title: Diagnostic validity of the passive-aggressive personality disorder: suggestions for reform.
abstract: Numerous problems have plagued the diagnosis of the passive-aggressive (P-A) personality disorder. Based on criteria established to evaluate the functional utility of diagnostic categories, the P-A personality disorder does not appear to be an adequate psychiatric diagnosis. However, the concept of passive-aggressiveness may be retained as a useful psychiatric construct when viewed from a dimensional rather than a categorical perspective. A model is presented that describes passive-aggressiveness as consisting of five interrelated psychological factors: rigidity, resentment, resistance, reactance, and reversed reinforcement. This interactive model provides a more detailed and richer description of the P-A style than what is captured in the current diagnostic nomenclature. It is hoped that the model's characterization of P-A in concrete and testable terms will facilitate research into the utility of the passive-aggressiveness construct.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Dayton, OH 45469-1430.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Overholser
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berkoff
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010324:Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology