Identifying borderline traits in a Brazilian community sample using the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 factors.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the discriminative capacity of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2) factors for identifying individuals with elevated borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits within a Brazilian community sample while proposing an optimal cutoff score for distinguishing high BPD trait levels.

Methods: The participant cohort consisted of 1,469 adults who completed assessments, including the Level of Personality Functioning Scale - Brief Form 2.0 (LPFS), the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) (PID-5), the IDCP-2, and the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) - Personality Questionnaire (PQ-SCID-II). We categorized participants into three groups utilizing the traits outlined in the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) from DSM-5 Section III. Furthermore, latent profile analysis based on PID-5 facets revealed the existence of three empirically derived profiles.

Results: Our findings demonstrate that IDCP-2 factors exhibited substantial discriminative power, marked by large effect sizes across most factors. To minimize false negatives, we suggest a conservative cutoff score of 22 as the most effective threshold for identifying individuals with high levels of BPD traits.

Conclusion: The BPD score generated from IDCP-2 factors holds significant promise in clinical practice, offering valuable insights into a patient's propensity to exhibit a BPD profile and providing a comprehensive clinical profile.