Normal-range Personality Traits Research Articles

In light of the DSM-5 dimensional model of personality: Borderline personality disorder at the crossroads with the bipolar spectrum

Background. State-of-the-art research highlights that borderline personality disorder (PD) and bipolar spectrum disorders have clinical characteristics in common, which imply uncertainty in differential diagnoses. Although there is a growing body of literature on the DSM-5 dimensional model of personality disorder, its discriminative features between these clinical samples are still understudied. In this study, we seek to identify the best set of predictors that differentiate between borderline PD and bipolar spectrum, based on pathological and normative personality traits and symptoms. Methods. A cross-sectional study of three clinical samples: 1) Borderline PD group of 63 participants; 2) Major depressive disorder group of 89 participants; 3) Bipolar disorder group of 65 participants. Self-reported assessment: Personality Inventory for DSM-5; Brief Symptom Inventory; FFM Inventory. A series of one-way ANOVAs and logistic regression analyses were computed. Results. The major set of data emerging as common discriminants of borderline PD across the bipolar spectrum are unusual beliefs & experiences, paranoid ideation, obsession-compulsion and extraversion. Depressivity (OR: 34.95) and impulsivity (OR: 22.35) pathological traits displayed the greatest predictive values in the differential diagnosis. Limitations. The small size of the samples; a lack of data from participants’ previous clinical history. Conclusions. Findings support the DSM-5 pathological traits as differentiating borderline PD through bipolar spectrum, and reinforcing the joint use of symptom-related pathological functioning and normal-range personality traits. Alongside the bipolar spectrum, borderline pathology sheds light upon a hypothetical overlap along the depressive and schizoaffective/schizophrenia spectra, representing a borderland space at a crossroads with the psychopathology of a meta-spectrum.

The impact of childhood lead exposure on adult personality: Evidence from the United States, Europe, and a large-scale natural experiment

Childhood lead exposure has devastating lifelong consequences, as even low-level exposure stunts intelligence and leads to delinquent behavior. However, these consequences may be more extensive than previously thought because childhood lead exposure may adversely affect normal-range personality traits. Personality influences nearly every aspect of human functioning, from well-being to career earnings to longevity, so effects of lead exposure on personality would have far-reaching societal consequences. In a preregistered investigation, we tested this hypothesis by linking historic atmospheric lead data from 269 US counties and 37 European nations to personality questionnaire data from over 1.5 million people who grew up in these areas. Adjusting for age and socioeconomic status, US adults who grew up in counties with higher atmospheric lead levels had less adaptive personality profiles: they were less agreeable and conscientious and, among younger participants, more neurotic. Next, we utilized a natural experiment, the removal of leaded gasoline because of the 1970 Clean Air Act, to test whether lead exposure caused these personality differences. Participants born after atmospheric lead levels began to decline in their county had more mature, psychologically healthy adult personalities (higher agreeableness and conscientiousness and lower neuroticism), but these findings were not discriminable from pure cohort effects. Finally, we replicated associations in Europeans. European participants who spent their childhood in areas with more atmospheric lead were less agreeable and more neurotic in adulthood. Our findings suggest that further reduction of lead exposure is a critical public health issue.

Polygenic Score for Smoking is associated with Externalizing Psychopathology and Disinhibited Personality Traits but not Internalizing Psychopathology in Adolescence.

We examined whether a polygenic score (PGS) for smoking measured genetic risk for general behavioral disinhibition by estimating its associations with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology and related personality traits at multiple time points in adolescence (ages 11, 14, and 17 years; N = 3225). The smoking PGS had strong associations with the stable variance across time for all the externalizing measures (mean standardized β = .27), agreeableness (β = -.22, 95% CI: -.28, -.16), and conscientiousness (β = -.19, 95% CI: -.24, -.13), but was not significantly associated with internalizing measures (mean β = .06) or extraversion (β = .01, 95% CI: -.05, .07). After controlling for smoking at age 17, the associations with externalizing, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness remained statistically significant. The smoking PGS measures genetic influences that contribute to a spectrum of phenotypes related to behavioral disinhibition including externalizing psychopathology and normal-range personality traits related to behavioral control, but not internalizing psychopathology.

The association of pathological and "normal-range" personality traits with psychotic-like experiences in a general population sample.

Transient expressions of positive psychotic symptoms, referred to as "psychotic-like experiences," can be measured in the general population. With an increase in attention to investigate underlying causes of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), such as personality traits, we investigated pathological personality traits (i.e., using the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) in predicting PLEs, beyond normal-range personality traits. Study results suggest that pathological personality traits have unique prediction power and improve prediction of PLEs, beyond normal-range personality traits. Pathological personality traits significantly improved prediction of PLEs by 18.9% beyond normal-range traits in the general population. When we conducted a multivariate linear regression in reverse order, pathological personality traits explained 62.9% of the variance in predicting PLEs, with normal-range traits explaining ∼2% of the remaining variance. Specifically, pathological personality trait domains of Detachment and Psychoticism improved prediction power beyond normal-range traits in PLEs. The identification of associations between pathological personality traits and PLEs might contribute to "warning signs" for future psychotic-related disorders, beyond prediction power of normal-range personality traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Five-Factor Model Personality Disorder Traits, Health Behaviors, Health Perceptions, and Insomnia Symptoms in Older Adults.

Personality traits predict physical health outcomes, including health behaviors, disease, and mortality. Maladaptive traits of personality disorders may predict even more variance in physical health indicators. Dimensional models of maladaptive personality traits are replacing categorical models of personality disorder, and the Five-Factor Model of personality disorder (FFMPD) is a useful dimensional model of maladaptive traits. However, there has been little work investigating the criterion validity of the FFMPD. The present study serves as a broad initial overview of the FFMPD scales in the prediction of health behaviors, heath perceptions, and insomnia symptoms across two time points in a representative community sample of older adults (N = 1,060). Findings indicate that the FFMPD scales explain a significant amount of variance in the physical health variables across time. Exploratory analyses indicate that the FFMPD traits have incremental validity over covariates, normal-range personality traits, and personality disorder criteria.

Advancing understanding of the classification of broad autism phenotype and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom dimensions within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology.

Research on personality and psychopathology associations has informed the classification of many symptom dimensions within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). However, classification of symptom dimensions defining autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) within the HiTOP framework remains unclear in many ways. To address this issue, we examined the joint factor structure of (a) measures assessing characteristics relevant to ADHD and autism and (b) normal range personality traits in a sample of 547 adults recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, many of whom reported elevated autism-relevant and ADHD-relevant characteristics. We also examined how factors identified in these analyses correlated with measures of internalizing symptoms and select externalizing traits. Our results indicated that some measures assessing autism-relevant and ADHD-relevant characteristics (e.g. communication issues, hyperactivity/impulsivity) defined a distinct Attention and Communication Difficulties factor, with scores on this factor correlating strongly with internalizing symptom ratings. However, other relevant characteristics such as aloofness may be indicators of existing HiTOP spectra such as detachment. We discuss how these findings inform classification of autism-relevant and ADHD-relevant characteristics within the HiTOP, as well as key future directions for extending the limited research in this area.

Variants of psychopathy in male and female civil psychiatric patients: Latent profile analyses of the MacArthur violence risk dataset

PurposePsychopathy is a multifaceted disorder of personality that gives rise to distinct profiles of scores across the interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial features of the disorder. The identification of distinct profiles of psychopathic traits is of practical importance as they help to distinguish between patients with distinct areas of risk and need. MethodsWe used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify distinct profiles of psychopathic traits in female (N = 357) and male (N = 483) civil psychiatric patients. ResultsThree latent profiles were identified that appeared similar in women and in men. These profiles were termed Callous Aggressive, Antisocial, and Low psychopathic traits. A fourth profile identified in men was termed Moderate psychopathic traits. These profiles were distinguishable in terms of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, thoughts and attempts at self-harm, violence, and normal range personality traits. Extending current knowledge, we showed that equivalent profiles in women and in men were nonetheless distinguishable in terms of their associated psychological characteristics. ConclusionsOur results suggest that areas of risk and need vary between profiles of psychopathic traits, and that interventions should incorporate gender-specific features that account for between-gender variation.

Global personality dysfunction and the relationship of pathological and normal trait domains in the DSM-5 alternative model for personality disorders.

The DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders distinguishes core personality dysfunction common to all personality pathology from maladaptive traits that delineate specific variants of disorder. Previous research shows the convergence between maladaptive and normal range trait domains as well as substantial correlations between maladaptive traits and core dysfunctions, leading some to conclude that personality traits and dysfunction are redundant. This study sought to examine the potential utility of the concept of core dysfunctions as a means of clarifying the nature of the relationship between maladaptive and normal-range traits. Three nonclinical samples (n=178, 307, and 1,008) were evaluated for personality dysfunction, maladaptive traits, and normal-range traits using different measures. Results indicated that: (1) normal trait domains and core dysfunction contribute independently to understanding maladaptive traits; (2) the correlation of a normal trait domain with its putative maladaptive equivalent is consistently accounted for in part by core dysfunction; and (3) the multitrait multimethod matrices of normal and maladaptive personality trait domains demonstrate appreciable discriminant validity problems that are clarified by a consideration of core dysfunction. These results suggest that maladaptive traits reflect the distinguishable contributions of core personality dysfunction (problems) and normal-range personality traits (person).

