Adaptive and maladaptive personality traits in high-risk gamblers

Investigating Differences in Personality Traits, Self-Esteem, Eating Attitudes, and Body Image among Participants in Indoor and Outdoor Fitness Activities

Physical activity environments influence physical condition, nutrition, individual and social behaviors, and emotional well-being. The aim of the study was to investigate differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, personality traits, and body image among participants in indoor and outdoor leisure-time fitness programs. Participants included 1747 adults (882 men and 865 women) aged 34 ± 9.2 years, divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed the Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-26), the Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Traits Personality Questionnaire 5 (TPQue5), and the Appearance Scales of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ-AS). The results revealed statistically significant differences between groups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed noteworthy variations in personality trait scores between the groups (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) as well as body image factors (self-esteem and eating attitudes). Two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between gender and participation in different types of exercise. Females had lower self-esteem and body area satisfaction scores but higher eating disorder proneness, neuroticism, appearance evaluation, and overweight preoccupation scores than males. These findings add to the current literature focusing on the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms associated with physical activity and exercise environments. The findings provide an effective supplement to promote public health-focused fitness programs and leisure-time physical activity motivation strategies.

Gender and maladaptive personality correlates in problem gambling and over-indebtedness: Novel findings from a cross-sectional study in Sweden

Although most individuals consider gambling to be an innocent and fun activity, when it develops into problem gambling, it can have detrimental outcomes to one's life, such as over-indebtedness. This cross-sectional study explores the role of maladaptive personality traits and gender in both problem gambling and over-indebtedness, in an online sample of 1479 adult gamblers (65% males) in Sweden. Participants were administered the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), and questions addressing subjective over-indebtedness and other risk factors. Quasi-Poisson loglinear models and logistic regression analyses demonstrated that Disinhibition (OR = 1.38, 95% CI [1.24, 1.53]), and Antagonism (OR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.14, 1.34]) showed the strongest associations to problem gambling, and that only Disinhibition (OR = 1.72, 95% CI [1.22, 1.43]) and Antagonism (OR = 2.00, 95% CI [1.52, 2.66]) were significantly related to over-indebtedness. The prevalence of problem gambling and over-indebtedness was more common among women, and gender moderated the univariate relationships of Negative Affectivity, Disinhibition and Psychoticism to problem gambling. These findings call for future research addressing maladaptive personality traits, problem gambling and over-indebtedness, and highlight the need for tailored interventions and prevention strategies, particularly for women who may be at higher risk.

The Association between the Five-factor Model of Personality and Problem Gambling: a Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined the associations between five-factor personality model traits and problem gambling. To be eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis, studies had to provide effect size data that quantified the magnitude of the association between all five personality traits and problem gambling. Studies also had to use psychometrically sound measures. The meta-analysis included 20 separate samples from 19 studies and 32,222 total participants. The results showed that problem gambling was significantly correlated with the five-factor model of personality. The strongest personality correlate of problem gambling was neuroticism r = .31, p = < 0.001, 95% CI [0.17, 0.44], followed by conscientiousness r = - .28, p = < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.38,-0.17] ), agreeableness r = - .22, p = < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.34, - 0.10], openness r = - .17, p = < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.22,-0.12], and extraversion r = - .11, p = .024, 95% CI [-0.20,-0.01]. These results suggest problem gamblers tend to share a common personality profile - one that could provide clues as to the most effective ways to prevent and to treat problem gambling.

Perfectionism predicts disordered eating and gambling via focused self-concept among those high in erroneous beliefs about their disordered behavior

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Perfectionism, a focused self-concept, and erroneous beliefs have been implicated in the development and maintenance of various disordered behaviors. However, researchers have yet to examine how these factors combine to explain different disordered behaviors. Herein, we addressed this gap and hypothesized a moderated-mediation model whereby perfectionism fosters the development of disordered behaviors through a focused self-concept. Critically, the effect of a focused self-concept on disordered behaviors is specific to people with erroneous beliefs about their disordered behaviors. The model was tested in the contexts of disordered gambling and disordered eating, particularly dietary restraint.

METHOD

In Study 1, participants were community members who gamble (N = 259). In Study 2, participants were university women (N = 219). In both studies, participants completed self-report measures of all constructs that are both reliable and valid.

RESULTS

In Study 1, as expected, there was a positive association between perfectionism and disordered gambling, which was mediated by financially focused self-concept. This mediation was only observed among participants who scored high on illusion of control and belief in luck. Likewise, in Study 2, there was a positive association between perfectionism and dietary restraint, which was mediated by appearance focused self-concept. The mediation effect was only observed among participants who believed that maladaptive dietary restraint behaviors were safe and efficacious.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the transdiagnostic utility of our model, which may help explain an array of disordered behaviors, including other addictive behaviors as well as behaviors that involve rigid adherence to rules and control.

Maladaptive Personality Traits and Their Interaction with Outcome Expectancies in Gaming Disorder and Internet-Related Disorders

Gambling disorder and gaming disorder have recently been recognized as behavioral addictions in the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition). The association between behavioral addictions and personality has been examined before, yet there is a lack of studies on maladaptive traits and their relationship to specific outcome expectancies. In study 1, we recruited a community sample (n = 365); in study 2 a sample of treatment-seekers was enrolled (n = 208). Maladaptive personality traits were assessed by the brief form of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition). Internet-related outcome expectancies were measured by the Virtual Expectancy Questionnaire. In the clinical sample, the Global Assessment of Functioning was additionally administered. Behavioral Addictions were closely associated with maladaptive traits that in turn were related to a poorer level of psychosocial functioning. There is evidence for an exacerbated risk of internet-related disorders when specific outcome expectancies and maladaptive traits interact. Implications for phenomenology and treatment are discussed.

The Relationship Between Gambling Problems and the Five-Factor Model of Personality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to synthesize results from the association between problem gambling (PG) and dimensions of the five factor model of personality and to identify potential moderators (gambling diagnosis: yes/no, comorbidity: yes/no and trait assessment: four or fewer items vs. five items or more) of these associations in meta-regressions. Methods: Searches were conducted in six databases; Medline, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and Cochrane Library (conducted on February, 22, 2021). Included studies: (1) reported a relationship between PG and at least one of the personality traits in the five-factor model, (2) contained information of zero-order correlations or sufficient data for such calculations, and (3) were original articles published in any European language. Case-studies, qualitative studies, and reviews were excluded. All articles were independently screened by two authors. Final agreement was reached through discussion or by consulting a third author. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were synthesized using a random effects model. Results: In total 28 studies, comprising 20,587 participants, were included. The correlations between PG and the traits were as follows: Neuroticism: 0.273 (95% CI = 0.182, 0.358), conscientiousness -0.296 (95% CI = -0.400, -0.185), agreeableness -0.163 (95% CI = -0.223, -0.101), openness -0.219 (95% CI = -0.308, -0.127), and extroversion -0.083 (95% CI = -0.120, -0.046). For all meta-analyses the between study heterogeneity was significant. Presence of gambling diagnosis was the only moderator that significantly explained between-study variance showing a more negative correlation to extroversion when participants had a gambling diagnosis compared to when this was not the case. Discussion: The results indicated some publication bias. Correcting for this by a trim-and-fill procedure showed however that the findings were consistent. Clinicians and researchers should be aware of the associations between personality traits and PG. Previous studies have for example showed neuroticism to be related to treatment relapse, low scores on conscientiousness to predict treatment drop-out and agreeableness to reduce risk of treatment drop-out. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021237225).

Comorbidity, family history and personality traits in pathological gamblers compared with healthy controls

Background

While DSM-5 classified pathological gambling as an addictive disorder, there is debate as to whether ICD-11 should follow suit. The debate hinges on scientific evidence such as neurobiological findings, family history of psychiatric disorders, psychiatric comorbidity, and personality variables.

Methods

In the “Baden-Württemberg Study of Pathological Gambling”, we compared a group of 515 male pathological gamblers receiving treatment with 269 matched healthy controls. We studied differences in sociodemographic characteristics, gambling-related variables, psychiatric comorbidity (lifetime), family history of psychiatric conditions, as well as personality traits such as impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), sensation seeking (Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale) and the NEO-FFI big five. Personality traits were validated in an age- and ethnicity-matched subsample of “pure” gamblers without any psychiatric comorbidity (including nicotine dependence). Data were analyzed using two-sample t-tests, Chi2 analyses, Fisher's exact test and Pearson correlation analysis, as appropriate. Bonferroni correction was applied to correct for multiple comparisons.

Results

Only 1% of the gamblers had been diagnosed with an impulse control disorder other than gambling (ICD-10). Notably, 88% of the gamblers in our sample had a comorbid diagnosis of substance dependence. The highest axis I comorbidity rate was for nicotine dependence (80%), followed by alcohol dependence (28%). Early age of first gambling experience was correlated with gambling severity. Compared to first-degree relatives of controls, first-degree relatives of pathological gamblers were more likely to suffer from alcohol dependence (27.0% vs. 7.4%), pathological gambling (8.3% vs. 0.7%) and suicide attempts (2.7% vs. 0.4%). Significant group differences were observed for the NEO-FFI factors neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Gamblers were also more impulsive than controls, but did not differ from controls in terms of sensation seeking.

