Enhancing Diabetes Management Through Personality Assessment: A Pilot Study.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the utility of therapeutic assessment (therapeutic assessment) as a brief intervention to target reduction in A1C levels and to assess the levels of personality functioning and broad trait domains described in the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders in a sample of patients with Type 2 diabetes and their relationship to A1C levels at baseline and follow-up. Participants (n = 99) were recruited from a primary care office and provided feedback on how their personality functioning and pathological personality traits might influence their diabetes management. Results indicated that 66.25% of participants receiving TA feedback decreased their A1C levels below 7. Those who improved reported less difficulty with intimacy and trends toward higher levels of personality functioning and lower levels of interpersonal detachment. Results suggest that providing TA feedback is worthy of further investigation for considering its therapeutic effects in helping patients to manage Type 2 diabetes.

Exploring Guilt Differences in Grandiose Narcissism, Vulnerable Narcissism, and Malignant Self-Regard.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a heterogeneous and complex pathology which manifests itself very differently in individuals. The aim of the present study was to analyze differences and similarities in morality and sensitivity to feelings of guilt among grandiose narcissism (GN), vulnerable narcissism (VN), and malignant self-regard (MSR). We expected that MSR and VN would be most sensitive to deontological and altruistic guilt, and that MSR and VN would have higher levels of moral standards than GN. A nonclinical sample of 752 participants was evaluated. Results showed a significant association among MSR, VN, and GN. According to our hypothesis, GN turned out to be the one with the lowest association values to guilt measures. Our results demonstrated that MSR is strongly associated with all types of guilt, GN is associated with a substantial lack of guilt, and VN is associated with deontological guilt and self-hate, but not altruistic guilt. Results confirm the relevance of considering and understanding guilt when differentiating GN, VN, and MSR.

Malignant Self-Regard as an Overarching Framework for the Theory and Treatment of Depressive and Masochistic (Self-Defeating) Personalities.

ABSTRACT: Kernberg and McWilliams have spawned differing conceptualizations of the relationship between depressive and masochistic (self-defeating) personalities. Kernberg describes these personality styles as largely overlapping in features, whereas McWilliams accentuates important clinical differences that make up two distinct personalities. In this article, their theoretical perspectives are discussed and framed as more complementary than competitive. The malignant self-regard (MSR) construct is introduced and reviewed as an integrative self-representation that is shared by both depressive and masochistic personalities, as well as those often referred to as vulnerably narcissistic. We investigate developmental conflicts, motivations for perfectionism, countertransference patterns, and overall level of functioning as four primary clinical features through which a therapist may differentiate a depressive from a masochistic personality. We argue that depressive personalities tend to have more dependency-related conflicts and perfectionistic strivings motivated by lost object reunification, elicit more insidiously positive countertransference reactions in session, and are generally higher-functioning individuals. Masochistic personalities have more oedipal-related conflicts and perfectionistic strivings motivated by object control, elicit more aggressive countertransference reactions, and are relatively lower functioning. MSR is positioned as a bridge between Kernberg's and McWilliam's ideas. We close with a discussion of treatment implications for both disorders as well as how to understand and treat MSR.

Assessing the Impact of Relationship Profile Test Scores, Self-Identified Ethnic Group, and Gender on Adult Attachment Style.

ABSTRACT: Research shows that the subscales of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT) are related to adult attachment. Gender differences have been implicated, but findings are inconsistent in terms of replication. A limited amount of research has been conducted on ethnic differences in the context of interpersonal dependency. This study aims to bridge the gap in the literature in terms of using the RPT to predict attachment styles and to assess gender and ethnic group differences in RPT scores. Four samples from various treatment settings were combined to yield a heterogeneous group of ethnically diverse men and women (N = 470) with a mean age of 31.96. No gender differences were observed; however, ethnic differences were noted, with the RPT scales predicting unique variance in secure and insecure attachment styles. This study evidences the incremental validity of the RPT scales when predicting adult attachment style with consideration of ethnic group differences, which can help inform the treatment and assessment process.

Malignant Self-Regard: Overview and Future Directions.

