent that normal and abnormal personalities share a common underlying structure. Finally, a multiple regression bootstrap series confirmed the close associations between the PID-5 and both the IPDE and the NEO-FFI-R scales. Our results indicate that the PID-5 offers an alternative perspective for describing symptom syndromes with personality pathology.

Identical genetic influences underpin behavior problems in adolescence and basic traits of personality

BackgroundUnderstanding the etiology of adolescent problem behavior has been of enduring interest. Only relatively recently, however, has this issue been examined within a normal personality trait framework. Research suggests that problem behaviors in adolescence and beyond may be adequately explained by the taxonomy provided by the basic dimensions of normal personality: Such problem behaviors are suggested to be extreme points on a distribution of the full range of the underlying traits. We extend work in this field examining the extent to which genetic factors underlying the five-factor model of personality are common with genetic influences on adolescent behavior problems (namely, anxiety, peer problems, conduct, hyperactivity, and low prosociality).MethodA nationally representative twin sample (Twins Early Development Study) from the general population of England and Wales, including 2031 pairs of twins aged 16 years old, was used to decompose variation into genetic and environmental components. Behavioral problems in adolescence were assessed by self-report with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.ResultsAdolescent behavior problems were moderately associated with normal personality: Specifically, a fifth to a third of phenotypic variance in problem behaviors was accounted for by five-factor model personality traits. Of central importance here, genetic influences underpinning personality were entirely overlapping with those genetic factors underlying adolescent behavior problems.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that adolescent behavior problems can be understood, at least in part, within a model of normal personality trait variation, with the genetic bases of these behavior problems the same as those genetic influences underpinning normal personality.Read the Commentary for this article on doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12292

Affective temperaments: Unique constructs or dimensions of normal personality by another name?

BackgroundCurrent models theorize that affective temperaments underlie the development and expression of mood psychopathology. Recent studies support the construct validity of affective temperaments in clinical and non-clinical samples. However, one concern is that affective temperaments may be describing characteristics that are better captured by models of normal personality. We conducted two studies examining: (a) the association of affective temperaments with domains and facets of normal personality, and (b) whether affective temperaments accounted for variance in mood symptoms and disorders, impairment, and daily-life experiences over-and-above variance accounted for by normal personality. MethodsStudy 1 included 522 young adults who completed the TEMPS-A and the NEO-PI-3. Study 2 included 145 participants who were administered the TEMPS-A, NEO-FFI, interviews assessing psychopathology and impairment, and an assessment of daily life experiences. ResultsStudy 1 revealed that personality domains and facets accounted for one-third to one-half of the variance in affective temperaments. However, study 2 demonstrated that affective temperaments accounted for unique variance in measures of psychopathology, impairment, and daily-life experiences after partialling variance associated with personality domains. Specifically, cyclothymic/irritable temperament predicted bipolar disorders, impairment, borderline personality traits, urgency, and anger in daily life. Hyperthymic temperament predicted hypomanic episodes, grandiosity, sensation seeking, and increased activity in daily life. LimitationsThe study was limited by the fact that only domain, not facet-level, measures of FFM were available in study 2. ConclusionsThe findings support the validity of hyperthymic and cyclothymic/irritable temperaments as indicators of clinical psychopathology and indicate that they provide information beyond normal personality.

Dimensions of Normal Personality as Networks in Search of Equilibrium: You Can't like Parties if you Don't like People

In one currently dominant view on personality, personality dimensions (e.g. extraversion) are causes of human behaviour, and personality inventory items (e.g. ‘I like to go to parties’ and ‘I like people’) are measurements of these dimensions. In this view, responses to extraversion items correlate because they measure the same latent dimension. In this paper, we challenge this way of thinking and offer an alternative perspective on personality as a system of connected affective, cognitive and behavioural components. We hypothesize that these components do not hang together because they measure the same underlying dimension; they do so because they depend on one another directly for causal, homeostatic or logical reasons (e.g. if one does not like people and it is harder to enjoy parties). From this ‘network perspective’, personality dimensions emerge out of the connectivity structure that exists between the various components of personality. After outlining the network theory, we illustrate how it applies to personality research in four domains: (i) the overall organization of personality components; (ii) the distinction between state and trait; (iii) the genetic architecture of personality; and (iv) the relation between personality and psychopathology. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Oddity, Schizotypy/Dissociation, and Personality

The construct of Oddity was examined in relation to the dimensions of normal personality variation and a dimension of schizotypy and dissociation. In 2 studies involving samples of community adults (N = 409) and college students (N = 378), Oddity-as operationalized in terms of perceived strangeness or eccentricity-was found to be moderately related to a Schizotypy/Dissociation factor and also to factors of normal personality variation, particularly Openness to Experience. The modest loading of Oddity on the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor, along with the somewhat stronger projection of Oddity within the space of normal personality dimensions, indicates that the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor should not be interpreted as a dimension of Oddity. The interpretation of the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor is discussed, as are the implications of these results for proposed dimensional models of personality disorders.

