Unravelling the Longitudinal Relations Between Developmental Milestones, General Psychopathology, and Personality Functioning in a Youth Clinical Sample.

Personality functioning, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement are critical domains in the field of young people's mental health; however, no prior research has considered these variables jointly or examined the temporal dynamics between them. To fill these gaps, the present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations between the above constructs in a clinical sample of Dutch youth. 525 outpatients (72.5% women; age range: 12-26 years, M = 18.8 ± 2.83) diagnosed with different psychological difficulties were recruited from specialized mental health care services in The Netherlands. They completed self-report measures assessing personality functioning, psychopathological symptoms, and the achievement of youth-specific developmental milestones. Data were collected on three occasions within a year and modelled using a Cross-Lagged Panel Model approach. The levels of personality dysfunction, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement were found to fluctuate from one wave to the other. Personality dysfunction and general psychopathology were positively interrelated at each time point, while both constructs were negatively associated with developmental milestones achievement. Importantly, difficulties achieving developmental milestones predicted a worsening in personality functioning 6 months later. This result would suggest that the achievement of developmental milestones precedes personality functioning, supporting the importance of interventions promoting age-adequate functioning in youth.

Narrative identity characteristics and personality pathology: An exploration of associations from a dimensional and categorical perspective in a clinical sample of youth.

Narrative identity, as an integral element of personality, has gained increased attention for understanding personality pathology. In this study, associations between narrative identity characteristics (i.e., event valence, theme, contextual coherence, thematic coherence, self-event connection valence, agency, and communion) and personality pathology were examined. Personality pathology was conceptualized as (a) levels of personality (dys)functioning and maladaptive personality traits, (b) six trait facet profiles, and (c) categorical DSM-5 (fifth edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) diagnoses. Data of 242 youth (Mage = 18.79; SDage = 2.65) were collected as part of a longitudinal study on personality development. Narratives were assessed with turning point interviews, and trait and functioning levels with self-report questionnaires. The narrative identity characteristics of a negative valence, a negative self-event connection valence, low agency, and low communion were associated with higher levels of personality dysfunctioning, negative affectivity, detachment, and psychoticism. These characteristics were also associated with the borderline, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and schizotypal trait facet profiles. No associations were found when considering personality pathology from a categorical perspective. Findings may inspire researchers and clinicians to give personal stories a more central role in their work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A DAE perspective on the interface between adaptive and maladaptive personality development: A conceptual replication.

This study aimed to examine Dispositional, Adaptational, and Environmental (DAE) variables at the intersection of adaptive and maladaptive personality development as a conceptual replication of the DAE-model (Asendorpf & Motti-Stefanidi, European Journal of Personality, 32(3), 167-185, 2018). In a community sample of adolescents (N = 463; Mage = 13.6 years; 51% female) hypotheses-driven cross-lagged panel models were tested. Longitudinal associations between Dispositional (i.e., neuroticism, disagreeableness and unconscientiousness), Adaptational (i.e., social problems), and Environmental (i.e., perceived quality of the parent-child relationship) variables were investigated. The results partially support the DAE hypotheses. High levels of neuroticism, disagreeableness and social problems were found to predict the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship. In turn, the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship was found to predict levels of unconscientiousness and social problems. No mediation effects were found and, in contrast to DAE hypotheses, results did not indicate bidirectional influences between dispositions and adaptations. The results shed light on differential person-environment interactions that shape personality development and the importance of the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship. These findings provide insight in pathways of personality development, that may lead to personality pathology, and demonstrate the value of the DAE model as a structured guideline that provides testable hypotheses.

Understanding personality pathology in a clinical sample of youth: study protocol for the longitudinal research project 'APOLO'.

