The Relationship Between Forgiveness and Borderline Personality Symptomatology

The relationship between forgiveness and borderline personality symptomatology has been rarely studied. Using a consecutive cross-sectional sample of 307 internal medicine outpatients and a survey methodology, we examined correlations between the Forgiveness Scale and borderline personality symptomatology as measured by the borderline personality disorder scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 and the Self-Harm Inventory. Numerous forgiveness subscales as well as the composite Forgiveness Scale score demonstrated statistically significant relationships with both measures for borderline personality symptomatology, such that individuals with this personality pathology demonstrated lower scores on these forgiveness subscales. Findings indicate that among individuals with borderline personality symptomatology, there are numerous aspects of forgiveness that are significantly lower than in individuals without this symptomatology.     

Borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults

The main purpose of this study was to explore the dimensionality of the borderline personality disorder in nonclinical young adults by means of the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006). We also studied the phenotypic expression of the borderline personality traits as a function of participants' gender and age, and the relationship between BPQ subscales and measures of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, hallucinatory predisposition, and paranoid ideation. The sample comprised 809 young adults, 562 (69.5%) were women, with a mean age of 20.2 years (SD = 2.9). The results indicate that the BPQ self-report has adequate psychometric properties. The levels of internal consistency for the BPQ subscales ranged between .78 and .93. Analysis of the internal structure of the BPQ subscales yielded a one-dimensional solution. In contrast, second-order principal components analysis at the item level yielded a five-dimensional solution. Likewise, statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the borderline personality traits as a function of participants' gender and age were found. The BPQ subscales correlated significantly with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, paranoid ideation, and hallucinatory predisposition. These results help to improve our understanding of the dimensional structure of the borderline personality in the general population. Future research should continue to identify participants who are at risk for the development of borderline personality disorder and facilitating the development of early detection and prevention programs.     

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.     

Five-factor measure of borderline personality traits

This study provides psychometric data for a new self-report measure of borderline personality traits from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality. Subscales were constructed in an undergraduate sample (n = 109) to assess maladaptive variants of 12 FFM traits (e.g., Affective Dysregulation as a maladaptive variant of FFM Vulnerability). On the basis of data from a second undergraduate sample (n = 111), the Five Factor Borderline Inventory (FFBI) subscales were shown to have good internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity. These psychometric results were replicated in a clinical sample of female residents at a substance abuse treatment facility (n = 94).     

Five-Factor Measure of Borderline Personality Traits

This study provides psychometric data for a new self-report measure of borderline personality traits from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality. Subscales were constructed in an undergraduate sample (n = 109) to assess maladaptive variants of 12 FFM traits (e.g., Affective Dysregulation as a maladaptive variant of FFM Vulnerability). On the basis of data from a second undergraduate sample (n = 111), the Five Factor Borderline Inventory (FFBI) subscales were shown to have good internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity. These psychometric results were replicated in a clinical sample of female residents at a substance abuse treatment facility (n = 94).     

Development of the Multi-Trait Personality Inventory (MTPI): comparison among four Chinese populations.

Anemic approach was adopted to develop a culture-specific instrument for the assessment of Chinese personality. The Multi-Trial Personality Inventory (MTPI) was administered to 1,673 men and 944 women in four major Chinese populations. It was found that Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States possess some common traits deeply rooted in the Chinese culture characterized by Confucian thoughts (e.g., self-discipline and moderation) and some additional traits nurtured by their respective environments. Consequently, findings of this study lent support to the hypothesis that, in spite of superficial discontinuities, there are basic continuities in the personality traits of mainland and overseas Chinese. The cross-cultural differences in personality were examined from a political-social perspective and also explained with a cultural-ecological model. In the development of the MTPI, a new methodology that relies on forming factor-consistent clusters was employed to deal successfully with the problem of complex factor space.     

Development of the Multi-Trait Personality Inventory (MTPI): Comparison Among Four Chinese Populations

An emic approach was adopted to develop a culture-specific instrument for the assessment of Chinese personality. The Multi-Trait Personality Inventory (MTPI) was administered to 1,673 men and 944 women in four major Chinese populations. It was found that Chinese m mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States possess some common traits deeply rooted in the Chinese culture characterized by Confucian thoughts (e.g., self-discipline and moderation) and some additional traits nurtured by their respective environments. Consequently, findings of this study lent support to the hypothesis that, in spite of superficial discontinuities, there are basic continuities in the personality traits of mainland and overseas Chinese. The cross-cultural differences in personality were examined from a political-social perspective and also explained with a cultural-ecological model. In the development of the MTPI, a new methodology that relies on forming factor-consistent clusters was employed to deal successfully with the problem of complex factor space.     

