Development and Validation of the Faceted Inventory of the Five-Factor Model (FI-FFM)

The Prospective Predictive Power of Parent-Reported Personality Traits and Facets in First-Onset Depression in Adolescent Girls

Certain personality traits and facets are well-known risk factors that predict first-onset depression during adolescence. However, prior research predominantly relied on self-reported data, which has limitations as a source of personality information. Reports from close informants have the potential to increase the predictive power of personality on first-onsets of depression in adolescents. With easy access to adolescents' behaviors across settings and time, parents may provide important additional information about their children's personality. The same personality trait(s) and facet(s) rated by selves (mean age 14.4 years old) and biological parents at baseline were used to prospectively predict depression onsets among 442 adolescent girls during a 72-month follow-up. First, bivariate logistic regression was used to examine whether parent-reported personality measures predicted adolescent girls' depression onsets; then multivariate logistic regression was used to test whether parent reports provided additional predictive power above and beyond self-reports of same trait or facet. Parent-reported personality traits and facets predicted adolescents' depression onsets, similar to findings using self-reported data. After controlling for the corresponding self-report measures, parent-reported higher openness (at the trait level) and higher depressivity (at the facet-level) incrementally predicted first-onset of depression in the sample. Findings demonstrated additional variance contributed by parent-reported personality measures and validated a multi-informant approach in using personality to prospectively predict onsets of depression in adolescent girls.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) in Iranian School-Attending Adolescents: A Multi-Informant Validation Study of the PSCD Parent- and Youth Self-Report Versions

The Proposed Specifier for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) was developed to measure the broad psychopathy construct with grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder subscales. This study tested the psychometric properties of Persian parent-and-child self-report PSCD versions with 974 parents (86% mothers) and children/adolescents (46.5% boys) dyads. Results showed that with some modifications the proposed hierarchical four-factor structure for both PSCDs was confirmed and was found to be invariant across gender. Across versions, all PSCD scores were internally consistent and demonstrated expected correlations with parent-reported externalizing problems, anxiety/depression, and poor school performance, supporting the PSCDs scores' validity. This study also is the first to examine and establish acceptable to excellent parent-child agreement of PSCD scores. Finally, all PSCD child-report scores offered small though significant incremental validity over their corresponding PSCD parent-version scores in predicting parent-reported conduct problems and proactive aggression. Findings indicated that both Persian PSCDs may hold promise for assessing psychopathy components in Iranian school-attending adolescents and generating additional research on this topic.

Structure of Pathological Personality Traits Through the Lens of the CAT-PD Model

Personality pathology is increasingly conceptualized within hierarchical, dimensional trait models. The Comprehensive Assessment of Traits Relevant to Personality Disorders (CAT-PD) is a pathological-trait measure with potential to improve on currently prevailing instruments because it has wider content coverage; however, its domain-level structure, which is of scientific and clinical interest, is not established. In this study, we investigated the structure and construct validity of the CAT-PD's domain level to facilitate wider use of the measure. We estimated five- and six-factor models with exploratory factor analysis in a pooled sample of eight independent subsamples (N = 3,987) and found that both models fit the data well; each had interpretable factors that were invariant across gender, sample type, and Black/White racial groups; and the factors had good convergent validity with other measures of maladaptive traits, Big Five personality, and interpersonal problems. Our results support the validity of the CAT-PD for assessing multiple levels of the pathological trait hierarchy.

The Placement of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Within a Five-Factor Model of Maladaptive Personality

Dimensional models of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, as seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are instrumental in explaining the heterogeneity observed in this condition and for informing cutting-edge assessments. Prior structural work in this area finds that OC symptoms cross-load under both Negative Affectivity and Psychoticism traits within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD). However, tests of OC symptoms in conjunction with assessments of the full AMPD structure and its 25 lower-level facets representing narrower symptom content are lacking. We applied joint exploratory factor analysis to an AMPD measure (Personality Inventory for DSM-5; PID-5) and OC symptom data from two separate samples (total N = 1,506) to locate OC symptoms within AMPD space. OC symptoms cross-loaded on Negative Affectivity, Psychoticism, and on the low end of Disinhibition. We also report exploratory analyses of OC symptom subscales with PID-5 variables. Results are discussed in the context OC symptoms' location in PID-5 space, implications for assessment, and placement of OCD within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology.

How can the DSM-5 alternative model of personality disorders advance understanding of depression?

BACKGROUND

The DSM-5 introduced an alternative model of personality disorder (AMPD) that includes personality dysfunction plus maladaptive-range traits. This study clarifies relations of depression diagnoses and symptoms with AMPD personality pathology.

METHOD

Two samples (Ns 402 and 601) of outpatients and community-dwelling adults completed four depression (criteria met for major depressive disorder and dysthymia; dysphoria and low well-being scales), ten trait (two scales for each of five domains-negative affectivity, detachment, disinhibition, antagonism, psychoticism), and eight dysfunction (four scales for each of two domains-self- and interpersonal pathology) measures. Diagnoses were made using a semi-structured interview; other measures were self-reports. We quantified cross-sectional relations between depression and personality pathology with correlation and multiple regression analyses.

RESULTS

Collectively (median R²; ps < 0.0001), the trait (0.46) and dysfunction (0.50) scales predicted the depression measures strongly, with most predictive power shared (0.41) between traits and dysfunction. However, trait and dysfunction scales altogether predicted depression (median R² = 0.54) more strongly than either domain alone, ps < 0.0001. Participants with depression diagnoses showed elevations on all nonadaptive trait and personality dysfunction measures, particularly negative temperament/affectivity and self-pathology measures.

LIMITATIONS

Generalization of findings to other populations (e.g., adolescents), settings (e.g., primary care), and measures (e.g., traditional personality disorder diagnoses) is uncertain. Cross-sectional analyses did not test changes over time or establish causality.

CONCLUSIONS

The AMPD is highly relevant to depression. Assessment of personality pathology, including both personality dysfunction and maladaptive-range traits, stands to advance understanding of depression in adults.

Evaluating an Abbreviated Version of the Circumplex Team Scan Inventory of Within-Team Interpersonal Norms

Abstract. The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) assesses the degree to which a team’s interaction/communication norms reflect each segment (16th) of the interpersonal circle/circumplex. We developed and evaluated an abbreviated 16-item CTS-16 that uses one CTS item to measure each segment. Undergraduates ( n = 446) completing engineering course projects in 139 teams completed the CTS-16. CTS-16 items showed a good fit to confirmatory structural models (e.g., that expect greater positive covariation between items theoretically closer to the circumplex). Individuals’ ratings sufficiently reflected team-level norms to justify averaging team members’ ratings. However, individual items’ marginal reliabilities suggest using the CTS-16 to assess general circumplex-wide patterns rather than specific segments. CTS-16 ratings correlated with respondents’ and their teammates’ ratings of team climate (inclusion, justice, psychological safety). Teams with more extraverted (introverted) members were perceived as having more confident/engaged (timid/hesitant) cultures. Members predisposed to social alienation perceived their team’s culture as relatively disrespectful/unengaged, but their teammates did not corroborate those perceptions. The results overall support the validity and utility of the CTS-16 and of an interpersonal circumplex model of team culture more generally.

Classification and assessment of fear and anxiety in personality and psychopathology

We examine fear and anxiety in the context of structural models of personality (the five-factor model, or FFM) and psychopathology (the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, or HiTOP); we also highlight important issues related to their assessment. Anxiety is a sustained, future-oriented response to potential threat. Trait measures of anxiety represent a core facet within the broader domain of neuroticism in the FFM. Anxiety-related symptoms are indicators of the distress subfactor within the internalizing spectrum in HiTOP. In contrast, fear is a brief, present-focused response to an acute threat. We distinguish between two ways of assessing individual differences in fear. The first type assesses phobic responses to specific stimuli. Phobia measures are moderately correlated with measures of neuroticism in the FFM and define the fear subfactor of internalizing in HiTOP. The second type assesses individual differences in harm avoidance versus risk taking. Measures of risk taking (i.e., low fear) are moderately related to disinhibition/low conscientiousness and antagonism/low agreeableness in the FFM and are indicators of the externalizing superspectrum in HiTOP.

Experimental Manipulation of the BFI-2, IPIP-NEO-120, and the IPC-5

Research assessing the relationship of the five-factor model (FFM) to personality disorder symptomatology has generally been confirmatory, with three exceptions. The exceptions have been failures to confirm associations of conscientiousness with the obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, agreeableness with dependent, and openness with schizotypal. Haigler and Widiger demonstrated empirically years ago that this was occurring because the predominant FFM measure at that time, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, does not include a sufficient representation of maladaptive variants of the respective FFM personality trait domains. Research since their study has continued to fail to confirm the FFM hypotheses, using other measures of the FFM. The current study extended the work of Haigler and Widiger by considering three additional FFM measures, the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2), the International Item Pool-NEO-120 (IPIP-NEO-120), and the Inventory of Personal Characteristics-5 (IPC-5). Data were obtained from a community sample of adults with experience of mental health treatment. The results confirmed an improvement in the FFM-personality disorder relationships when the experimentally manipulated versions of the BFI-2, IPIP-NEO-120, and IPC-5 were used. The implications of the findings for existing and future FFM-personality disorder research are discussed.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) Scale: Factor Structure and Validation of the Self-Report Version in a Forensic Sample of Belgian Youth

This is the first study to test the psychometric properties of the self-report version of the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) in detained youth. The PSCD is a measure of the broad psychopathy construct, with grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) components. Participants (227 males) completed the PSCD along with other measures, including a diagnostic interview to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) CD. Results support the PSCD's proposed hierarchical four-factor structure. Correlations with an alternate measure of psychopathy and symptoms of CD support the convergent validity of PSCD scores. PSCD scores showed positive associations with criterion variables of emotional and regulatory functioning, aggression, substance use, and school problems. Finally, PSCD scores were unrelated to anxiety and depression, supporting the PSCD's discriminant validity. Findings indicate that the PSCD is a promising measure for assessing psychopathic traits in detained male adolescents, though its incremental validity is in need of further scrutiny.

