A Bright Side,Facet Analysis of Histrionic Personality Disorder: The Relationship Between the HDS Colourful Factor and the NEO-PI-R Facets in a Large Adult Sample

This study looks at “bright-side,” Big Five Personality trait correlates of a “dark-side” Personality Disorder, namely Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). More than 5000 British adults completed the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1985), which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the Domain (Super Factor) and the Facet (Factor) level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS; Hogan & Hogan, 2009), which has a measure of HPD, exclusively called “Colourful” in the HDS terminology. Correlation and regression results confirmed many of the associations between these “bright” and “dark” side individual difference variables. The Colourful (HPD) score from the HDS was the criterion variable in all analyses. Colourful individuals are high on Extraversion and Openness, but also Stable and Disagreeable. The Facet analysis identified Assertiveness and Immodesty as particularly characteristic of that type. The study confirmed work on HPD using different population groups and different measures, showing that personality traits are predictable and correlated with various personality disorders.     

Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in a community-based sample

Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in the community. We estimated the prevalence and evaluated correlates of hoarding in 742 participants in the Hopkins Epidemiology of Personality Disorder Study. The prevalence of hoarding was nearly 4% (5.3%, weighted) and was greater in older than younger age groups, greater in men than women, and inversely related to household income. Hoarding was associated with alcohol dependence; paranoid, schizotypal, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder traits; insecurity from home break-ins and excessive physical discipline before 16 years of age; and parental psychopathology. These findings suggest that hoarding may be relatively prevalent and that alcohol dependence, personality disorder traits, and specific childhood adversities are associated with hoarding in the community.     

A comparison of the Psychological Entitlement Scale and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory's Entitlement Scale: relations with general personality traits and personality disorders

Given the negative consequences of psychological entitlement, it is important to have a reliable and valid measure of the construct. We used an undergraduate sample (N = 271) to examine the Entitlement subscale (ENT) of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988) and the Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES; Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton, Exline, & Bushman, 2004) in relation to general personality traits (i.e., Revised NEO Personality Inventory; Costa & McCrae, 1992) and personality disorders (PDs; Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4; Hyler, 1994). We found similar personality correlates (e.g., disagreeableness; Cluster B PDs) for both measures, although ENT was comprised of greater disagreeableness and less warmth and positive affect. ENT was also more positively associated with schizoid and borderline PDs compared to the PES. Overall, these measures are closely related with regard to their relations with general and pathological personality dimensions, although the ENT scale may capture a slightly more pathological variant.     

Personality traits in dumpling squid (Euprymna tasmanica): context-specific traits and their correlation with biological characteristics

Personality traits are a major class of behavioral variation often observed within populations of animals. However, little is known of the integration between personality and an individual's underlying biology. To address this, the authors measured personality traits in squid (Euprymna tasmanica) in 2 contexts while also describing trait correlates with biological parameters. Four traits (shy avoidance- bold aggression, activity, bury persistence, and reactivity) were reliably measured; however, trait expression between contexts was not correlated and thus was context-specific. Trait variation was not a function of gender or of somatic or reproductive condition but was explained partially by a squid's sexual maturity and its size. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between personality variation and resulting life history strategies in animals.     

The General Factor of Personality: A critical test

The present study provides evidence supporting the presence of a General Factor of Personality (GFP), which has been proposed to represent the apex of the hierarchy of personality traits. Furthermore, the construct validity of this general factor is assessed to address recent criticisms suggesting that the GFP may merely be a statistical artefact rather than a genuine higher-order personality dimension. In this study, two samples of monozygotic (MZ) and same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins completed the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-IR), assessing individual differences in the Big Five traits of personality, and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Problems-Differential Questionnaire (DAPP-DQ) measuring variance in abnormal personality traits. First unrotated factors were extracted from each of the two measures separately within each sample. Correlations between these factors were significant and high in both samples (.78 and .77), indicating that the factors represent similar constructs. The manner in which these findings help to validate the GFP is discussed.     

Personality traits and alcohol consumption in a sample of non-alcoholic women

Many studies have shown the importance of personality traits as factors related to alcohol use and misuse. The relationship between personality traits and alcohol consumption was studied in a sample of 149 non-alcoholic women using the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). The results showed positive correlations between alcohol consumption and disinhibitory personality traits (sensation seeking, impulsivity, psychopathy, nonconformity) and dimensions (psychoticism and extraversion). Sensation seeking combined with impulsivity were the strongest predictors of alcohol consumption. Anxiety-related traits and neuroticism were not related to alcohol frequency/amount of alcohol use.     

Affect,Behaviour, Cognition and Desire in the Big Five: An Analysis of Item Content and Structure

Personality psychology is concerned with affect (A), behaviour (B), cognition (C) and desire (D), and personality traits have been defined conceptually as abstractions used to either explain or summarise coherent ABC (and sometimes D) patterns over time and space. However, this conceptual definition of traits has not been reflected in their operationalisation, possibly resulting in theoretical and practical limitations to current trait inventories. Thus, the goal of this project was to determine the affective, behavioural, cognitive and desire (ABCD) components of Big‐Five personality traits. The first study assessed the ABCD content of items measuring Big‐Five traits in order to determine the ABCD composition of traits and identify items measuring relatively high amounts of only one ABCD content. The second study examined the correlational structure of scales constructed from items assessing ABCD content via a large, web‐based study. An assessment of Big‐Five traits that delineates ABCD components of each trait is presented, and the discussion focuses on how this assessment builds upon current approaches of assessing personality. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Happy as an Extraverted Clam? The Role of Personality for Subjective Well-Being

Personality characteristics, especially the traits of extraversion and neuroticism, have been proposed as the primary determinant of subjective well-being (SWB). Meta-analytic evidence presented here suggests that personality is indeed strongly related with SWB, and that only health is more strongly correlated with SWB. In a study of 137 personality traits that have been correlated with SWB, neuroticism was one of the strongest negative correlates of SWB. However, extraversion was not the primary factor associated with increased SWB. Rather, several personality characteristics that focus on the characteristic experience of emotions, on enhancing relationships, and on one's characteristic style of explaining the causes of life events are most intimately tied to SWB.     

Specific Personality Traits and General Personality Dysfunction as Predictors of the Presence and Severity of Personality Disorders in a Clinical Sample

This study examined the associations of specific personality traits and general personality dysfunction in relation to the presence and severity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) personality disorders in a Dutch clinical sample. Two widely used measures of specific personality traits were selected, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory as a measure of normal personality traits, and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire as a measure of pathological traits. In addition, 2 promising measures of personality dysfunction were selected, the General Assessment of Personality Disorder and the Severity Indices of Personality Problems. Theoretically predicted associations were found between the measures, and all measures predicted the presence and severity of DSM–IV personality disorders. The combination of general personality dysfunction models and personality traits models provided incremental information about the presence and severity of personality disorders, suggesting that an integrative approach of multiple perspectives might serve comprehensive assessment of personality disorders.     

Heritability of personality disorders in childhood: a preliminary investigation

The heritability of personality disorder features was investigated in 112 child (ages 4-15 years) twin pairs (70 monozygotic and 42 dizygotic pairs). Parents assessed personality disorder features using the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (CPNI; Coolidge, 1998) that measures 12 personality disorders according to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Structural equation model-fitting methods indicated that the median heritability coefficient for the 12 scales was .75 (ranging from .81 for the Dependent and Schizotypal Personality Disorder scales to .50 for the Paranoid and Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder scales). These results suggest that childhood personality disorders have a substantial genetic component and that they are similar to heritability estimates of personality disorder traits in adults and counter hypotheses that only temperaments and higher-order personality disorder traits have significant genetic components (Paris, 1997).     

Personality factors in older women's perceived susceptibility to diseases of aging

Personality correlates of older women's perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis were examined in a community sample of 312 women aged 40-86. A latent factor of general perceived susceptibility to disease was shown to underlie disease-specific perceptions of susceptibility. Affect-related personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, optimism, worry, and self-deceptive enhancement) and internal and chance health locus of control predicted general perceived susceptibility. Perceived disease characteristics (e.g., perceived controllability, severity) and the use of cognitive heuristics (i.e., perceived similarity to those who contract each disease) also displayed marked consistency across the three distinct diseases. Finally, our results suggested that general beliefs about the characteristics of health threats and the use of cognitive heuristics may mediate the link between personality traits and perceived risk.     

The role of personality in the selection of a major: With and without vocational self-efficacy and interests

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of personality traits measured by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; [Tellegen, 2000] and [Tellegen and Waller, 2008]) in selecting educational majors. Personality traits were examined alone, and with the combination of Holland’s hexagonal confidence domains, as measured by the general confidence themes (GCT) of the Skills Confidence Inventory (SCI; Betz, Borgen, & Harmon, 2005), and Holland’s interest domains, as measured by the general occupational themes (GOTs) of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Donnay, Morris, Schaubhut, & Thompson, 2005). Personality traits significantly contributed to the discrimination of nine educational major families in a sample of 368 undergraduate decided students. When the set of confidence and interest scales was added to the personality traits, the conservative jack knife hit rate was almost doubled.     

Stability and predictive ability of personality traits across 9 years

In the present study, personality traits, as assessed by the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) were found to be stable after 9 years, both with regard to mean level stability (absolute stability) and rank-order stability (relative or differential stability). Moreover, outcome scales were applied measuring either perceptions of satisfaction or scales measuring functioning. Personality scales (from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the KSP) completed in 1986/1987 were associated with measures (completed in 1995/1996) of satisfaction and functioning of family life, emotional and physical health, and work. Specifically, neuroticism-related personality traits predicted a lack of satisfaction with health, but not functional problems due to health. In contrast, neuroticism-related personality traits predicted poor functioning but not satisfaction with family life and work.     

Childhood cognitive ability,education, and personality traits predict attainment in adult occupational prestige over 17 years

This study explored a longitudinal data set of nearly 5000 adults examining the effects of childhood cognitive ability (measured at age 11), parental social class (measured at birth), and personality on current occupational prestige (all measured at age 50), taking account the effects of education and the previous occupational levels (both measured at age 33). Participants' levels of occupational attainment significantly went up from age 33 to age 50. Correlational analysis showed childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, education and occupation, and personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability) were all significantly associated with current occupational prestige. The strongest correlates of current occupational levels were educational qualifications, followed by childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, and personality traits. Structural equation modelling showed that for the change of occupation over 17 years, the strongest predictor was education, followed by childhood intelligence. Personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness) had modest but significant influence in the upgrading of occupational attainment over the period of time, and parental social status predicted occupational change mediated through education and initial occupational levels. Education and childhood intelligence are more powerful predictors of current occupational prestige than personality factors or family social background. The implications for policy making and equal opportunities for education are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Personality and Marital Adjustment Among Distressed Married Couples Seen in Intensive Marital Therapy: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Analysis

In this study, the actor-partner interdependence model was utilized to investigate the impact that personality has on marital adjustment in a sample of 270 couples (N = 540) in marital distress that presented to an intensive outpatient marital therapy program. Sixteen Personality Factor Fifth Edition (16PF Fifth Edition) scores revealed significant personality differences between husbands and wives, as well as significant actor and partner effects, suggesting that certain personality traits of one partner predict his or her own, as well as his or her spouse’s, marital adjustment. Gender effects also were evident among the sample, suggesting that a number of personality correlates of marital adjustment tended to be different for the husbands and wives in this study.     

Personality Traits Beyond the Big Five: Are They Within the HEXACO Space?

Paunonen (2002) recently developed the Supernumerary Personality Inventory (SPI), a measure of 10 traits that have low loadings within the space of the Big Five personality factors. If the SPI personality traits are representative of the domain of non-Big Five personality traits, then the major source of the variance in the SPI traits would be expected to correlate strongly with the sixth factor of personality, Honesty-Humility. We tested this hypothesis using self-report measures (N = 200) of the SPI traits, of the Big Five, and of the new six-dimensional ("HEXACO") structure. Results indicated that the first unrotated factor underlying the 10 SPI traits was heavily saturated with variance from Honesty-Humility (r = .65). Nevertheless, the 10 SPI traits contained substantial amounts of unique variance not accounted for by the HEXACO or the Big Five variables, highlighting the importance of the facet-level assessment of personality traits.     

Personality Correlates of Self-Injury in Adolescent Girls: Disentangling the Effects of Lifetime Psychopathology

Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (aNSSI) is associated with abnormal scores on personality traits, such as high neuroticism. However, no studies to date have examined personality facets of self-injury in a cohort younger than college-age. Plus, adolescent psychopathologies, especially Depressive Disorders, are associated with a similar personality profile and are highly comorbid with aNSSI. Consequently, it remains unclear whether personality provides insights about aNSSI in youth beyond that due to underlying psychopathology. 550 community-dwelling 13- to 15-year-old never-depressed adolescent girls were interviewed for lifetime aNSSI and lifetime psychopathology. Personality traits, broad domains and specific facets, were assessed by self-report. Never-depressed adolescent girls who endorse aNSSI often met lifetime criteria for psychiatric disorders (NSSI: 20/43; 46.5% vs. non-aNSSI: 131/507; 26.1%). aNSSI and lifetime psychopathology were each independently associated with several traits (e.g., high neuroticism and conscientiousness), whereas some traits only discriminated aNSSI (e.g., high melancholia, a facet of neuroticism related to sadness and negative self-evaluation) or lifetime psychopathology independent of each other (e.g., low positive emotionality; low agreeableness). Furthermore, a multivariate model identified high melancholia, high openness to experience, and low conscientiousness as incrementally independent correlates of lifetime aNSSI over and above psychiatric illness. Proneness to melancholia, interest in new things, and poor self-control incrementally track aNSSI in never-depressed adolescent girls. Importantly, this emerges early in course (13–15 years of age) and is independent of lifetime psychiatric diagnosis. Implications for updating etiological models and clinical utility of personality assessment are discussed.     

Relationship between schizotypal and borderline traits in college students

The main objective of the present investigation was to analyze the relationship between self-reported schizotypal and borderline personality traits in a sample of 759 college students (M = 19.63 years; SD = 2.03). For this purpose, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B; Raine and Benishay, 1995) and Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006) were administered. The results showed that schizotypal and borderline features are partially related at subclinical level. The exploratory factor analysis conducted on the subscales revealed a three-factor solution comprised of the following factors: Identity/Interpersonal, Lack of Control and Schizotypal. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal features and borderline personality traits shared 34.8% of the variance. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal and borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults. Future studies should continue to examine the relationship and the degree of overlap between these traits in community samples.     

人格特质、家庭环境对中学生道德判断能力的影响

以855名中学生为被试,采用路径分析等实证方法构建了个体差异变量人格特质、社会环境类因素家庭环境对道德判断能力影响的关系模型,揭示了人格特质、家庭环境各维度对中学生道德判断能力发展的直接和间接影响。当前中学生的人格特质对道德判断能力发展的总影响效应为正,家庭环境对道德判断能力发展的总影响效应为负。人格特质和家庭环境是一个整体,还应从综合的角度,用发展和系统的眼光看待其对道德判断能力的影响。