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15a - Categories, Constructs, and the Assessment of Personality Pathology: Commentary on Categorical Assessment of Personality Disorders

from Part IV - Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2020

By
Robert F. Bornstein
Edited by
Carl W. Lejuez  and
Kim L. Gratz
Carl W. Lejuez
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Kim L. Gratz
Affiliation:
University of Toledo, Ohio
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Summary

Flory (this volume) provides a compelling review of evidence bearing on the reliability and validity of diagnostic interviews for personality disorders (PDs). This commentary discusses several issues central to this topic, among the most important of which are: (1) the importance of distinguishing PD categories and constructs from the measures used to quantify them; and (2) the need to separate critiques of overarching conceptual frameworks (e.g., the dimensional perspective on personality) from criticisms of narrower assessment rubrics (e.g., the Five-Factor Model). Given the introspective limitations inherent in human information processing—limitations which are magnified in many forms of personality pathology—rigorous validation of PD assessment tools requires that researchers complement self-report outcome measures with behavioral and performance-based indices of personality dysfunction. To illuminate causal relationships among different features of personality pathology researchers must use experimental methods to alter PD-related psychological processes and assess the impact of these manipulations on affect, cognition, and behavior.

Keywords

personality disorderdiagnosisassessmentconstruct validitycategoricaldimensional
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Disorders , pp. 365 - 368
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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