title: Assessing adolescent personality pathology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Personality pathology constitutes a major form of psychopathology in adolescents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the reliability and validity of a Q-sort instrument for assessing adolescent personality pathology designed for clinically experienced informants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 294 randomly selected psychiatrists and psychologists each provided data on a current patient, aged 14-18 years. Clinicians completed several measures, including the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure for Adolescents (SWAP-200-A).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factor analysis identified II dimensions of adolescent personality: psychopathology/malignant narcissism, dysphoria/inhibition, psychological health, histrionic sexualisation, schizotypy, sexual conflict, emotional dysregulation, anxious obsessionality, peer rejection, delinquent behaviour and attentional dysregulation. These correlated in predicted ways with a range of criterion variables, including measures of adaptive functioning, Axis II pathology, the Five Factor Model and the Child Behavior Checklist.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SWAP-200-A shows promise as an instrument for assessing personality pathology in adolescents. Trait dimensions such as delinquent behaviour and emotional dysregulation may prove useful additions to a classification of personality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 532 N. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. dwesten@emory.edu
authors.forename: Drew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Westen
authors.forename: Lissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shedler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D008297:Male; D009289:Narcissism; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011779:Q-Sort; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D012725:Sexual Behavior