title: Personality assessment in DSM-5: empirical support for rating severity, style, and traits.
abstract: Despite a general consensus that dimensional models are superior to the categorical representations of personality disorders in DSM-IV, proposals for how to depict personality pathology dimensions vary substantially. One important question involves how to separate clinical severity from the style of expression through which personality pathology manifests. This study empirically distinguished stylistic elements of personality pathology symptoms from the overall severity of personality disorder in a large, longitudinally assessed clinical sample (N = 605). Data suggest that generalized severity is the most important single predictor of current and prospective dysfunction, but that stylistic elements also indicate specific areas of difficulty. Normative personality traits tend to relate to the general propensity for personality pathology, but not stylistic elements of personality disorders. Overall, findings support a three-stage diagnostic strategy involving a global rating of personality disorder severity, ratings of parsimonious and discriminant valid stylistic elements of personality disorder, and ratings of normative personality traits.
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, USA. hopwood2@msu.edu
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hopwood
authors.forename: Johanna C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Ansell
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sanislow
authors.forename: Carlos M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Grilo
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: McGlashan
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Markowitz
authors.forename: M Tracie
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Skodol
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Gunderson
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Zanarini
authors.forename: Leslie C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Morey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult