title: Reliability of observer ratings in the assessment of personality disorders: a preliminary study.
abstract: A 200-item, self-report personality disorder inventory (Coolidge Axis II Inventory; CATI) was administered to 52 married target subjects. Their spouses and a close friend completed a significant-other form about the targets. The mean correlation across all personality disorder scales was .51 for the targets-spouses, .36 for the targets-friends, and .41 for the spouses-friends. Twenty-eight target-spouse correlations were significant and ranged from .99 to -.40. The mean correlation for the individual 13 personality disorder scales was .46 for target-spouses and ranged from .63 for the histrionic scale to .27 for the paranoid scale. The results were interpreted as establishing a basis for significant other assessment of personality disorders.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs 80933-7150, USA.
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Coolidge
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mooney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results