title: The structure of axis II disorders in adolescents: a cluster- and factor-analytic investigation of DSM-IV categories and criteria.
abstract: The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the structure of personality disorder (PD) symptoms in adolescents assessed using DSM-IV diagnoses and diagnostic criteria resembles the structure intended for the diagnosis of PDs in adults. A national sample of clinicians rated DSM-IV Axis II criteria on 294 adolescent patients in treatment for enduring maladaptive personality patterns. Cluster analysis replicating procedures used in an adult sample by Morey (1988) identified considerable similarity between adult and adolescent PDs, as did exploratory factor analysis of ratings of diagnostic criteria, which yielded ten empirically derived factors that resembled the ten DSM-IV PDs. Cluster analysis and confirmatory factor analysis with indicators of Axis II symptoms produced mixed results in replicating the DSM-IV hierarchical structure of PDs (Clusters A, B, and C), although hierarchical models generally fared better than models specifying only first-order factors or clusters. The structure of personality pathology as assessed by Axis II criteria in adolescents resembles that outlined in DSM-IV Axis II for adults, suggesting that PDs can be assessed in adolescents as in adults. Whether this is an optimal way of diagnosing personality pathology in adolescence, however, requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Durrett
authors.forename: Drew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Westen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D014481:United States