The Personality Context of Adolescent Gambling: Better Explained by the Big Five or Sensation-Seeking?

Adolescent gambling is a serious and increasingly common problem. Studies in adults have found several within- and between-person associations between personality and gambling. We aim to extend these findings to a sample of adolescents selected for gambling behavior. Participants consisted of a racially diverse sample of adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 (n = 227). We collected self-reported information on normal-range personality traits, sensation-seeking, and gambling frequency, severity, and motives in an online survey. Normal-range personality traits were not correlated with gambling, but trait sensation-seeking was positively correlated with gambling. Latent class analyses showed that classes of adolescent gamblers may be differentiated based on personality trait patterns, although these classes were not differentiated on gambling severity or frequency. Finally, in hierarchical analyses, six homogenous components representing the five normal-range personality traits and sensation-seeking accounted for maximum variance in gambling outcomes. In this model, components representing sensation-seeking and conscientiousness were the only significant unique predictors of gambling-related outcomes. Our findings suggest that subgroups of adolescent gamblers may be distinguished based on personality trait patterns before the emergence of problematic gambling. In other words, personality differences may reflect an early predisposition to divergent pathways to adolescent gambling. Our findings concur with previous work and underscore the importance of sensation-seeking as a particularly important risk factor of initiation and escalation of adolescent gambling.

Interfacing five-factor model and triarchic conceptualizations of psychopathy.

The lexically based five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been a highly influential research framework for characterizing clinical-psychological conditions, including psychopathy, in lexical-trait terms. An alternative trait-descriptive framework, the triarchic model was formulated to characterize psychopathy in neurobehavioral-trait terms, in order to facilitate linkages with variables in the domain of neurobiology. The current study used data from a mixed-gender sample (N = 769; M age = 19.3) to establish an interface between the FFM and triarchic frameworks by identifying subsets of items from a widely used five-factor personality inventory, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), that effectively index the dimensional constructs of the triarchic model (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition). A consensus rating and psychometric refinement approach was used to select NEO-PI-R items for assessing each triarchic dimension, and the resulting NEO-Tri item-sets ("scales") were evaluated in relation to criteria including other scale measures of the triarchic constructs, reported antisocial behavior and drug/alcohol use, and an FFM-generated omnibus psychopathy measure, the Psychopathy Resemblance Index. The NEO-Tri scales were also evaluated for effectiveness as indicators of latent triarchic dimensions within a confirmatory factor analysis anchored by previously validated triarchic scale measures. Results of this work have implications for clarifying how the triarchic model dimensions relate to normal-range personality traits and FFM-based conceptions of psychopathy, and provide a foundation for further examining neurobiological correlates of the triarchic model dimensions using existing multidomain data-sets that include the NEO-PI-R. (PsycINFO Database Record

The impact of psychopathy and warnings on faking behavior: A multisaturation perspective

Evidence suggests that individuals can and do present themselves positively on personality assessments when motivated to do so. This faking can reduce the validity of personality assessments and is of special concern in high stakes situations where critical decisions are being made at least partially on personality scores (e.g., personnel selection). In the current study, we take a multisaturation perspective of faking, and examine how psychopathy might be related to faking on normal range personality traits measured using single-stimulus or forced-choice personality assessments in a simulated selection context. To examine whether warnings interacted with psychopathy in predicting faking behavior, we included a warning condition. Findings suggest that faking on the single-stimulus personality assessment was more affected by elevated psychopathy such that those higher in psychopathy were more likely to fake than those lower in psychopathy, however psychopathy was also associated with faking behavior on the forced choice measure. This may result in an unintentional bias toward selecting employees with higher psychopathy when evaluating candidates with normal range personality assessments. Warning condition did not play a significant role either as a main effect or in interaction with psychopathy.

Linking trait-based phenotypes to prefrontal cortex activation during inhibitory control.

Inhibitory control is subserved in part by discrete regions of the prefrontal cortex whose functionality may be altered according to specific trait-based phenotypes. Using a unified model of normal range personality traits, we examined activation within lateral and medial aspects of the prefrontal cortex during a manual go/no-go task. Evoked hemodynamic oxygenation within the prefrontal cortex was measured in 106 adults using a 16-channel continuous-wave functional near-infrared spectroscopy system. Within lateral regions of the prefrontal cortex, greater activation was associated with higher trait levels of extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness, and lower neuroticism. Higher agreeableness was also related to more activation in the medial prefrontal cortex during inhibitory control. These results suggest that personality traits reflecting greater emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness may be associated with more efficient recruitment of control processes subserved by lateral regions of the prefrontal cortex. These findings highlight key links between trait-based phenotypes and neural activation patterns in the prefrontal cortex underlying inhibitory control.