Profiling Hoarding Within the Five-Factor Model of Personality and Self-Determination Theory

This study investigated the dispositional profile associated with hoarding symptoms by applying a personality and motivational trait perspective. A community sample oversampling high hoarding symptoms (N = 649, ages 18-74 years) completed an online questionnaire assessing hoarding, the five-factor model of personality, and general causality orientations drawn from self-determination theory. Personality aspects (10 traits), a level of measurement intermediate to factors (5 traits) and facets (30 traits), were assessed to provide greater specificity than a factor-level approach. Hoarding was correlated with neuroticism and conscientiousness. Aspects predicting hoarding were industriousness (C), orderliness (C), withdrawal (N), and assertiveness (E). Hoarding was significantly related to impersonal and control orientations, albeit with only slight (1.4%) incremental validity for general causality orientations above personality aspects in predicting hoarding. These findings may not generalize to a clinical treatment sample, and possible configurative interactions between traits were not assessed. This study extended the existing literature by reporting aspect-level personality and general causality orientation correlates of hoarding. These data may inform preventative monitoring and intervention programs, as well as predicting meaningful personality characteristics of hoarding clients.

The Predictive Validity of Consensual and Unique Facets of Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness in Five Personality Inventories

Consensual facet structures help to unify a highly fractured personality literature, but mask information obtained from unique personality facets assessed by individual personality inventories. The current study identifies the consensual and unique facets of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness based on analyses of five widely used personality inventories (Disinhibition Inventory-I [DIS-I], Faceted Inventory for the Five-Factor model [FI-FFM], HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised [HEXACO-PI-R], NEO Personality Inventory-3 [NEO-PI-3], and Temperament and Affectivity Inventory [TAI]) in a community sample (N = 440). Factor analyses revealed that neuroticism consisted of three consensual facets (distress/depression, anger, and sentimental anxiety) and four unique facets (shyness, regret/self-doubt, lassitude, and distractibility); conscientiousness consisted solely of four consensual facets (achievement striving, order, attentiveness, and responsibility); and agreeableness consisted solely of four consensual facets (prosociality, anger, venturesomeness, and trust). Regression analyses indicated that unique neuroticism facets predicted significant incremental variance across a range of psychological disorders. These results have significant implications for how neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness should be modeled at the lower order level in psychopathology research.

Validation of a Spanish Translation of the Faceted Inventory of the Five-Factor Model in Two Mexican University Student Samples

The validity, and thus utility, of psychological instruments requires continued evaluation of their underlying psychometric properties across contexts. Measurement tools have been developed over the past few decades to assess personality constructs developed through various theoretical frameworks. The Big Five has been a particular focus of such inquiry; however, few studies have validated a Spanish version for use in Mexico. Using two separate Mexican college student samples (Sample 1: n = 289, Sample 2: n = 309) we tested factorial structure, reliability, and validity of a Spanish translation of the Faceted Inventory of the Five-Factor Model (FI-FFM; Watson, Nus, & Wu). An exploratory factor analysis showed a similar structure to the original FI-FFM, albeit with some exceptions primarily within the Extraversion and Agreeableness domains. Furthermore, the FI-FFM scales were internally consistent and highly stable over time (average interval = 5 months). Finally, the scales showed strong convergent and discriminant validity and the facet scales displayed validity in predicting outcomes.

Validity and utility of Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): III. Emotional dysfunction superspectrum

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a quantitative nosological system that addresses shortcomings of traditional mental disorder diagnoses, including arbitrary boundaries between psychopathology and normality, frequent disorder co-occurrence, substantial heterogeneity within disorders, and diagnostic unreliability over time and across clinicians. This paper reviews evidence on the validity and utility of the internalizing and somatoform spectra of HiTOP, which together provide support for an emotional dysfunction superspectrum. These spectra are composed of homogeneous symptom and maladaptive trait dimensions currently subsumed within multiple diagnostic classes, including depressive, anxiety, trauma-related, eating, bipolar, and somatic symptom disorders, as well as sexual dysfunction and aspects of personality disorders. Dimensions falling within the emotional dysfunction superspectrum are broadly linked to individual differences in negative affect/neuroticism. Extensive evidence establishes that dimensions falling within the superspectrum share genetic diatheses, environmental risk factors, cognitive and affective difficulties, neural substrates and biomarkers, childhood temperamental antecedents, and treatment response. The structure of these validators mirrors the quantitative structure of the superspectrum, with some correlates more specific to internalizing or somatoform conditions, and others common to both, thereby underlining the hierarchical structure of the domain. Compared to traditional diagnoses, the internalizing and somatoform spectra demonstrated substantially improved utility: greater reliability, larger explanatory and predictive power, and greater clinical applicability. Validated measures are currently available to implement the HiTOP system in practice, which can make diagnostic classification more useful, both in research and in the clinic.

The Role of Personality in the Mental and Physical Health of World Trade Center Responders: Self- versus Informant-Reports

Personality is linked to important health outcomes, but most prior studies have relied on self-reports, making it possible that shared-method variance explains the associations. The present study examined self- versus informant-reports of personality and multi-method outcomes. World Trade Center (WTC) responders and informants, 283 pairs, completed five-factor model personality measures and multi-method assessments of stressful events, functioning, mental disorders, 9/11-related treatment costs, BMI, and daily activity across three years. Self-reports were uniquely related to stressful events and functioning. Both self-reports and informant-reports showed incremental validity over one another for mental disorder diagnoses and treatment costs. For objective outcomes daily activity and BMI, informant-reports showed incremental validity over self-reports, accounting for all self-report variance and more. The findings suggest that informant-reports of personality provide better validity for objective health outcomes, which has implications for understanding personality and its role in mental and physical health.

Artificial intelligence language predictors of two-year trauma-related outcomes

BACKGROUND

Recent research on artificial intelligence has demonstrated that natural language can be used to provide valid indicators of psychopathology. The present study examined artificial intelligence-based language predictors (ALPs) of seven trauma-related mental and physical health outcomes in responders to the World Trade Center disaster.

METHODS

The responders (N = 174, M_age = 55.4 years) provided daily voicemail updates over 14 days. Algorithms developed using machine learning in large social media discovery samples were applied to the voicemail transcriptions to derive ALP scores for several risk factors (depressivity, anxiousness, anger proneness, stress, and personality). Responders also completed self-report assessments of these risk factors at baseline and trauma-related mental and physical health outcomes at two-year follow-up (including symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, sleep disturbance, respiratory problems, and GERD).

RESULTS

Voicemail ALPs were significantly associated with a majority of the trauma-related outcomes at two-year follow-up, over and above corresponding baseline self-reports. ALPs showed significant convergence with corresponding self-report scales, but also considerable uniqueness from each other and from self-report scales.

LIMITATIONS

The study has a relatively short follow-up period relative to trauma occurrence and a limited sample size.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows evidence that ALPs may provide a novel, objective, and clinically useful approach to forecasting, and may in the future help to identify individuals at risk for negative health outcomes.

Assessing the Nomological Network of the South African Personality Inventory With Psychological Traits

The purpose of this study was to expand internal construct validity and equivalence research of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI), as well as to investigate the nomological validity of the SAPI by examining its relationship with specific and relevant psychological outcomes. The internal and external validity of the SAPI was assessed within three separate samples (N = 936). Using the combined data from all three samples, Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) indicated that the six-factor SAPI model fit proved to be excellent. Measurement invariance analyses showed that the SAPI dimensions in the ESEM model were invariant across gender and race groups. Next, two separate studies explored the associations of the SAPI factors with relevant psychological outcomes. An ESEM-within-CFA (set ESEM) method was used to add the factors into a new input file to correlate them with variables that were not part of the initial ESEM model. Both models generated excellent fit. In Study 1, psychological well-being and cultural intelligence were correlated with the SAPI factors within a sample of students and working adults. All of the psychological well-being dimensions significantly correlated with the SAPI factors, while for cultural intelligence, the highest correlations were between Meta-cognition and Openness and Meta-cognition and Positive Social-Relational Disposition. In Study 2, work locus of control and trait anxiety was correlated with the SAPI factors within a sample of adults from the general South African workforce. Work Locus of Control correlated with most factors of the SAPI, but more prominently with Positive Social-Relational Disposition, while Neuroticism correlated strongly with trait anxiety. Finding an appropriate internal structure that measures personality without bias in a culturally diverse context is difficult. This study provided strong evidence that the SAPI meets the demanding requirements of personality measurement in this context and generated promising results to support the relevance of the SAPI factors.

The clinical characterization of the adult patient with an anxiety or related disorder aimed at personalization of management

The clinical construct of "anxiety neurosis" was broad and poorly defined, so that the delineation of specific anxiety disorders in the DSM-III was an important advance. However, anxiety and related disorders are not only frequently comorbid, but each is also quite heterogeneous; thus diagnostic manuals provide only a first step towards formulating a management plan, and the development of additional decision support tools for the treatment of anxiety conditions is needed. This paper aims to describe systematically important domains that are relevant to the personalization of management of anxiety and related disorders in adults. For each domain, we summarize the available research evidence and review the relevant assessment instruments, paying special attention to their suitability for use in routine clinical practice. We emphasize areas where the available evidence allows the clinician to personalize the management of anxiety conditions, and we point out key unmet needs. Overall, the evidence suggests that we are becoming able to move from simply recommending that anxiety and related disorders be treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or their combination, to a more complex approach which emphasizes that the clinician has a broadening array of management modalities available, and that the treatment of anxiety and related disorders can already be personalized in a number of important respects.