ABSTRACT: Malignant self-regard (MSR) is a self-representation that encompasses the shared features of depressive personality disorder, masochistic/self-defeating personality disorder, depressive-masochistic personality, and vulnerable narcissism. In this review we begin by describing the construct's historical precursors, which begin in early psychoanalytic/dynamic theory, and then trace its development across iterations of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Special attention is paid to differentiating MSR from vulnerable narcissism. We then consider MSR's place within transdiagnostic, transtheoretical, and dimensional models of personality pathology. We focus heavily on MSR's impact on various personality systems (e.g., thought and affect systems) and also on overall personality functioning. The empirical research on MSR in relation to these systems is thoroughly reviewed and largely supports its psychometric properties and clinical significance. We suggest that MSR may map onto the distress subfactor in the hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology (HiTOP) and that MSR seems to occupy the shared internalizing space across the neurotic and borderline level of personality organization in Kernberg's model of personality disorders. We also identify four major directions for future research: the possible benefits of self-defeating tendencies that involve pathological narcissism and self-esteem; MSR's relationship to overall health and well-being; depressive states and MSR severity; and how MSR fits within the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders and the personality disorder framework of the International Classification of Diseases.

Measures of Personality Pathology, Levels of Functioning, and Physical Health in an Urban Primary Care Sample.

Integrative approaches in the primary care setting have grown in favor over the past few decades, with many interesting findings about the influence of personality disorders on physical health and functioning; however, less is known about how specific pathological personality traits impact patient-provider assessments of physical and mental health. Using the DSM-5 Levels of Personality Functioning Questionnaire-Short Form (DLOPFQ-SF) and Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form, these relationships were evaluated in a sample of 50 inner-city, low-income patients in a primary care clinic. Point-biserial correlations revealed significant correlations between physical and mental health morbidities, as well as personality pathology and patient response to treatment. Our findings lend further support to describing the relationships between personality pathology, medical comorbidities, and patient response to treatment.

Understanding the relationship between personality pathology and attachment style in the context of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders.

This study utilizes the two different criteria of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorder Assessment to evaluate the relationship between attachment style and personality pathology. One-hundred forty patients from a combined sample of psychiatric and internal medicine clinics were given a survey composed of the DSM-5 Levels of Personality Functioning Questionnaire (DLOPFQ), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). Analysis of variance indicated that attachment styles were differentiated across all four the DLOPFQ scales and the Detachment trait domain. Elastic net regression modeling with bootstrap was used to assess the strength of the level of personality functioning dimensions and trait domains in the prediction of attachment style, both independently and interactively while accounting for multicollinearity. This study offers readers insight to a novel statistical approach to model building that addresses two issues among psychiatric data: high correlation and small sample size.

The Construct Validity of the ICD-11 Severity of Personality Dysfunction Under Scrutiny of Object-Relations Theory.

The current classification of personality disorder in ICD-11 includes a description of personality functioning, derived from a number of theoretical paradigms, but most notably consistent with the psychodynamic approach. Concurrently, an object-relations model of personality functioning in a dimensional assessment of severity is provided in the Structured Interview of Personality Organization-Revised (STIPO-R). To date, there are no published measures of International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11) personality severity, though the construct is very comparable to the concepts assessed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) levels of personality functioning concept, which is measured by the Level of Personality Functioning Scale-Self-Report (LPFS-SR). This study examined the validity of ICD-11 personality functioning, as measured by the LPFS-SR, by evaluating its associations with the STIPO-R in Kurdistan region. The samples included 231 University students and 419 inpatient participants across four hospitals (267 with a diagnosed personality disorder). All the components of LPFS-SR and STIPO-R were positively and significantly intercorrelated. The components of each measure discriminated PD and non-PD patients from a University, non-clinical group adequately. Despite slightly better performance of the STIPO-R in this discrimination, the measures had a high congruence in predicting personality dysfunction. Overall, the findings of the present study support the validity of ICD-11 construct for evaluating personality functioning.

Malevolent object relations: A multimethod study of female survivors of childhood abuse.

Although childhood victimization is associated with impairments in object relations, it is not clear how different measures comparatively perform in assessing this relationship. This study examined the connection between emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in childhood and three methods of assessing malevolent object representations. Sixty adult women, recruited from an urban primary-care clinic, were administered the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Object Relations Inventory (ORI) interview, and a version of the Early Memories Test (EMT)/interview. Ratings of malevolent object relations were obtained using the affect-tone dimension from the Social Cognition and Object Relations (SCORS-G) scale with both TAT and early memory narratives and through Malevolence ratings from the ORI interview. It was found that, outside of emotional abuse, ORI interview ratings of malevolence consistently differentiated adult childhood abuse groups and nonabuse groups, whereas early memory ratings of malevolence differentiated groups in two of four analyses. Malevolence ratings based upon TAT ratings failed to differentiate any type of abuse from nonabuse. These findings suggest that the use of malevolence ratings from the ORI and early memory narratives are preferred methods for assessing malevolent object relations in urban-dwelling women who have been victimized as children.