Incremental Validity of the DSM-5 Section III Personality Disorder Traits With Respect to Psychosocial Impairment.

Traditional personality disorders (PDs) are associated with significant psychosocial impairment. DSM-5 Section III includes an alternative hybrid personality disorder (PD) classification approach, with both type and trait elements, but relatively little is known about the impairments associated with Section III traits. Our objective was to study the incremental validity of Section III traits--compared to normal-range traits, traditional PD criterion counts, and common psychiatric symptomatology--in predicting psychosocial impairment. To that end, 628 current/recent psychiatric patients completed measures of PD traits, normal-range traits, traditional PD criteria, psychiatric symptomatology, and psychosocial impairments. Hierarchical regressions revealed that Section III PD traits incrementally predicted psychosocial impairment over normal-range personality traits, PD criterion counts, and common psychiatric symptomatology. In contrast, the incremental effects for normal-range traits, PD symptom counts, and common psychiatric symptomatology were substantially smaller than for PD traits. These findings have implications for PD classification and the impairment literature more generally.

A test of the construct validity of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure in an Italian community sample

The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) is a relatively new self-report measure of the basic traits thought to be associated with psychopathy: Boldness, Disinhibition and Meanness. The TRiPM was administered to 286 Italian individuals along with the Psychopathy Personality Inventory-Revised as well as measures of negative affect (anxiety, depression, stress, and hopelessness) and normal-range personality traits. The Italian TriPM showed excellent reliability and was minimally influenced by age and education. Some interesting differences emerged between males and females even though the overall pattern of correlations for TriPM scales with many criterion measures was fairly consistent across gender. TriPM Boldness was associated with indices of adaptive function as well as maladjustment. TriPM Disinhibition was most strongly associated with indices of the behavioral deviance, as well as internalizing problems. Scores on TriPM Meanness were most strongly associated with scales indexing coldheartedness, Machiavellianism, and antagonism. These findings broaden the nomological network of the Triarchic model of psychopathy.

Psychopathy Deconstructed and Reconstructed: Identifying and Assembling the Personality Building Blocks of Cleckley's Chimera.

The psychopathy field has long been beset by confusion and contention regarding the boundaries and features of this chimerical condition. We propose that this disagreement stems largely from the historical separation between psychopathy and basic personality psychology. Using findings from a meta-analysis of the correlations between the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and normal-range personality traits as a launching point, we (a) deconstruct widely used measures of psychopathy into their constituent subdimensions and (b) examine the associations of these subdimensions with higher-order and lower-order personality dimensions drawn from the Big Five and Big Three frameworks. Our review of the adult psychopathy literature reveals broad agreement that psychopathy measures are imbued with low Agreeableness and low Conscientiousness. Nevertheless, substantial disagreement revolves around the place of largely adaptive features, especially high agentic Extraversion, low Neuroticism, and high Openness, within the psychopathy construct. We propose that ongoing debates regarding the nature and boundaries of psychopathy reflect a focus on two differing operationalizations of this condition, each of which reflects a different "species" of individual.

Dimensions underlying psychotic and manic symptomatology: Extending normal-range personality traits to schizophrenia and bipolar spectra

ObjectiveCovariance among psychiatric disorders can be accounted for by higher-order internalizing, externalizing, and psychosis dimensions, but placement of bipolar disorder within this framework has been inconsistent. Moreover, whether deviations in normal-range personality can explain psychosis and vulnerability to severe mood lability, as seen in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, remains unclear. MethodsExploratory factor analysis of interviewer-rated clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, their first-degree biological relatives, and nonpsychiatric controls (total N=193), followed by examination of associations between symptom dimensions and self reports on personality questionnaires. ResultsCovariance in symptoms was accounted for by five factors: positive symptoms of psychosis, negative symptoms of psychosis, disorganization, mania, and depression/anxiety. Schizophrenia and bipolar patients/relatives reported elevated negative emotionality and absorption and lower positive emotionality relative to controls. Personality did not differ between schizophrenia and bipolar patients/relatives, but there was a different pattern of associations between symptoms and personality in these groups. ConclusionsDiscrete dimensions reflecting psychotic, manic, and depressive symptoms emerge when a broad set of clinical symptoms is examined in a sample overrepresented by psychotic experiences and affective disturbances. Although normal-range personality traits index common phenotypes spanning schizophrenia and bipolar spectra, the same symptoms may carry different significance across disorders.