Conclusions

Our findings support classifying pathological gambling as a behavioural addiction in the ICD-11. This decision will have a significant impact on the approaches available for prevention (e.g. age limits) and treatment.

Gambling disorder and comorbid behavioral addictions: Demographic, clinical, and personality correlates

Gambling disorder (GD) frequently co-occurs with substance use disorders. However, the extent to which GD co-occurs with behavioral addictions (BAs) and the demographic, clinical, and personality correlates of comorbid GD and BA is largely unknown. The aims of the present research were to address this gap among people seeking treatment for GD (N = 458) in São Paulo, Brazil. Structured clinical interviews diagnosed individuals with GD and other psychiatric disorders. The Shorter PROMIS questionnaire was used to identify BAs (work, exercise, food bingeing, sex, and shopping). Questionnaires assessed demographic characteristics, gambling behavior, and personality. Of the total sample, 206 (45.0%) participants met the criteria of having at least one behavioral addiction (GD+BA). The most common comorbid BA was food bingeing (8.1%) with the least common being exercise (3.6%). In a multivariate logistic regression, individuals with GD+BA tended to be younger, and had greater rates of comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and bulimia nervosa compared to participants who did not present with a comorbid BA. Taken together, individuals with GD+BA present with increased psychopathology. These results may have important implications for the assessment and treatment of individuals with GD and comorbid BAs.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Personality Inventory for DSM-5-BF in a Primary Care Sample

A growing body of research supports the validity of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in evaluating community and psychiatric samples. Although maladaptive personality also has significant relevance in primary care settings, research on the PID-5 in primary care samples is limited. In this study, the authors examined the intercorrelations, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the brief form of the PID-5 (PID-5-BF) in 100 primary care outpatients. Results are consistent with findings in other samples in suggesting that PID-5 domains are moderately intercorrelated and associated with a variety of mental health variables. Smaller associations with physical health variables support the discriminant validity of the instrument. Overall, results suggest that the PID-5-BF can provide a useful psychiatric screening tool in primary care settings.

Pathological personality facets and emotion (dys)regulation in gambling disorder

A number of researches showed high prevalence of personality disorders among addicted gamblers. However, there are still few studies investigating the role of pathological personality facets in Gambling Disorder (GD). Moreover, the nature of the relationship between GD and pathological personality is not clear. We administered to a group of addicted gamblers (N = 79) and a group of healthy participants (N = 101) a battery of self-report questionnaires encompassing the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), The Personality Inventory for DSM-V (PID-5), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Analyses of variance showed that addicted gamblers, compared to healthy participants, scored higher on most of the subscales of the DERS, on the Suppression Dimension of the ERQ and on the five main domains of the PID-5 whereas they obtained lower scores on the Reappraisal subscale of the ERQ. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that some specific facets of pathological personality, emotion dysregulation and lack of cognitive reappraisal, significantly predict GD's severity. Finally, emotion dysregulation levels and lack of cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between these and GD's severity. Our results confirmed the central roles played by both pathological personality and deficit in emotion regulation capacities in GD. Specifically, Impulsivity, Lack of Perseverance and Suspiciousness may be important predictors of GD severity. Moreover, emotion dysregulation and lack of adaptive emotion regulation strategies partially explained such relationship. As such, training for emotion regulation abilities appears strategically useful in the treatment of addicted gamblers with pathological personality traits.

A Brief but Comprehensive Review of Research on the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Both the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) and the chapter on personality disorders (PD) in the recent version of ICD-11 embody a shift from a categorical to a dimensional paradigm for the classification of PD. We describe these new models, summarize available measures, and provide a comprehensive review of research on the AMPD.

RECENT FINDINGS

A total of 237 publications on severity (criterion A) and maladaptive traits (criterion B) of the AMPD indicate (a) acceptable interrater reliability, (b) largely consistent latent structures, (c) substantial convergence with a range of theoretically and clinically relevant external measures, and (d) some evidence for incremental validity when controlling for categorical PD diagnoses. However, measures of criterion A and B are highly correlated, which poses conceptual challenges. The AMPD has stimulated extensive research with promising findings. We highlight open questions and provide recommendations for future research.

Evaluation of DSM-5 and ICD-11 personality traits using the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in a Brazilian sample of psychiatric inpatients

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to test if the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) is an adequate instrument to evaluate psychiatric inpatients' pathological personality traits.

METHODS

Inpatients (n = 130; mean age: 38.5 years; 62.3% female; 63.9% single) answered the PID-5 after clinical improvement of their psychiatric symptoms. The mean scores of the DSM-5 personality domains, facets and profiles, and ICD-11 domain traits were compared with the mean scores of a Brazilian normative sample (n = 656). We investigated the diagnostic performance of the scales to identify individuals with and without psychopathology.

RESULTS

The final sample included mainly diagnoses of mood disorders. Except for Antagonism and Disinhibition, all DSM-5 personality domains and most facets as well as almost all DSM-5 personality disorder profiles (except Narcissist) and ICD-11 trait domains (except Detachment and Dissociality) of the inpatients presented high differences compared with the normative sample. In general, the PID-5 scales presented a high negative predictive value and a low positive predictive value to identify individuals with severe psychopathology.

DISCUSSION

This study found high scores of pathological personality traits in a sample of Brazilian psychiatric inpatients. The PID-5 may be a promising instrument to measure pathological personality traits among psychiatric inpatients. Methodological and sample size limitations may have influenced the results. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tempting fate: Chasing and maladaptive personality traits in gambling behavior

Chasing, or continuing to gamble in an attempt to recoup losses, is a salient feature of problematic gambling. This study, which controlled for gambling severity and alcohol consumption, investigated the association between chasing and maladaptive personality trait domains among habitual gamblers. Participants comprised 126 adult habitual gamblers (73% males) aged between 18 and 69 years. They were administered the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a computerized task developed to assess chasing behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to two chasing conditions (Control and Loss). Data were submitted to correlational analysis, univariate and mixed-model ANOVAs, logistic and linear regression analyses. Results showed that the decision to chase was strongly associated with the PID-5-BF Disinhibition domain scores, whereas chasing proneness was related to the Disinhibition, Detachment and Psychoticism domains. Interestingly, chasers scored higher than nonchasers on maladaptive personality dimensions, even after controlling for gender, age, chasing condition, alcohol consumption, and gambling severity. Since these findings support the idea that chasers and nonchasers are different subtypes of gamblers, clinical interventions should take into account the additive role of chasing in gambling disorder.

Normative and Maladaptive Personality Trait Models of Mood, Psychotic, and Substance Use Disorders

The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) is a questionnaire developed to assess the five domains represented in the alternative model for personality disorders proposed in Section III of the DSM-5. This study examined the ability of the PID-5 to distinguish between different mental disorders compared to a questionnaire measure of the five-factor model (FFM) of normative personality. The study included the administration of the PID-5 and Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), a measure of the FFM, to treatment-seeking individuals with Depressive, Bipolar, Psychotic, and Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). Diagnostic groups were compared at the domain level of PID-5 and NEO PI-R, with sex and age as covariates. The main findings on the PID-5 included higher Detachment scores for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders than Psychotic and AUDs, lower Psychoticism/higher Disinhibition scores for the AUD group compared to all other groups, and lower Negative Affect for the Psychotic Disorders versus AUD group. On the NEO PI-R, the AUD diagnostic group was associated with lower Conscientiousness and Agreeableness scores compared to all other groups, and lower Neuroticism scores than the Bipolar and Depressive groups. Group pairwise comparisons did not appear to show many differences between the PID-5 and NEO PI-R. The results suggest that the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders may have clinical utility in distinguishing personality profiles between diagnostic groups. These findings emphasize the importance of additional research on the capacity of maladaptive personality to contribute to the assessment of differential diagnoses.

Relationship with Parents, Emotion Regulation, and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Adolescents' Internet Addiction

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of relationship with parents, emotion regulation, and callous-unemotional traits with Internet addiction in a community sample of adolescents. Self-report measures of relationship with parents (both mothers and fathers), emotion regulation (in its two dimensions: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), callous- unemotional traits (in its three dimensions: callousness, uncaring, and unemotional), and Internet addiction were completed by 743 adolescents aged 10 to 21 years. Results showed that a low perceived maternal availability, high cognitive reappraisal, and high callousness appeared to be predictors of Internet addiction. The implications of these findings are then discussed.

Personality disorders in DSM-5: emerging research on the alternative model

The current categorical classification of personality disorders, originally introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), has been found to suffer from numerous shortcomings that hamper its usefulness for research and for clinical application. The Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group for DSM-5 was charged with developing an alternative model that would address many of these concerns. The developed model involved a hybrid dimensional/categorical model that represented personality disorders as combinations of core impairments in personality functioning with specific configurations of problematic personality traits. The Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association did not accept the Task Force recommendation to implement this novel approach, and thus this alternative model was included in Sect. III of the DSM-5 among concepts requiring additional study. This review provides an overview of the emerging research on this alternative model, addressing each of the primary components of the model.