INTRODUCTION: We propose that a dimensional, multilayered perspective is well suited to study maladaptive personality development in youth. Such a perspective can help understand pathways to personality pathology and contribute to its early detection. The research project 'APOLO' (a Dutch language acronym for Adolescents and their Personality Development: a Longitudinal Study) is designed based on McAdams' integrative three-layered model of personality development and assesses the interaction between dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, the narrative identity and functioning. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: APOLO is a longitudinal research project that takes place in two outpatient mental healthcare centres. Participants are youth between 12 years and 23 years and their parents. Data collection is set up to build a data set for scientific research, as well as to use the data for diagnostic assessment and systematic treatment evaluation of individual patients. Measurements are conducted half-yearly for a period of 3 years and consist of self-report and informant-report questionnaires and a semistructured interview. The included constructs fit the dimensional model of personality development: maladaptive personality traits (dispositional traits), social relations, stressful life events (characteristic adaptations), a turning point (narrative identity) and functioning (eg, achievement of youth specific milestones). Primary research questions will be analysed using structural equation modelling. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results will contribute to our understanding of (the development of) personality pathology as a complex phenomenon in which both structural personality characteristics as well as unique individual adaptations and experiences play a role. Furthermore, results will give directions for early detection and timely interventions. This study has been approved by the ethical review committee of the Utrecht University Faculty for Social and Behavioural Sciences (FETC17-092). Data distribution will be anonymous and results will be disseminated via communication canals appropriate for diverse audiences. This includes both clinical and scientific conferences, papers published in national and international peer-reviewed journals and (social) media platforms.

The relation between self-event connections and personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE: One way in which individuals construct their narrative identity is by making self-event connections, which are often linked to better functioning. Being unable to make connections is related to identity discontinuity and psychopathology. Work in the general population corroborates this association, but also highlights the importance of focusing on specific aspects of these connections and on vulnerable populations. METHOD: We examined the association of self-event connections with personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology (cross-sectional N = 228, Mage = 19.5, longitudinal N = 84), and the role of event and connection valence in the subsample of youth who made a connection (n = 188 and n = 68). Negative affectivity was controlled for in all models. RESULTS: We found no evidence that self-event connections, nor connection valence and its interaction with event valence, are related to functioning. Positive event valence was associated with better functioning. Higher negative affectivity was strongly linked to lower functioning and explained the relation between event valence and functioning. No longitudinal associations emerged. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that for youth with severe psychopathology making self-event connections may not be associated with better functioning. Moreover, negative affectivity may be a distal predictor of both event valence and functioning.

Correlates between Five-Factor Model traits and the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines dimensions in an adolescent clinical sample.

OBJECTIVE: Extensive evidence supports the association between Five-Factor Model (FFM) traits involving high neuroticism, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness and borderline personality disorder (BPD) characteristics, particularly among adults in community samples. However, studies supporting this link in adolescent samples are relatively limited, and few studies have examined the links between FFM traits and specific dimensions of BPD, such as those distinguished by the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R). In this study, we examined associations between FFM traits and BPD characteristics in a group of clinical and non-clinical adolescents. METHOD: We evaluated the correlations between the FFM personality traits, as measured by the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory and BPD characteristics as measured by the DIB-R in a sample of adolescents (N = 162). RESULTS: Consistent with previous research, BPD dimensions were highly associated with high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low agreeableness and to a somewhat lesser extent with low extraversion. Specificity of associations between FFM traits and DIB-R section scores was limited, in part because of strong intercorrelations among DIB-R scores. DISCUSSION: These results imply that evidence about trait-BPD associations in adult samples generalizes well to adolescents. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Trajectories of change in symptom distress in a clinical group of late adolescents: The role of maladaptive personality traits and relations with parents.

In this study, it was analysed whether trajectories of change in symptom distress could be identified in a clinical group of late adolescents with personality pathology. Furthermore, it was examined whether maladaptive personality traits and relations with parents were predictive of following one of these trajectories. Three latent classes emerged from growth mixture modelling with a symptom inventory (n = 911): a Stable High, a Strong Decreasing and a Moderate Decreasing trajectory. Subsequently, by using multinomial logistic regression analyses in a subsample of late-adolescents (n = 127), it was revealed that high levels of Negative Affectivity and Detachment were predictive of following the Strong Decreasing, and high levels of Detachment were predictive of following the Stable High trajectory. Support from or Negative Interactions with parents were not predictive of any of the trajectories. The current results contribute to the notion of individual trajectories of change in symptom distress and provide suggestions for screening patients on personality traits to gain insight in the course of this change. © 2018 The Authors Personality and Mental Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.