Aging: Empirical Contribution: A Longitudinal Analysis of Personality Disorder Dimensions and Personality Traits in a Community Sample of Older Adults: Perspectives From Selves and Informants

Research has indicated that personality disorders (PDs) and normal-range personality traits generally "get better" with time, as evidenced by mean-level decreases in PD traits and mean-level increases in broad factors such as emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. One limitation of many of these studies is their reliance on self reported data. In the current study, the authors analyzed the 2.5-year course of PD dimensions and normal personality traits in a representative sample of adults approaching later life (originally ages 55-65) by using a semistructured diagnostic interview as well as self- and informant-reported data from two personality inventories. Consistent with previous literature, many self-reported PD traits showed mean-level decreases over time, and self-reported normal-range personality traits generally showed positive aging effects (e.g., mean-level increases in emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). Surprisingly, however, informant-reported PD traits often demonstrated small but significant increases over time, and informant-reported normal-range personality generally "worsened" with age (e.g., mean-level decreases in extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). Informant reports may challenge the finding that personality and PDs tend to "improve" over time.

On the structure of personality disorder traits: Conjoint analyses of the CAT-PD, PID-5, and NEO-PI-3 trait models.

The current study examines the relations among contemporary models of pathological and normal range personality traits. Specifically, we report on (a) conjoint exploratory factor analyses of the Computerized Adaptive Test of Personality Disorder static form (CAT-PD-SF) with the Personality Inventory for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition and NEO Personality Inventory-3 First Half, and (b) unfolding hierarchical analyses of the three measures in a large general psychiatric outpatient sample (n = 628; 64% Female). A five-factor solution provided conceptually coherent alignment among the CAT-PD-SF, PID-5, and NEO-PI-3FH scales. Hierarchical solutions suggested that higher-order factors bear strong resemblance to dimensions that emerge from structural models of psychopathology (e.g., Internalizing and Externalizing spectra). These results demonstrate that the CAT-PD-SF adheres to the consensual structure of broad trait domains at the five-factor level. Additionally, patterns of scale loadings further inform questions of structure and bipolarity of facet and domain level constructs. Finally, hierarchical analyses strengthen the argument for using broad dimensions that span normative and pathological functioning to scaffold a quantitatively derived phenotypic structure of psychopathology to orient future research on explanatory, etiological, and maintenance mechanisms.

Genetic overlap between personality and risk for disordered gambling: Evidence from a national community-based Australian twin study.

Using data from a large Australian twin sample we examined the extent to which genetic variation in the Big Three personality dimensions (positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and constraint) and their lower-order components explained genetic variation in the risk for disordered gambling (DG) among men and women. Genetic influences contributing to individual differences in normal-range personality traits explained over 40% of the genetic risk for DG, with a larger contribution among women than among men. The largest and most robust contributions came from the higher-order personality dimension of negative emotionality and its two lower-order dimensions of alienation and aggression. Surprisingly, low self-control was associated with the genetic risk for DG only among women, and risk-taking/sensation-seeking did not explain genetic risk for DG in either sex. The results of this study have implications for the causes of comorbidity between DG and other psychiatric disorders, the search for genes associated with DG risk, and the possibility of sex differences in the etiology of DG. Using a broad-band inventory of personality supports the conclusion that there probably is a substantial proportion of genetic variation in DG that cannot be explained by individual differences in personality.

Assessing Personality in the DSM–5: The Utility of Bipolar Constructs

All previous editions of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have described and assessed personality solely in terms of pathological categories. Nonetheless, there is compelling evidence that normal-range personality traits also provide clinically useful information, emphasizing the importance of thoroughly assessing both adaptive and maladaptive aspects of personality within a clinical context. The proposed inclusion of a dimensional trait model in the upcoming DSM–5 represents an important shift in the understanding of personality pathology and provides an ideal opportunity to integrate the assessment of normal personality into clinical practice. Building on research conceptualizing personality disorders as maladaptive, extreme variants of general personality traits, it is proposed that both normal and abnormal personality can be assessed within the same dimensional model using bipolar constructs. The inclusion of bipolar traits, such as a continuum ranging from introversion to extraversion, would hold numerous advantages for a dimensional model. These benefits include a strong foundation of existing validity research, comprehensive coverage of personality pathology, and the ability to provide useful information about all individuals. Despite potential complexities, the adoption of bipolar constructs within DSM–5's dimensional model presents the greatest opportunity to maximize efficiency, validity, and clinical utility.