Ten-year rank-order stability of personality traits and disorders in a clinical sample.
OBJECTIVE
This study compares the 10-year retest stability of normal traits, pathological traits, and personality disorder dimensions in a clinical sample.


METHODS
Ten-year rank-order stability estimates for the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality, and Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders were evaluated before and after correcting for test-retest dependability and internal consistency in a clinical sample (N = 266).


RESULTS
Dependability-corrected stability estimates were generally in the range of.60-.90 for traits and.25-.65 for personality disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
The relatively lower stability of personality disorder symptoms may indicate important differences between pathological behaviors and relatively more stable self-attributed traits and imply that a full understanding of personality and personality pathology needs to take both traits and symptoms into account. The five-factor theory distinction between basic tendencies and characteristic adaptations provides a theoretical framework for the separation of traits and disorders in terms of stability in which traits reflect basic tendencies that are stable and pervasive across situations, whereas personality disorder symptoms reflect characteristic maladaptations that are a function of both basic tendencies and environmental dynamics.
Psychology Department, Michigan State University Psychological Clinic, Psychology Building, 316 Physics-Room 107A, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. hopwood2@msu.edu
Christopher J
CJ
Hopwood
Leslie C
LC
Morey
M Brent
MB
Donnellan
Douglas B
DB
Samuel
Carlos M
CM
Grilo
Thomas H
TH
McGlashan
M Tracie
MT
Shea
Mary C
MC
Zanarini
John G
JG
Gunderson
Andrew E
AE
Skodol
D000328:Adult; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires