DAPP-BQ: factor structure and relations to personality disorder symptoms in a non-clinical sample

We assessed the factor structure of the DAPP-BQ (Livesley & Jackson, in press), as well as the relations between DAPP-BQ higher- and lower-order personality trait scores and DSM-IV (APA, 2000) personality disorder symptoms in a sample of approximately 300 nonclinical young adults. The four-factor structure of the DAPP-BQ was replicated, and DAPP-BQ higher-order and lower-order scores were related to personality disorder symptoms in predictable ways. Finally, regression analyses revealed that specific DAPP-BQ traits accounted for variance in individual personality disorder scores above and beyond comorbid personality disorder symptoms.     

Structure of personality pathology in normal and clinical samples: Spanish validation of the DAPP-BQ

Given that the DSM taxonomy of personality disorders is flawed by severe classificatory problems, the development of alternative classificatory systems, such as the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ), has now become a priority. This study examined the internal consistency, second-order factor structure, and criterion validity of a Spanish translation of the DAPP-BQ in two samples: subjects with personality disorder (n = 155) and subjects from the general population (n = 300). Alpha coefficients ranged satisfactorily from .75 to .93. Four second-order factors of Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial Behavior, Inhibitedness, and Compulsivity were obtained, which were replicable between samples and identical to those reported in the literature. Finally, disordered subjects scored significantly higher than normal subjects on 17 of the 18 DAPP-BQ traits. Some pending issues in the construction of an alternative taxonomy of personality disorders are discussed.     

The Dutch DAPP-BQ: improvements, lower- and higher-order dimensions, and relationship with the 5DPT

After modifying 53 items in a previous Dutch translation of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2002), the present DAPP-BQ scales (with or without Self-Harm included) were subjected to a principal components analysis with oblimin or varimax rotation in a general population sample of 478 subjects, retaining four factors. All four (higherorder) factors (Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial, Inhibition, and Compulsivity) proved identical to the factors originally derived in Canada, with Tucker coefficients of factor similarity approaching unity. Particularly the (unexpected) finding that the present Dutch version of the DAPP-BQ also resulted in an Inhibition factor (and not, like the former Dutch version, in an Intimacy Problems factor) was considered positive. In addition, a principal components analysis with oblimin rotation was conducted on the 282 items contained in the 18 DAPP-BQ scales, investigating the lower-order structure of the DAPP-BQ; in this case, 18 factors were retained. Although the structure originally derived by Livesley and colleagues could not be recovered completely, the degree of similarity was of such a magnitude that the 18 DAPP-BQ scales were considered to give a dependable account of the "true" lower-order structure of disordered personality. Moreover, based on the finding that the 18 scales are sufficiently reliable (Cronbach's alpha) and correlate as predicted in a subsample of 284 subjects with the normal personality scales of Van Kampen's 5DPT (or, Five-Dimensional Personality Test), the DAPP-BQ appears to be a valuable instrument.     

A comparison of personality function among patients with seasonal depression, nonseasonal depression, and nonclinical participants

Although a large body of research has accumulated concerning the relationship between nonseasonal depression and personality, comparatively few studies have examined the relationship between seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and personality. This study compared dimensional aspects of personality in patients diagnosed with SAD (N = 60), nonseasonal depression (N = 273), and nonclinical controls (N = 297) using the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, in press). Analysis by ANCOVA indicated that significant between-group differences occurred in several of the 18 DAPP-BQ dimensions, with patients with SAD exhibiting personality psychopathology that was intermediate between the nonclinical sample and patients with nonseasonal depression. The results demonstrated that the traits associated with seasonal and nonseasonal depression differ in degree, not kind.     

The DAPP-BQ in The Netherlands: factor structure and relationship with basic personality dimensions

After discarding eight items in the Dutch translation of Livesley's DAPP-BQ that showed item-total correlations < 0.20 in a sample of 223 normal subjects. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated for the remaining items in the 18 scales of this instrument. The 'Dutch' alpha coefficients proved to be satisfactory. Furthermore, the Dutch DAPP-BQ scales were factor analyzed, retaining four factors. Three of these factors proved to be identical (Emotional Dysregulation and Dissocial) or nearly identical (Compulsivity) to the Canadian factors. However, the original factor Inhibition was not the same as the remaining Dutch factor Intimacy Problems. In a sample of 115 students, the estimated scores for the Dutch Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) factors were correlated with the scales of Van Kampen's Four-Dimensional Personality Test. As expected, Emotional Dysregulation was found to correlate with Neuroticism, Dissocial with Insensitivity, and Compulsivity with Orderliness. The Intimacy Problems factor proved to be negatively correlated with Extraversion. The results obtained are embedded in the context of the evidence favoring a dimensional model of personality disorder. Furthermore, Livesley's proposal that separate diagnostic criteria for the existence of a personality disorder must be formulated to supplement the assessment by means of the DAPP-BQ is critically discussed.     

