The validity of DSM-IV passive-aggressive (negativistic) personality disorder.
Passive-Aggressive (Negativistic) Personality Disorder (NEGPD), listed in Appendix B of the DSM-IV, is not an officially recognized personality disorder. Its future as a discrete disorder is uncertain (Widiger, 2003). Yet, NEGPD occupies a role in some theoretical formulations of personality pathology (Millon & Davis, 1996), and many clinicians believe that passive-aggressive traits are not adequately represented by other PDs (Westen, 1997). In this study, 1158 psychiatric outpatients were assessed for Axis I and Axis II disorders. Thirty-five (3.02%) met criteria for NEGPD. Participants with NEGPD did not differ significantly from those without NEGPD on demographic variables. The internal consistency of the DSM-IV's seven NEGPD items was 0.50. Corrected item- total correlations for the 7 criteria averaged 0.27. Participants with NEGPD had higher rates of lifetime anxiety disorders, and almost 90% had an additional PD. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a two- factor solution that accounted for 43.4% of the variance. The first factor reflected the belief that life is unfair, while the second factor seemed to reflect modes of anger expression. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model fit the data better than a unidimensional model. We discuss implications of these results for the future of the NEGPD diagnosis.
Rotenstein
Ora H
OH
St. John's University, Jamaica, NY 11439, USA.
McDermut
Wilson
W
Bergman
Andrea
A
Young
Diane
D
Zimmerman
Mark
M
Chelminski
Iwona
I
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010324:Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D011586:Psychology, Clinical / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012237:Rhode Island