Assessing Self-Definition and Relatedness in Level of Personality Functioning.

The two polarities model (TPM) of personality organizes psychological assessment and psychotherapy and connects to personality disorder diagnosis using the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD). The authors developed scales assessing the TPM from an existing self-report measure for level of personality functioning (LPF), a core component of the AMPD. Iterative content analyses of the LPF measure yielded scales for Autonomy and Communion corresponding to dimensions of the TPM. The scales were refined via internal consistency analyses using a measure of psychological attachment and studied in development and validation samples. Associations with relevant external criteria were explored in a series of multiple regressions. The new content-based LPF scales were illustrated with a case vignette. Although the new Autonomy/Communion scales await further validation prior to clinical use, initial evidence suggests that they may bridge the nomological nets of the TPM and AMPD and potentially offer clinical utility in assessment and treatment planning.

Examining the Interpersonal Profiles and Nomological Network Associated with Narcissistic Grandiosity and Narcissistic Vulnerability.

Theory and research have consistently shown that pathological narcissism can best be described by 2 phenotypic expressions, narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. The current study sought to examine the specific types of interpersonal problems reported by those high in narcissistic grandiosity and high in narcissistic vulnerability as well as examine the nomological network associated with these 2 manifestations of narcissism. In a sample of university students who completed self-report measures of pathological narcissism, interpersonal problems, depression, self-esteem, malignant self-regard, self-defeating personality disorder symptoms, and anger, we found that narcissistic grandiosity (n = 108) was associated with one distinct interpersonal profile, for example, being overly intrusive in relationships with others, while narcissistic vulnerability (n = 88) was associated with a wider range of interpersonal problems on the interpersonal circumplex. Using cluster analysis, we found 3 interpersonal subtypes associated with narcissistic vulnerability, an intrusive subtype, a cold subtype, and a socially avoidant subtype. Further examination of group differences showed that the 3 interpersonal subtypes associated with narcissistic vulnerability could also be distinguished based on their experience and expression of anger. This suggests the importance of assessing profiles of interpersonal functioning and anger in narcissistic vulnerability. The clinical implications of our results are discussed.

Personality Disorders in the ICD-11: Opportunities and Challenges for Advancing the Diagnosis of Personality Pathology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The International Classification of Diseases-11th edition (ICD-11) is poised to make a dramatic change in the diagnosis of personality disorders by introducing a fully dimensionalized framework. In this paper, the history of this process is reviewed, along with international efforts taken to address some underlying concerns with this transition. Recent studies of this framework are also reviewed. RECENT FINDINGS: Studies have concluded that the ICD-11 proposal is supported; however, there are a number of methodological limitations to these studies, including the utilization of measures that are not directly derived from the ICD-11 description of levels of personality severity and trait domains. There is a clear need for additional studies with measures that directly reflect the ICD-11 description of personality disorders. While there are some potentially positive effects of moving toward the dimensional model, there are a number of concerns remaining about the clinical utility of moving in this way.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Self-Report and Performance-Based Assessment of Object Relations.

This study evaluated the Social Cognition and Object Relations Global Rating Method (SCORS-G; Stein, Hilsenroth, Mulford, & Pinkser, 2011; Stein and Mulford, 2018; Westen, 1995) and the Bell Object Relation and Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI; Bell, 1995) to determine the extent to which the measures were correlated with each other and their relationships with 2 disorders characterized by disrupted object relations: borderline personality disorder (BPD) and depressive personality disorder (DPD). One hundred sixty-nine psychiatric outpatients and 171 undergraduate students were assessed with the Personality Disorder Interview for DSM-IV (Widiger, Corbett, Ellis, Mangine, & Tomas, 1995) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (First et al., 1997) for BPD and DPD. Modest correlations were observed among the diagnostic interviews with the BORRTI and the SCORS-G. An exploratory factor analysis yielded 3 distinct factors, 1 of which was mainly comprised of the BORRTI scales, whereas the 2 other factors were comprised of SCORS-G dimensions. Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that the BORRTI accounted for greater variance among interview scores for both groups. However, the addition of SCORS-G variables incremented the variance accounted for in the BORRTI.