The Relation Between Dimensions of Normal and Pathological Personality and Childhood Maltreatment in Incarcerated Boys

The relation between subtypes of maltreatment and dimensions of personality and personality pathology was investigated in a representative sample of 142 incarcerated Dutch male juveniles. Normal personality dimensions were assessed with the Big Five Inventory, the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire for Adolescents was used to measure pathological personality dimensions, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was used to assess childhood maltreatment. The five maltreatment subtypes were found to be differentially and uniquely related to the normal and pathological personality dimensions in juvenile delinquents. The association between the abusive subtypes and Emotional Dysregulation depended on the co-occurrence of neglect. It was concluded that subtypes of maltreatment are distinctively related to dimensions of personality and personality pathology, possibly due to specific gene-environment interactions. Further research on this interplay is needed to be able to recognize genetic vulnerability. Early identification of children at risk could aid to limit the long-term consequences of maltreatment.

The relation between dimensions of personality and personality pathology and offence type and severity in juvenile delinquents

In a representative sample of 142 incarcerated Dutch male juveniles, normal personality dimensions were assessed with the Big Five Inventory and pathological personality dimensions with the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology - Basic Questionnaire for Adolescents. Participants' criminal charges were derived from TULP-Youth, an official Dutch judicial registration system. Charges were categorized (against morality/against life/violent/violent with property/property) and were assigned a signal value representing their severity. Personality dimensions appear not to be related to offence type or severity. Other factors are suggested to be of greater importance, like the trajectory of criminal development and a possible neuro-maturational gap, causing sensitivity to juvenile delinquency at a certain age. Recommendations for further research are presented.

Cannabis users differ from non-users on measures of personality and schizotypy

Accumulating evidence indicates that cannabis use may be a risk factor for schizophrenia (SZ), and chronic cannabis users score higher than non-users on measures of schizotypal personality traits. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relations between normal personality, schizotypy, and cannabis use. Sixty-two chronic cannabis users and 45 cannabis-naïve controls completed a measure of normal personality, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and two measures of schizotypy, the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ) and perceptual aberration scale (PAS). Substance use was assessed using the SCID I alcohol/drug module and a locally developed drug use questionnaire. On the NEO-FFI, users scored higher than controls on openness, but lower on agreeableness and conscientiousness, and endorsed greater schizotypy on the SPQ and PAS. Higher neuroticism predicted greater schizotypy in both groups, and, higher Extraversion predicted lower negative-syndrome schizotypy among users. Finally, duration of cannabis use was positively correlated with scores on the SPQ and PAS among users, suggesting a relation between overall cannabis use chronicity and schizotypy. These data show that cannabis users differ from non-users on dimensions of normal personality and schizotypy, and provide further evidence that cannabis use is associated with increased levels of psychosis-related personality traits.

Dimensions of Normal and Abnormal Personality: Elucidating DSM-IV Personality Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents

The present study aimed to elucidate dimensions of normal and abnormal personality underlying DSM-IV personality disorder (PD) symptoms in 168 adolescents referred to mental health services. Dimensions derived from the Big Five of normal personality and from Livesley's (2006) conceptualization of personality pathology were regressed on interview-based DSM-IV PD symptom counts. When examined independently, both models demonstrated significant levels of predictive power at the higher order level. However, when added to the higher order Big Five dimensions, Livesley's higher and lower order dimensions afforded a supplementary contribution to the understanding of dysfunctional characteristics of adolescent PDs. In addition, they contributed to a better differentiation between adolescent PDs. The present findings suggest that adolescent PDs are more than extreme, maladaptive variants of higher order normal personality traits. Adolescent PDs seem to encompass characteristics that may be more completely covered by dimensions of abnormal personality. Developmental issues and implications of the findings are discussed.

Sexual Assault and Rape Perpetration by College Men

A sample of 521 college men completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and an expanded version of the Sexual Experiences Survey to examine whether variation in the Big Five personality traits in a normal, college population provides any insight into the nature of sexual assault and rape perpetrators. Rape perpetrators reported lower levels of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness when compared to both sexual assault perpetrators and nonperpetrators, and lower levels of Extraversion when compared to nonperpetrators. Rape perpetrators also endorsed lower levels of tendermindedness, excitement-seeking, warmth, positive emotions, feelings, altruism, competence, and dutifulness, and higher levels of vulnerability. Contrary to expectation, overall personality profiles followed remarkably comparable patterns for sexual assault and nonperpetrators, suggesting that sexual assault perpetrators were more similar to nonperpetrators than to rape perpetrators. Findings suggest that individuals who perpetrate sexual offenses, particularly rape, differ from nonperpetrators on dimensions of normal personality. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Structures of Personality and Their Relevance to Psychopathology: II. Further Articulation of a Comprehensive Unified Trait Structure

There is increasing agreement that the current categorical system of personality disorders (PDs) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) should be replaced by a trait dimensional scheme in DSM-V. In particular, the consensus appears to be converging on a hierarchical Big Four model. The broad factors that form the apex of this hierarchy are essentially maladaptive variants of the Big Five traits of normal personality, minus Openness. We argue that this Big Four model is incomplete, however, in that it fails to model characteristics related to the "odd or eccentric" Cluster A PDs adequately. We report the results of three studies that examine these odd, eccentric characteristics in relation to basic dimensions of normal and abnormal personality. The results of these studies establish the existence of an Oddity factor that is (a) broader than the Cluster A traits and (b) distinct from Openness and the other Big Five dimensions. Consequently, its addition yields an alternative five-factor model of personality pathology (considering only abnormal traits) and an expanded, integrated Big Six taxonomy that subsumes both normal and abnormal personality characteristics.

Personality disorder and psychopathy: Conceptual and empirical integration

The classification of personality disorders originated from German concepts of psychopathic personalities as abnormal personalities whose abnormalities cause personal or social distress, but antisocial personality disorder owes more to a British tradition that defined personal abnormality in terms of social deviance. The recent concept of psychopathy is a mixture of these traditions, but a focus on the psychopath as a criminal type has obscured its relationship to the broader class of personality disorders. Research with the PCL-R shows that it relates as closely to narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders as to antisocial personality disorder, and that psychopathy and these disorders reflect a common underlying dimension of personality disorder. Dimensions of personality disorder can be conceptualized as variations or exaggerations of normal personality dimensions, and recent findings indicate a hierarchical organization in which psychopathy represents one of two superordinate dimensions underlying normal and abnormal personality. Personality traits are critical treatment targets in high risk offenders.

A search for consensus on the dimensional structure of personality disorders.

Previous attempts to elucidate the dimensional structure of personality disorders (PDs) have been based on single samples and measures. Like one-item tests, they are useful but scattered and potentially misleading glimpses at the true structure of PDs. Therefore, reanalyses of 33 previously published data sets were conducted using recommended statistical procedures to arrive at consensus structures. Similar reanalyses of published data were conducted on associations between PDs and the five-factor model of normal personality characteristics. High degrees of congruence were observed between the consensus PD structures and the consensus structures suggested by dimensions of normal personality. The analytic techniques used in the present study helped bypass methodological problems inherent in previous tests and revealed higher levels of support for both theoretically and empirically based representations of the five-factor model approach to PDs.

Personality dimensions and criminal arrest

Previous studies have implicated antisocial personality disorder in criminal behavior, but little is known about the association between “normal” personality dimensions and arrest. We investigated the relationships between these personality dimensions and prior arrest in a sample of adults participating in a longitudinal epidemiological study. Between 1993 and 1999, psychiatrists re-examined subjects who were originally interviewed in Baltimore in 1981 as part of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study; the psychiatrists diagnosed axis I and axis II disorders according to DSM-IV criteria. A total of 611 subjects also completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), which assesses five broad factors and 30 facets of normal personality. History of criminal arrest in Maryland in the period 1981 to 1993 was determined from the state criminal justice database. Student’s t test and logistic regression were used to evaluate relationships between NEO personality scores and prior arrest. Controlling for demographic characteristics, alcohol or drug use disorders, and DSM-IV personality disorder scores, the odds of prior arrest increased with scores on angry hostility, impulsiveness, and excitement-seeking dimensions. Prior arrest was inversely related to scores on trust, straightforwardness, compliance, modesty, dutifulness, and deliberation dimensions. The results suggest that specific dimensions of normal personality are related to criminal arrest in the community.

Test–retest reliability of the Temperament and Character Inventory in patients with opiate dependence

We examined the test–retest reliability of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in a clinical sample of 29 inpatients with opiate dependence disorder (DSM-IV). The previously validated French translation of the TCI was administered at baseline and again four weeks later. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to estimate stability of the TCI over time for the 15 patients who completed the study. For all ICCs, the TCI showed satisfactory to excellent stability across all factors (ICC= 0.66–0.82). Stability was lower for the two temperamental traits of ‘persistence’ (ICC=0.51) and ‘reward dependence’ (ICC=0.63), possibly reflecting both clinical instability and measurement errors. These results highlighted the overall stability of the TCI in patients with opiate dependence and provided evidence for the usefulness of this questionnaire, which was originally designed to explore genetic and environmental factors underlying normal and abnormal personality dimensions. Further studies are required to confirm these results on larger clinical samples.

Personality disorders and personality dimensions in anorexia nervosa.

Information on the relationship between anorexia nervosa (AN) and personality disorders (PDs) and dimensions of temperament and character (measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory [TCI; Cloninger, Przybeck Svrakic, & Wetzel, 1994]) is limited. This study examines the predictive validity of the TCI for PD diagnoses assessed by the International Personality Disorder Examination-ICD-10 (IPDE-ICD-10; Loranger, Janca, & Sartorius, 1997) interviews of 46 women with DSM-IV-defined AN. Patients with a PD reported higher levels of harm-avoidance and lower levels of self-directedness than those without a PD. Scores on the TCI were predictive of the number of PD features present, particularly for those PDs in the anankastic, anxious, and dependent groups accounting for 40% to 51% of the variance. Cluster analysis based on scores on the TCI identified a subgroup of patients characterized by low levels of novelty seeking, self-directedness, and cooperativeness and high levels of harm avoidance. This cluster included the majority of those with avoidant, anxious, or dependent PDs. Assessment of particular personality dimensions was able to predict PDs in an anorexic sample. Since normal personality dimensions have greater validity than the categorical PDs, a consideration of normal temperament and character may assist in clinical decisionmaking and considerations concerning treatment.

Serotonin, personality and borderline personality disorder.

Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters implicated in normal personality. Many psychobiological models of personality include some dimensions related to serotonin. For instance, the harm avoidance dimension of the biosocial model developed by Cloninger is related to serotonergic activity. Higher scores on the harm avoidance dimension should theoretically reflect increased serotonergic activity. However, correlation studies related serotonin activity to harm avoidance dimension have not yielded consistent findings. These controversial results are probably related to the complexity of the neurotransmitter systems, and the different assessment techniques used in these studies. Finally, recent genetic studies have examined the association between personality dimensions and serotonergic receptor polymorphisms with mixed results. Serotonin is not only related to some dimensions of normal personality. Several psychopathological disorders are associated with serotonergic dysfunction. More particularly, borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be defined by many of the symptoms associated with serotonergic dysregulation, including affective lability, suicidal behaviours, impulsivity and loss of impulse control. Indeed, several reports have demonstrated the efficacy of selective serotonin re-uptake drugs in treating the depressive and impulsive symptoms of patients with BPD. Moreover, some challenge studies have reported a lower serotonergic activity in BPD. Because these challenges are not specific, we have assessed the serotonergic activity in BPD with the flesinoxan challenge. Preliminary results showed that the prolactine responses to flesinoxan were significantly lower in BPD patients compared to those observed in controls.

Personality disorders and normal personality dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Little is known about personality disorders and normal personality dimensions in relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To determine whether specific personality characteristics are part of a familial spectrum of OCD. Clinicians evaluated personality disorders in 72 OCD case and 72 control probands and 198 case and 207 control first-degree relatives. The selfcompleted Revised NEO Personality Inventory was used for assessment of normal personality dimensions. The prevalence of personality disorders and scores on normal personality dimensions were compared between case and control probands and between case and control relatives. Case probands and case relatives had a high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and high neuroticism scores. Neuroticism was associated with OCPD in case but not control relatives. Neuroticism and OCPD may share a common familial aetiology with OCD.