Positive University Environment and Agreeableness as Protective Factors Against Antisocial Behavior in Mexican University Students

Violence in schools is a global issue. Approximately 32% of Mexican students have experienced some form of violence in the school setting in their lives. Previous research has tended to focus on the causes of violence and antisocial behaviors in offenders or adolescent samples and has found evidence to suggest the underlying role of environmental and personal factors. The present study investigates the effect of positive school environment and agreeableness as protective factors against antisocial behaviors in a sample of undergraduate and graduate students (n = 304) from northwestern Mexico. Our results demonstrate that a positive school environment has a negative effect on antisocial behaviors via mood and anxiety disorders as well as in interaction with agreeableness, suggesting an interplay between personality and environment. These findings can provide some basis for the development of university programs aimed at fostering positive environments that promote student mental health and protect against antisocial behaviors.

The association between facets of conscientiousness and performance-based and informant-rated cognition, affect, and activities in older adults

OBJECTIVE

To identify facets of conscientiousness associated with objective cognitive performance, informant-rated cognitive decline, and informant-rated affect and activities implicated in cognitive health.

METHOD

Health and Retirement Study participants (N = 2,516) reported on their personality, completed a comprehensive cognitive assessment, and had knowledgeable informants report on their cognition, affect, and activities.

RESULTS

Industriousness and responsibility were associated with better cognitive performance; order was associated with less informant-rated cognitive decline. The facets were also associated with more positive affect, less negative affect, greater engagement in cognitive activities and activities outside the house, and less engagement in passive activities, as rated by a knowledgeable informant. Informant-rated engagement in cognitive activities mediated the association between self-reported responsibility and objective cognitive performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Tendencies toward achievement and accountability were associated with healthier cognitive performance and daily profiles that support cognitive health, whereas organization was associated with cognition as reported by a knowledgeable informant. The differential pattern of correlates is informative for the theoretical processes that link distinct facets of conscientiousness to healthier cognitive aging.

Associations between Facets and Aspects of Big Five Personality and Affective Disorders:A Systematic Review and Best Evidence Synthesis

BACKGROUND

Big Five personality traits correlate with affective disorders, with neuroticism considered a risk factor, and conscientiousness and extroversion considered protective factors. However, the relationships between affective disorders and lower-order personality facets and aspects are less clear.

METHOD

A systematic review was carried out to identify studies measuring associations between lower-order personality constructs and affective disorders. Big Five facets were measured using the NEO-PI-R, and aspects using the BFAS. PsycINFO, EMBASE, MedLine and OpenGrey were searched from January 1^st, 1985 to June 30^th, 2020. Fifteen studies met criteria and reported a total of 408 associations. Data were analysed using best evidence synthesis.

RESULTS

Most facets of neuroticism were positively associated with affective disorders. Positive emotion in extroversion, and competence and self-discipline in conscientiousness, were negatively associated with affective disorders. Trust in agreeableness, and actions in openness, were negatively associated with anxiety disorders, whereas fantasy in openness was positively associated with anxiety disorders. At the aspect level, withdrawal in neuroticism was positively associated with MDD, whereas industriousness in conscientiousness was negatively associated with MDD.

LIMITATIONS

Due to the use the heterogenous measures between studies, a meta-analysis could not be performed. Only Big Five personality constructs were investigated, limited to BFAS personality aspects, and NEO-PI-R personality facets.

CONCLUSIONS

Neuroticism, positive emotion, competence and self-discipline correlate with various anxiety and depressive disorders. These facets may be endophenotypes for affective disorders in general. Future research is needed to investigate mediating pathways between personality facets and affective disorders.

Linking Big Five Personality Domains and Facets to Alcohol (Mis)Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

AIMS

The goal of this investigation was to synthesize (un)published studies linking Big Five personality domains and facets to a range of alcohol use outcomes. Meta-analyses were conducted to quantify the unique associations between alcohol use outcomes and each Big Five personality domains over and above other domains. Within each domain, meta-analyses also were conducted to examine the unique contribution of each personality facet in predicting alcohol use outcomes.

METHODS

Systematic literature reviews were performed in PsycINFO and PubMed using keywords related to alcohol use and personality. Peer-reviewed and unpublished studies were screened and coded for the meta-analyses. A total of 80 independent samples were subjected to correlated effects meta-regressions.

RESULTS

Over and above other Big Five personality domains, both conscientiousness and agreeableness were negatively correlated with alcohol consumption, risky/hazardous drinking and negative drinking-related consequences. Facet-level analyses indicated that deliberation and dutifulness were uniquely associated with alcohol (mis)use over and above other conscientiousness facets, and compliance and straightforwardness were uniquely associated with alcohol (mis)use over and above other agreeableness facets. Extraversion-namely excitement seeking-was correlated with alcohol consumption, whereas neuroticism-namely impulsiveness and angry hostility-was correlated with negative drinking-related consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

Personality characteristics are robust correlates of alcohol (mis)use. Examining relevant narrowband traits can inform mechanisms by which personality affects drinking behaviors and related problems, and ways to enhance clinical interventions for alcohol use disorder. Gaps in this literature and future research directions are discussed.