DAPP-BQ: factor structure in French Canadians

Personality traits may be involved in predisposition to a range of clinical and behavioral phenotypes. Given their importance, it is necessary to establish the extent to which different levels of personality traits are applicable to and reproducible across cultures and sexes. In a well-characterized, longitudinal sample of young French Canadians, we examined structural equivalence of broad personality traits using the Diagnostic Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). We also investigated sex-based patterns of item-endorsement, scale reliabilities, and factor solutions. Our four-factor solution closely resembles the structure reported in the source population of British Columbians, especially in terms of Factors I through III. In contrast to the original study, however, together with compulsivity, rejection rather than passive aggression, defined Factor IV. We, furthermore, observed sex-based differences in item endorsement and both broad and narrow personality trait scores. Subtle differences notwithstanding, our results offer additional evidence for structural stability of broad DAPP-BQ personality traits across sociodemographic and cultural contexts.     

Gender differences in a clinical sample of patients with borderline personality disorder

The aim of the study was to investigate gender differences and similarities in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with respect to Axis I comorbidity, Axis II comorbidity, general psychopathology (Symptom Checklist 90-Revised), and dimensional personality traits (NEO-Personality-Inventory Revised [NEO-PI-R] and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Profile Basic questionnaire [DAPP-BQ]). Fifty-seven men and 114 women with BPD were included in the study. Regarding Axis I and II disorders in an exploratory analysis, men with BPD more often fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and conduct disorder in childhood, whereas women had higher frequencies of bulimia nervosa, posttraumatic stress disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia. After correcting for multiple tests, only the gender differences in narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder remained significant. In the SCL-90-R profile, no significant gender differences could be identified. In the exploratory analysis of the dimensional personality traits, women showed higher rates on the NEO-PI-R main factors (Neuroticism and Agreeableness) compared to men. In the DAPP-BQ profile, men reached higher sores on the main factor, Dissocial Behavior. When correcting for multiple tests, gender differences still existed for Neuroticism and Dissocial Behavior. Our results argue for gender differences in Axis I and II comorbidity and dimensional personality traits in BPD. However, in general, more similarities than differences were shown in this study.     

Dimensional assessment of personality pathology in female and male juvenile delinquents

A developmental perspective implies similar personality pathology dimensions for adolescents and adults. The present study examined the applicability of a dimensional approach in incarcerated delinquent female and male juveniles using the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). A sample of detained adolescents (n = 146) was compared to adolescent students (n = 98) and a healthy control group of adults (n = 82). Additionally, psychopathology was assessed in the incarcerated juveniles using the Youth Self Report (YSR). Analyses of variance revealed higher scores on personality disorder traits for juveniles compared to adult controls; the highest scores were observed in criminal juveniles. Hypothesized relationships could be confirmed within the criminal sample between the DAPP factor Emotional Dysregulation and the YSR Internalization syndrome scale, and between the DAPP factor Dissocial Behavior and the YSR Externalization syndrome scale. Moreover, gender differences in the criminal sample are discussed. Results indicate that the DAPP-BQ can assess personality disorder traits in delinquent and nondetained juveniles with sufficient group and criterion validity.     

The hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ)

Hierarchical personality models have the potential to identify common and specific components of DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs), and may offer a solution for the re-tooling of personality pathology in future versions of the DSM. In this paper, we examined the hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2009) and the capacity of various trait components at different levels to predict DSM-IV PD symptoms. Participants were 275 psychiatric outpatients and 365 undergraduate students. Goldberg's (2006) bass-ackwards method was used to investigate the hierarchical structure of the DAPP-BQ. The predictive capacity of hierarchy components was assessed. We found that Level 5 of the hierarchy enhanced the capacity of the DAPP-BQ for predicting DSM PD symptoms beyond a four-factor structure, particularly for borderline PD.     