A re-evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Basic Character Inventory

The aim of this study was to re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the Basic Character Inventory (BCI). In a rather large sample of 503 subjects (323 women and 180 men, 88 non-psychotic psychiatric inpatients and 415 non-patients) factor analysis resulted in three factors with personality traits almost identical with the BCI Oral, Obsessive and Hysterical scales. BCI seems to be a fruitful and reliable assessment instrument for personality traits and character types as outlined in psychoanalytic theory. However, some of the trait subscales ought to be scrutinized in future psychometric re-evaluative studies of BCI on new, large samples. Another factor analysis showed that the BCI Oral scale, together with all the ten subscales of the psychiatric Symptom Check-list 90 (SCL-90), loaded on the first factor, and the BCI Obsessive and Hysterical scales loaded on the second factor, but with different signs. Orality seems to be related to psychopathology.     

Genetic and Environmental Pathways Underlying Personality Traits and Perceived Stress: Concurrent and Longitudinal Twin Studies

The present study examined the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress, concurrently and longitudinally. In study 1, we used the twin sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health IV) data. The results indicated that about 70% of the association between the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress was due to genetic influences. In study 2, we used the twin sample from the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS I and II) to examine the genetic and environmental influences underlying the longitudinal relations between the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress. The results suggested that continuity in perceived stress was primarily accounted for by genetic influences, and changes in perceived stress were mainly due to nonshared environmental influences. The continuity in the association between the five personality traits and perceived stress was largely accounted for by genetic factors, and nonshared environmental factors made greater contributions to changes in the association between personality traits and perceived stress. Among the Big Five personality traits, the genetic components in conscientiousness and neuroticism made substantial contributions to the genetic link between personality traits and perceived stress across both studies. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Depression with Comorbid Borderline Personality Traits

Personality dysfunction can influence the onset and maintenance of depressive symptoms. When both depression and personality dysfunction are present, it is important to develop an integrated treatment plan that addresses both conditions. A case example is used to illustrate how features of borderline personality disorder can influence the assessment and treatment of major depression. Specific challenges encountered by the therapist include: 1) differentiating borderline personality from depressive symptoms, 2) maintaining the therapeutic alliance, 3) managing impulsivity and self-destructive tendencies, 4) staying focused on long-term therapeutic goals, and 5) coping with noncompliance. Over the course of 27 sessions, the client was able to make positive changes in mood, self-image, and impulsive tendencies. Although the client's borderline personality traits complicated the course of treatment for depression, neglecting these personality problems would have left the client vulnerable to depressive relapse.     

A biometrical study of schizotypy in a normal population

A recently devised two-scale questionnaire (STQ) for measuring ‘borderline’ personality traits, together with the EPQ, was administered to 108 monozygotic and 102 dizygotic adult twin pairs. Initial item and scale analyses of the STQ indicated good internal consistency and acceptably high endorsement frequencies for individual items, as well as an absense of any marked skew in the scale distributions. The pattern of correlations with the EPQ closely resembled that seen in earlier, smaller-sized studies, the most notable feature being a positive correlation between the borderline scales and the N-scale. Biometrical analysis of the data suggested that, for the main STQ scale (‘schizotypal personality’), the best-fitting model was one assuming additive genetic variation combined with within-family environmental effects: results for the other (‘borderline personality’) scale were less clear cut. A number of sex differences were also observed: males had lower schizotypy scores than females, while the biometrical analysis suggested that schizotypy may be under greater genetic control in males than in females. The data are presented and discussed in the context of the dimensional/biological theory of disposition to psychosis.     

Birth-cohort effects in the association between personality and fertility

The present study investigated whether associations between individuals' personality traits and whether they have children have been modified by birth-cohort effects in the 20th-century United States. Participants were from the Midlife Development in the United States study (n = 6,259) and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n = 3,994) and were born between 1914 and 1974. Data on personality traits of the Five Factor model and fertility history were collected in adulthood. Higher levels of openness to experience in both sexes and higher levels of conscientiousness in women were associated with lower fertility, and these associations strengthened linearly as birth cohorts became younger. In the total sample, high extraversion, low neuroticism, and women's high agreeableness were associated with high fertility rate, but there were no systematic cohort effects. The fertility decisions of people with certain personality traits may be influenced by prevailing societal and cultural circumstances.     

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.     

Personality Traits,Income, and Economic Ideology

While the psychological underpinnings of social ideology are well established, less is known about the psychological underpinnings of economic ideology. In this study, I assess whether Big Five personality traits are associated with economic ideology and when personality traits are more strongly or more weakly associated with economic ideology. I hypothesize that low income attenuates the association between the Big Five traits and economic ideology. Studies conducted in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States show that Conscientiousness is positively correlated with economic conservatism, while Agreeableness and Neuroticism are negatively correlated with economic conservatism. Moreover, low income attenuates the association between personality traits and economic ideology. I report a weaker association between Agreeableness and economic ideology among poor people compared to wealthier people in all three countries. Low income also attenuates the association between economic ideology and the traits Openness (Denmark), Extraversion (United Kingdom), and Neuroticism (United States). I contribute to the literature addressing the psychological correlates of economic ideology by showing that (1) economic ideology has a distinct set of personality correlates and (2) low income attenuates the association between some personality traits and economic ideology.     

The abbreviated multidimensional acculturation scale: empirical validation with two Latino/Latina samples

Two studies were conducted to develop and examine internal consistencies and validate the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale. Study 1 participants were 156 Latino/Latina college students. Findings indicated good internal reliabilities for all 3 subscales. Adequate concurrent validity was established with length of residence in the United States. The scale also showed adequate convergent and discriminant validity. Study 2 participants were 90 Latino/Latina community members. The subscales were also reliable and showed adequate concurrent validity with length of residence in the United States. Convergent and discriminant validity were also adequate. Construct validity was further demonstrated through factorial analyses of the combined samples (N = 246). Three separate factors emerged: cultural identity, language competence, and cultural competence.     

Callous-unemotional traits,borderline personality,and self-injury in gothic subculture

The present study investigates individual characteristics of a sample of young adults from gothic subculture, in terms of personality traits (i.e., borderline personality and callous-unemotional traits), prevalence and functions of non-suicidal self-injury behaviours (i.e., internal emotion regulation, external emotion regulation, social influence, and sensation seeking). Fifty-one young adults (28 girls and 23 boys, mean age = 26.20, SD = 4.61) were recruited at a gothic meeting in Italy. They completed self-report questionnaires related to self-injury behaviours and self-injury functions, along with measures of borderline personality disorder and callous-unemotional traits. The results indicated that nearly 65% of the participants reported having committed self-injury at least once. Moreover, both bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated that self-injury behaviours were related to borderline personality and internal emotion regulation function. Lastly, association between considered personality traits and self-injury functions were investigated. Overall, results indicated that in gothic subculture self-injury has the function of regulating emotion to maintain the integrity of the Self and is related to the perception of a traumatic reality in which derealization coexists with extreme self-directed aggression.     

Cross-cultural Variation in the Importance of Psychological Characteristics: A Seven-country Study

The Psychological Importance (PI) of personality traits is defined as the degree to which they provide information useful in understanding and predicting behaviour. University students from 7 countries (Chile, China, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, and the United States) rated the PI of each of the 300 items of the Adjective Check List along a 5-point scale. PI was shown to be a meaningful (i.e. reliable) concept in each country. Comparisons of PI ratings between pairs of countries indicated correlations ranging from 0.23 to 0.73, with a mean of 0.49 among the 7 countries. A variety of additional analyses indicated that six of the seven countries tended to group themselves into two clusters: (1) China, Nigeria, and Pakistan; and (2) Chile, Norway, and the United States. In the second cluster, trait importance had a curvilinear relationship to trait favourability (i.e. both good and bad traits may be important) whereas in the first cluster trait importance and favourability had a linear relationship (i.e. only good traits may be important). The findings were suggestive of substantial cross-cultural differences in the importance assigned to psychological traits.     

Are the interpersonal and identity disturbances in the borderline personality disorder criteria linked to the traits of affective instability and impulsivity?

This study examines the degree to which two putative biologically influenced personality traits, affective instability and impulsive aggression, are associated with some of the interpersonal and intrapsychic disturbances of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and with choice of defense mechanism. In a sample of 152 personality disorder patients, affective instability and impulsive aggression were measured. Defense mechanisms were assessed in 140 of these patients using the Defensive Style Questionnaire (DSQ). The correlations between the traits of affective instability and impulsive aggression and the eight DSM-III-R criteria for borderline personality disorder and 20 DSQ defenses were examined. Affective instability was significantly correlated with the DSM-III-R criteria of identity disturbance, chronic emptiness or boredom, inappropriate anger, suicidality, and the affective instability criteria. It also was associated with the defenses of splitting, projection, acting out, passive aggression, undoing, and autistic fantasy. Impulsive aggression was related to unstable interpersonal relationships, inappropriate anger and impulsiveness and with the defense of acting out. It was negatively correlated with the defenses of suppression and reaction formation. A number of the interpersonal and experiential disturbances and defense mechanisms that are features of BPD are associated with the traits of affective instability and impulsive aggression among patients with personality disorders.     

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.