Normative and Maladaptive Personality Traits and Self-Reported Executive Functioning

Research on self-reported executive functioning (EF) and personality has largely focused on normative personality traits. While previous research has demonstrated that maladaptive personality traits are associated with performance-based EF, the literature examining the relationship between these traits and self-reported EF is limited. The current study examined the relationship between multiple domains of self-reported EF (Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale) and both normative (The International Personality Item Pool-NEO-120 Item [IPIP-120]) and maladaptive (Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Short Form [PID-5-SF]) personality traits in an undergraduate student sample (n = 354). Similar to past research, relationships were largest across EF domains for both measures related to neuroticism (i.e., IPIP-120 neuroticism and PID-5-SF negative affectivity) and conscientiousness (i.e., IPIP-120 conscientiousness and PID-5-SF disinhibition). Normative personality traits generally accounted for greater variance in EF when examined alone and were also generally associated with greater incremental validity when compared with maladaptive personality traits. However, multiple regression analyses indicated that maladaptive personality traits added unique predictive variance above and beyond normative personality traits in their association with multiple domains of EF. These results highlight the utility of assessing both normative and maladaptive personality traits as well as multiple domains of EF to more fully understand the relationship between personality and EF.

Exploring the utility of RDoC in differentiating effectiveness amongst antidepressants: A systematic review using proposed psychometrics as the unit of analysis for the Negative Valence Systems domain

Background

RDoC conceptualises psychopathology as neurobiologically-rooted behavioural psychological “constructs” that span dimensionally from normality to pathology, but its clinical utility remains controversial.

Aim

To explore RDoC’s potential clinical utility by examining antidepressant effectiveness through Negative Valence Systems (NVS) domain constructs.

Method

A systematic review was conducted on Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO for antidepressant trials that included psychometric instruments assessed by Watson, Stanton & Clark (2017) to represent NVS constructs of Acute Threat, Potential Threat and Loss.

Results

221 citations were identified; 13 were included in qualitative synthesis, none for quantitative analysis. All suffered from significant bias risks. 9 antidepressants were investigated, most within 1 construct, and most were found to be effective. Paroxetine, citalopram and fluvoxamine were found to be effective for Acute Threat, fluoxetine, desvenlafaxine and sertraline for Potential Threat, and sertraline, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine and desvenlafaxine effective for Loss. Nefazodone was found to be ineffective for acute fear.

Conclusion

Preliminary evidence supports RDoC NVS constructs’ clinical utility in assessing antidepressant effectiveness, but lack of discriminant validity between Potential Threat and Loss supports their recombination into a single Distress construct. Finding of effectiveness within “normal” construct levels support the utility of a dimensional approach. Testable hypotheses were generated that can further test RDoC’s clinical utility.

Examining the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of Agreeableness and "dark" personality items

OBJECTIVE

A growing research literature has focused on what have been termed "dark" personality traits/constructs. More recently, the "dark factor" of personality has been proposed as a unifying framework for this research. To date, little work has rigorously investigated whether the traits/constructs investigated in the context of the dark factor can be captured by existing models of normative personality, namely Agreeableness from the Five-factor Model. Thus, the "dark factor" may be an instance of the "jangle" fallacy, where two constructs with different names are in fact the same construct.

METHOD

We used a preregistered approach that made use of bass-ackward factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and nomological network analysis to investigate the distinction between the D factor and Agreeableness.

RESULTS

Agreeableness and the D factor were similar in their coverage of antagonistic personality content, strongly negatively related (latent r = -.90), and showed near perfect profile dissimilarity (r_ICC  = -.99).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggested that the D factor can be understood as the opposite pole of Agreeableness (i.e., antagonism) and not as a distinct construct. We discuss the implications for researchers interested in continuing to advance the study of antagonistic personality traits.

Testing explanatory models of the interplay between depression, neuroticism, and stressful life events: a dynamic trait-stress generation approach

BACKGROUND

Classic conceptual frameworks explaining the relationship of personality traits to depression include the precursor and predisposition models. The former hypothesizes that depression is predicted by traits alone whereas the latter hypothesizes that stress, together with personality, predicts depression. Dynamic vulnerability models (DVM) expand on these perspectives by incorporating fluctuations in personality over time. The stress generation model provides an alternative view, positing that depression generates stress, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. However, these conceptual models are rarely directly compared.

METHOD

We tested these models, focusing on neuroticism and stressful life events that the participant may have contributed to, using path analysis in a sample of 550 never-depressed, adolescent females assessed five times over 3 years.

