[A dimensional diagnostic approach using the "Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV)" Questionnaire].
OBJECTIVE
The ADP-IV is a self-assessment instrument of personality disorders providing categorical as well as dimensional diagnoses. The German translation of the Dutch original has already shown sufficient reliability as well as a rather weak convergent validity of categorical diagnoses. This study investigates the validity of the dimensional assessment of personality disorders.


METHODS
Four hundred patients and a community sample of 385 subjects completed the ADP-IV. A SCID-II interview and an expert consensus rating were also performed in 210 patients. Norms for patients and the community sample were calculated by using z-transformation. Receiver operator curves (ROC) were employed for the determination of cut-offs for categorical diagnoses on the basis of the dimensional scores.


RESULTS
The ROC analyses resulted in negative predictive values of 99 % for the five most frequent personality disorders in the sample; in contrast, positive predictive values were low.


CONCLUSIONS
The instrument is well suited for screening purposes, allowing for a reliable exclusion of personality disorders. For diagnosing personality disorders, however, clinical interviewing remains necessary. Norms and a dimensional personality disorder profile provide hints concerning the presence of pathological personality traits with respect to the reference group. The ADP-IV represents the only German-language questionnaire for the assessment of DSM-IV personality disorders which has been sufficiently validated. It is freely available on the internet at http://zmkweb.uni-muenster.de/einrichtungen/proth/dienstleistungen/psycho/diag/index.html.
Renn
Daniela
D
Klinik für Medizinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck.
Höfer
Stefan
S
Schüssler
Gerhard
G
Rumpold
Gerhard
G
Smrekar
Ulrike
U
Janecke
Nicola
N
Doering
Stephan
S
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011613:Psychotherapy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating