Emotional and behavioral variability are unifying characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Ambulatory assessment (AA) has been used to quantify this variability in terms of the categorical BPD diagnosis, but evidence suggests that BPD instead reflects general personality pathology. This study aimed to clarify the conceptualization of BPD by mapping indices of variability in affect, interpersonal behavior, and perceptions of others onto general and specific dimensions of personality pathology. A sample of participants who met diagnostic criteria for BPD (n = 129) and healthy controls (n = 47) reported on their daily interactions during a 21-day AA protocol. Multilevel SEM was used to examine associations between shared and specific variance in maladaptive traits with dynamic patterns of functioning. The authors found that variability is an indicator of shared trait variance and Negative Affectivity, not any other specific traits, reinforcing the idea that BPD is best understood as general personality pathology.
The Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) operationalizes Criterion A of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders. Despite progress in LPFS measurement development and validation, there is a lack of research, and some disagreement, concerning structural, convergent, and incremental validity of LPFS self-report measures. The present study aimed to compare the LPFS Self-Report, LPFS Self-Report of Criterion A, and LPFS Brief Form. Internal structure was assessed through principal component analyses, factor analyses, and bifactor analyses of unidimensionality. Associations with both pathological and basic personality characteristics among the LPFS measures were explored. Incremental validity of LPFS severity in predicting pathological personality outcomes controlling for basic personality traits, and the reverse, were examined. Results suggest a unidimensional structure robustly associated with other pathological personality assessments. LPFS severity and basic personality traits mutually offered unique explanatory power. We discuss the implications of assessing personality pathology using LPFS self-report measures.
There is considerable interest in the study of the general factors of personality disorder (g-PD), psychopathology (p factor), and personality (GFP). One prominent interpretation of the g-PD is that it is defined by the self-interpersonal impairments of Criterion A of the DSM-5 Section III. However, no study has directly tested this hypothesis as no prior g-PD study has included a measure of Criterion A. The current study provides a direct test of this hypothesis, along with comparing g-PD with the general factors of psychopathology and personality. Also extracted was a common general factor across all three domains. Suggested herein is that the g-PD, the p factor, and the GFP reflect the impairments (e.g., social and occupational dysfunction) that are secondary to the traits and disorders rather than the traits and/or disorders themselves.
The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) in Section III of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) conceptualizes personality pathology as a combination of impairment (Criterion A) and traits (Criterion B). One measure used to develop Criterion A was the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale - Global Rating Method (SCORS-G), which is a multidimensional, object-relational clinician-rated measure of personality functioning. Although there are conceptual links between the AMPD and SCORS-G dimensions, there exists no research examining the relationship. To address this, we examined associations between the SCORS-G dimensions and measures of the AMPD constructs in a large, archival dataset of outpatients and inpatients. More pathological scores on SCORS-G dimensions reflecting self- and interpersonal functioning were associated with greater pathological traits and impairment. Overall, results support further investigation into SCORS-G as a useful measure in AMPD research and assessment.
Many studies have found that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with romantic relationship instability, with relationship dissolution being a recurring theme. Scant research, however, has examined the dissolution strategies and post-breakup outcomes for individuals with elevated levels of borderline traits. Findings from two studies revealed that there was an association between BPD criteria and tendency to employ less adaptive dissolution strategies when terminating a relationship. Furthermore, elevated levels of BPD traits were associated with less self-concept clarity and more unwanted pursuit of ex-partners. These findings both provide insight into how individuals with BPD traits experience relationship dissolution and suggest possible factors underlying the unstable relationship processes typically associated with borderline traits.