RESULTS

A dynamic precursor model with stress generation was best supported. For the precursor component, neuroticism predicted subsequent depression across four assessment intervals. For the dynamic trait component, stressful life events predicted subsequent neuroticism at three of four intervals. Finally, in line with stress generation, depression consistently predicted subsequent stressful life events, and life events then predicted depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Finding support for the DVM is noteworthy, as this is the first comprehensive test of this model. Moreover, results supported integrating stress generation with trait vulnerability. Continued use of integrated approaches and refining the statistical implementation of these theories is necessary to advance understanding of the development of depression.

Personality traits as an organizing framework for personality pathology

We review evidence establishing important parallels between the general structure of psychopathology, the more specific structure of personality pathology and the structure of normal-range personality. We then present data to explicate the nature of associations between the alternative model of personality disorder (AMPD)-as operationalized by the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-and the domains and facets subsumed within the five-factor model of personality. Our data demonstrate substantial links between four of the five domains within these models but also indicate that the AMPD could be realigned to enhance its convergence with the five-factor model of personality. Based on our data, we tentatively propose an expanded four-facet model of AMPD Negative Affectivity (Anxiousness, Depressivity, Hostility and Emotional Lability); an alternative bipolar scheme for Detachment that includes two positively keyed (Withdrawal and Anhedonia) and two negatively keyed (Risk Taking and Attention Seeking) facets; a broader five-facet model of Antagonism (Deceitfulness, Manipulativeness, Callousness, Grandiosity and Suspiciousness); and a reduced two-facet model of Disinhibition (Irresponsibility and Impulsivity). These alternative scores generally showed superior convergent and discriminant validity when compared with current measures of the AMPD domains but also raise other issues. Our findings highlight the strong overlap between normal and pathological personality and clarify the nature of the associations between them. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Constructing validity: New developments in creating objective measuring instruments

In this update of Clark and Watson (1995), we provide a synopsis of major points of our earlier article and discuss issues in scale construction that have become more salient as clinical and personality assessment has progressed over the past quarter-century. It remains true that the primary goal of scale development is to create valid measures of underlying constructs and that Loevinger's theoretical scheme provides a powerful model for scale development. We still discuss practical issues to help developers maximize their measures' construct validity, reiterating the importance of (a) clear conceptualization of target constructs, (b) an overinclusive initial item pool, (c) paying careful attention to item wording, (d) testing the item pool against closely related constructs, (e) choosing validation samples thoughtfully, and (f) emphasizing unidimensionality over internal consistency. We have added (g) consideration of the hierarchical structures of personality and psychopathology in scale development, discussion of (h) codeveloping scales in the context of these structures, (i) "orphan," and "interstitial" constructs, which do not fit neatly within these structures, (j) problems with "conglomerate" constructs, and (k) developing alternative versions of measures, including short forms, translations, informant versions, and age-based adaptations. Finally, we have expanded our discussions of (l) item-response theory and of external validity, emphasizing (m) convergent and discriminant validity, (n) incremental validity, and (o) cross-method analyses, such as questionnaires and interviews. We conclude by reaffirming that all mature sciences are built on the bedrock of sound measurement and that psychology must redouble its efforts to develop reliable and valid measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality Correlates of Self-Injury in Adolescent Girls: Disentangling the Effects of Lifetime Psychopathology

Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (aNSSI) is associated with abnormal scores on personality traits, such as high neuroticism. However, no studies to date have examined personality facets of self-injury in a cohort younger than college-age. Plus, adolescent psychopathologies, especially Depressive Disorders, are associated with a similar personality profile and are highly comorbid with aNSSI. Consequently, it remains unclear whether personality provides insights about aNSSI in youth beyond that due to underlying psychopathology. 550 community-dwelling 13- to 15-year-old never-depressed adolescent girls were interviewed for lifetime aNSSI and lifetime psychopathology. Personality traits, broad domains and specific facets, were assessed by self-report. Never-depressed adolescent girls who endorse aNSSI often met lifetime criteria for psychiatric disorders (NSSI: 20/43; 46.5% vs. non-aNSSI: 131/507; 26.1%). aNSSI and lifetime psychopathology were each independently associated with several traits (e.g., high neuroticism and conscientiousness), whereas some traits only discriminated aNSSI (e.g., high melancholia, a facet of neuroticism related to sadness and negative self-evaluation) or lifetime psychopathology independent of each other (e.g., low positive emotionality; low agreeableness). Furthermore, a multivariate model identified high melancholia, high openness to experience, and low conscientiousness as incrementally independent correlates of lifetime aNSSI over and above psychiatric illness. Proneness to melancholia, interest in new things, and poor self-control incrementally track aNSSI in never-depressed adolescent girls. Importantly, this emerges early in course (13-15 years of age) and is independent of lifetime psychiatric diagnosis. Implications for updating etiological models and clinical utility of personality assessment are discussed.