The Hierarchical Personality Structure of Aspiring Creative Writers

Empirical studies of personality traits in creative writers have demonstrated mixed findings, perhaps due to issues of sampling, measurement, and the reporting of statistical information. The goal of this study is to quantify the personality structure of aspiring creative writers according to a modern hierarchal model of trait personality. A sample of aspiring writers (n = 93) and nonwriters (n = 114) completed the Big Five inventory. Correlations with personality were carried out at three levels: the Big Five traits, the two higher-order factors (stability and plasticity), and the more detailed facet-level. Consistent with past research, creative writers scored higher on trait openness. Extending past work, the hierarchical analysis also revealed novel correlates for the higher-order meta-traits (stability and plasticity) and some of the lower-order facets (aesthetics, ideas, activity, assertiveness, and depression). Individuals with higher scores on agreeableness, stability, and assertiveness were less likely to be aspiring writers. The likelihood of being a writer also decreased with age. Taken together, these findings indicate that aspiring creative writers differ from nonwriters in trait personality, with differences emerging at all levels of the personality hierarchy.     

Dimensional models of personality disorder: coverage and cutoffs

Two major challenges that must be addressed by dimensional models, if they are to be considered viable alternatives to the present categorical system for diagnosing personality disorders, involve the issues of coverage and cutoffs. Several dimensional models of personality and personality pathology are evaluated with these issues in mind. There is growing consensus for the relevance of at least four higher-order domains of personality functioning that are clearly related to personality pathology: neuroticism/negative affectivity/emotional dysregulation, extraversion/positive emotionality, dissocial/antagonistic behavior, and constraint/compulsivity/conscientiousness. A proposal for developing a dimensionally based diagnostic system for personality disorders incorporating these higher-order traits is offered.     

Assessment of maladaptiveness: a core issue in the diagnosing of personality disorders.

Although an operationalized and commonly accepted definition of maladaptiveness is lacking, the delineation of personality traits as being adaptive or maladaptive is essential in diagnosing personality disorders (PDs). A way to explore the meaning of maladaptiveness is to compare how patients from all DSM-III-R PDs relate to different traits and dimensions of various dimensional models of personality. In the present study, the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) were used in a sample of 94 psychiatric outpatients who were assessed according to severity of maladaption and according to type of predominant cluster type of deviant traits. Only one of four factors of the scores of the KSP subscales, "Interpersonal Aversiveness," was related to degree of maladaption, indicating high detachment, suspicion, irritability, dysphoria, and low socialization as core features of maladaptiveness. Three subscales of the KSP Socialization were all associated with maladaptiveness. However, one subscale, "Childhood Adjustment," was also related to the predominant cluster type of personality pathology.     

Retest reliability of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

This article reports on two studies which examined the temporal stability of the personality disorder subscales from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). The scales demonstrated adequate stability in psychiatric inpatients (retested with an average of just over 1 year between testings). Furthermore, a separate sample of depressed inpatients assessed when depressed and 6 weeks later showed that the stability of MCMI personality scales was observed even after patients displayed an initial reduction in depression severity. Although stability is vital to the accurate assessment of personality disorders, both studies also found high retest correlations for the MCMI clinical syndrome subscales. In general, these results suggest that patients displayed similar symptom patterns over time, whether construed as personality traits or characteristic patterns of responding when symptomatic.     

Retest Reliability of the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

This article reports on two studies which examined the temporal stability of the personality disorder subscales from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). The scales demonstrated adequate stability in psychiatric inpatients (retested with an average of just over 1 year between testings). Furthermore, a separate sample of depressed inpatients assessed when depressed and 6 weeks later showed that the stability of MCMI personality scales was observed even after patients displayed an initial reduction in depression severity. Although stability is vital to the accurate assessment of personality disorders, both studies also found high retest correlations for the MCMI clinical syndrome subscales. In general, these results suggest that patients displayed similar symptom patterns over time, whether construed as personality traits or characteristic patterns of responding when symptomatic.     