Comparing DSM-5-Hybrid, SWAP, and PDM prototype models of personality disorders: Convergent and divergent findings.

Although dimensional models of personality disorders are of great interest, there exist three methods by which personality disorders may be diagnosed for their fit to a predetermined prototype. In this study, we evaluate a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), hybrid model prototype match (modified from the original prototype DSM-5 proposal; Skodol, Bender, Morey, et al., 2011; Skodol, Bender, Oldham, et al., 2011), the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-2 (Shedler, 2015), and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual prototype match (PDM Task Force, 2006). Three hundred twenty-nine clinical psychology graduate students and interns rated patients they currently were treating with each of the aforementioned diagnostic models, as well as completing a checklist of their DSM-IV personality disorder symptoms. Matching a prototype was defined as being a very good match (exemplifying the disorder, a prototypical case) or a good match (has the diagnosis, disorder applies). Frequencies of the prototype assignments are reported. For the SWAP-2 and PDM, depressive and borderline personality disorders were most frequently assigned, whereas avoidant and borderline personality disorder were the most assigned prototypes for the DSM-5 hybrid categories. However, the degree of convergence across methods on similar diagnostic constructs was low. Implications of these findings for personality disorder diagnosis are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Expanding the Role of Levels of Personality Functioning in Personality Disorder Taxonomy: Commentary on "Criterion A of the AMPD in HiTOP".

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) construes personality disorder diagnosis in terms of levels of personality functioning (LPF) as well as dimensions of pathological personality traits. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), which offers a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing psychopathology, integrates pathological personality traits into a model for understanding different disorders, deficits, and personality problems. Widiger et al. ( 2018 ) placed LPF within the HiTOP model, suggesting that LPF might already be subsumed by trait dimensions and other spectra representing severity of psychopathology. This commentary raises a number of questions about their underlying assumptions, and advocates for an expanded role for LPF to more fully capture the complexity and instability inherent in personality disorder pathology.

Personality-driven depression: The case for malignant self-regard (and depressive personalities).

Many patients with chronic depression are not well-treated. In part, this is due to the underlying personality dynamics that maintain the depressive experience are ignored. In this paper, I describe the concept of malignant self-regard, a derivative of the depressive personality. I describe briefly its origins in the clinical and empirical literature and focus upon the presentation of a case of a patient who displays a prototypic manifestation of malignant self-regard. I offer some ideas for how to manage such patients, with a focus on countertransference experiences that can be used to inform treatment.

Expanding the validity of the malignant self-regard construct in an Italian general population sample.

Malignant self-regard (MSR) was proposed as a particular type of self-structure that may account for similarities among a set of clinically relevant Personality Disorders (PDs) such as masochistic/self-defeating and depressive PDs that yet have failed to be adequately represented in the diagnostic manuals. The investigation on the MSR may provide a better framework upon which to understand the nature of these personality types and their discrimination from related constructs. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation of the Malignant Self-Regard Questionnaire (MSRQ). Reliability and validity indicators are determined in a large sample of adults from general population (n = 2574). The measure was found to be reliable and valid, given its correlations with measures of depressive personality, negative affectivity, self-defeating, and vulnerably narcissistic personalities. MSR also can be meaningfully differentiated from a nomological network of related constructs, including sadness rumination, depression, neuroticism, extraversion, and grandiose narcissism. These findings suggest that MSR may be a personality component which includes a negativistic self-representation, vulnerability and hypersensitivity to judgment, sometimes compensated by perfectionistic tendencies. As a whole, results seem to support the reliability and the validity of the Italian adaptation of the MSRQ as a measure of the MSR.

Moving beyond categories and dimensions in personality pathology assessment and diagnosis.

It has been suggested that a dimensional model of personality pathology should be adopted for the development and refinement of personality disorder classification. In this article, the advantages and challenges of moving toward a dimensional model are briefly reviewed. However, it is suggested that although categories and dimensions are valuable frameworks for personality pathology diagnosis, an expansion beyond categories and dimensions is needed to improve the shortcoming seen in current diagnostic systems. Ideas and examples are offered for how this might occur.Declaration of interestNone.