Dispositional negativity, cognition, and anxiety disorders: An integrative translational neuroscience framework

When extreme, anxiety can become debilitating. Anxiety disorders, which often first emerge early in development, are common and challenging to treat, yet the underlying mechanisms have only recently begun to come into focus. Here, we review new insights into the nature and biological bases of dispositional negativity, a fundamental dimension of childhood temperament and adult personality and a prominent risk factor for the development of pediatric and adult anxiety disorders. Converging lines of epidemiological, neurobiological, and mechanistic evidence suggest that dispositional negativity increases the likelihood of psychopathology via specific neurocognitive mechanisms, including attentional biases to threat and deficits in executive control. Collectively, these observations provide an integrative translational framework for understanding the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders in adults and youth and set the stage for developing improved intervention strategies.

Nomological consistency: A comprehensive test of the equivalence of different trait indicators for the same constructs

OBJECTIVE

Across all subfields of psychology, it is common practice to use different indicators of allegedly the same personality constructs, resting upon the (often implicit) assumption that the indicators measure equivalent constructs. However, there is a lack of approaches allowing for a strict and comprehensive test of the equivalence assumption. We propose investigating nomological consistency to test the equivalence assumption across inventories allegedly measuring the same set of constructs. Nomological consistency refers to the degree to which different indicators of constructs in a theoretical or structural model (such as the Big Five) show similar (non-)associations with a set of external criteria, thus testing the consistency of the nomological net spanned by different indicators.

METHOD

In a large-scale study based on a convenience sample (N = 2,846; 64.9% female), we provide an empirical demonstration of nomological consistency across three commonly used Big Five inventories by comparing the pattern of associations of the Big Five constructs across inventories with five external criteria using a multifaceted analytic approach.

RESULTS

Although results showed some level of consistency across the Big Five inventories under scrutiny, there was also a relevant extent of nomological inconsistency.

CONCLUSIONS

Testing nomological consistency allows for a more conclusive judgment on the equivalence of different indicators across inventories.

Prospective predictors of first-onset depressive disorders in adolescent females with anxiety disorders

BACKGROUND

Anxious youth are at increased risk for later depressive disorders, but not all anxious youth develop depression. Sequential comorbidity models emphasize shared risk factors and anxiety sequelae, but some anxious youth who later develop depression may have risk factors that are relatively specific to depression, in addition to a liability to anxiety. We examined several variables that appear relatively specific to risk for depression-the personality traits of low positive affectivity and high sadness, and an electrophysiological measure of blunted response to reward - in predicting first-onset depressive disorders and depressive symptoms in clinically anxious adolescent girls.

METHODS

A sample of 114 adolescents with baseline anxiety disorders completed personality and psychopathology measures, psychophysiology tasks, and diagnostic interviews. Interviews and a measure of depressive symptoms were re-administered over 27 months.

RESULTS

After controlling for baseline depressive symptoms, blunted reward sensitivity uniquely predicted first-onset depressive disorders and depressive symptoms 27 months later. Post-hoc analyses indicated that blunted reward sensitivity only predicted first-onset depressive disorders and depressive symptoms in girls with high social anxiety symptoms.

LIMITATIONS

Analyses were unable to account for concurrent anxiety symptoms and disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

The depression-specific risk factor, blunted reward sensitivity, may comprise one pathway to subsequent depressive disorders and symptoms in anxious youth and indicate which anxious youth need intervention to prevent later depression, particularly in socially anxious girls.

Links between depression and openness and its facets

Most studies on depression and personality have focused on the role of Neuroticism and Extraversion. Openness is a much less studied trait in this literature, as past studies investigating Openness and depression often have found non-significant correlations between them. However, past studies mostly have investigated Openness and depression at the domain level and used non-clinical samples. In the present study, the relationship between depression and Openness at the domain and facet levels was examined in a sample of 266 participants recruited from outpatient psychiatric settings. Findings showed that although the Openness domain was significantly related to depression, it did not account for a significant proportion of unique variance for depression. However, Openness did account for a significant proportion of unique variance for depression at the facet level, even after accounting for sex, age, Neuroticism and Extraversion. Specifically, unique effects emerged for the facets of Aesthetics positively predicting Depression and Values negatively predicting Depression and Anhedonia. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Facets of conscientiousness and objective markers of health status

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between six facets of conscientiousness (self-control, order, industriousness, traditionalism, virtue, responsibility) and objective markers of health status, including adiposity, blood markers and physical performance.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of participants from the health and retirement study (N = 12,188).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Adiposity (body mass index, waist circumference), blood markers (A1c, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, cystatin c, c-reactive protein) and physical performance (lung function, grip strength, walking speed).

RESULTS

Four of the six facets of conscientiousness were associated with nearly all of the health markers: Self-control, organisation, industriousness and responsibility were related to lower adiposity, healthier metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory markers, and better performance on physical assessments. Traditionalism and virtue had fewer associations with these objective markers.

CONCLUSION

This research took a facet-level approach to the association between conscientiousness and objective markers of health status. This research builds on models of conscientiousness and health to suggest that, in addition to health-risk behaviours, facets of conscientiousness are associated with more favourable biomedical markers of health status.