The representation of borderline,avoidant, obsessive-compulsive,and schizotypal personality disorders by the five-factor model

This study evaluated the accuracy of hypothesized relationships of the five-factor model of personality to four targeted personality disorders in a large multisite sample of patients. Data were gathered from 668 patients, who were assigned to one of five study cells: Borderline, Schizotypal, Avoidant, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, and a Major Depression without personality disorder comparison group. Patients were administered a questionnaire designed to assess the domains and facets of the five-factor model and results were compared among diagnostic groups and between patients and community norms. Although many relationships between personality traits and disorders were obtained, the magnitude of the relationships varied greatly as a function of the comparison group involved. In general, the differences between the personality disorder patients and community norms were far larger than the differences between the specific personality disorder groups. Also, for avoidant personality, it appeared that statistical interactions between personality factors are needed to better differentiate it from other personality disorder groups. The four personality disorder groups studied could each be distinguished from community norms on the personality dimensions of the five-factor model. However, differentiating among the four groups proved more difficult, as each shared the configuration of high Neuroticism, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness. It does not appear that these disorders represent extremes of different personality dimensions, but rather each appears to be a variant of the same extreme configuration. Differences between personality disorders may reflect diverse interactions among the dimensions, rather than differences on single dimensions.     

Why do measures of normal and disordered personality correlate? A study of genetic comorbidity

The genetic and environmental correlations between measures of normal (NEO-FFI) and abnormal personality (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology: DAPP-BQ) were estimated in a sample of 545 volunteer general population twin pairs (269 monozygotic and 276 dizygotic pairs). The largest genetic correlations were observed between the 18 DAPP-BQ dimensions and NEO-FFI neuroticism (range = .05 to .81; median = .48), extraversion (range = -.65 to .33; median = -.28), agreeableness (range = -.65 to .00; median = -.38), and conscientiousness (range = -.76 to .52; median = -.31). The smallest genetic correlations were found between the DAPP-BQ dimensions and NEO-FFI openness (range = -.17 to .20; median = -.04). The environmental correlations are lower in magnitude but show the same pattern of correlations between DAPP-BQ and NEO-FFI scales. These results indicate that these two scales share a common broad-based genetic architecture, whereas the environmental influences show greater scale specificity.     

Multidimensional perfectionism and the DSM-5 personality traits

Encouraging further research on the dimensional assessment of personality disorders (PDs), Section III of the DSM-5 introduced a hybrid model for the assessment of six PDs employing self-reports on 25 maladaptive personality traits (“DSM-5 personality traits”). Following suggestions that multidimensional perfectionism is an important characteristic across various personality disorders (Ayearst, Flett, & Hewitt, 2012), the present study investigated how personal (self-oriented) and interpersonal (other-oriented and socially prescribed) forms of perfectionism predicted the DSM-5 personality traits in a sample of 311 university students. Multiple regressions (controlling for the overlap between the different forms of perfectionism) showed that socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicted the traits defining schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive PD; other-oriented perfectionism positively predicted the traits defining narcissistic PD; and both socially prescribed and other-oriented perfectionism positively predicted the traits defining antisocial PD. In contrast, self-oriented perfectionism positively predicted only one of the four traits defining obsessive-compulsive PD (rigid perfectionism). Showing that multidimensional perfectionism predicted all DSM-5 traits defining the personality disorders of Section III, the findings suggest that future DSM-5 updates may profit from including interpersonal aspects of perfectionism as a diagnostic criterion.     

The Influence of Major Life Events and Personality Traits on the Stability of Affective Well-Being

The current study examines the influence of major life events compared to personality traits on the stability of affective well-being (AWB). It is shown how the decomposition of autocovariances can be used to estimate the degree of stability that is due to life events and personality traits. The approach is illustrated by an analysis of data from a nationally representative Australian sample with four consecutive waves of measurement. The autocovariances of positive and negative mood served as indicators of the stability of AWB. Big five personality traits as well as 21 major life events were used as predictor variables in a path analysis. In comparison to previous studies, this allowed to directly compare the effects of multiple events to the influence of personality traits in a longitudinal design. Results indicated medium stability coefficients for AWB. Ca. 10 % of the autocovariances could be accounted for by life events and about 20 % by personality traits. Both types of predictors together accounted for about 30 %. Among personality traits, emotional stability followed by extraversion had the highest effects. Among life events “financial worsening” and “serious personal injury/illness” had the highest effects. Additionally, life events were significantly correlated with personality traits as well as with other life events. In a next step, it might be interesting to compare the influence of Big Five personality traits and stable life circumstances on the stability of the cognitive well-being component, using a similar statistical procedure. Also, as the number of variables in large panel studies is limited, results should be complemented by more in-depth studies, favourably using multi-method approaches.