Dependency, mood instability, and inconsequence traits for discriminating borderline personality disorder

Development and Validation of the Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T)

Background and objectives: Mood instability (MI) is a stable trait associated with psychiatric disorders, yet there is a lack of tools to measure MI. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T) to evaluate MI in mood disorder patients. Material and methods: Items were taken from various established questionnaires to create an initial list of MIQ-T questions. Data from 309 psychiatric patients (n = 309; 62 major depressive disorder, 58 bipolar I disorder, and 189 bipolar II disorder) were gathered from their medical records and were utilized in an exploratory factor analysis to clarify the underlying components of MI. Then, anonymous survey data from 288 individuals from the general population were included in the analysis as a comparison group. Associations between MIQ-T and other previously validated clinical instruments for mood disorders were examined to test external validity. Results: The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the five-factor structure (Lability, Upward Tendency, Downward Tendency, Childhood Instability, and Seasonality) of 59 items was the most appropriate with clear, cohesive features. MIQ-T exhibited high internal consistency (α = 0.96) and moderate to strong correlations with other previously validated clinical instruments, which were consistent with theoretical predictions, providing evidence of criterion validity. Short forms were also created to address the high internal consistency value, which can indicate redundancy, and to increase the approachability of the measure. We found that the patients with bipolar II disorder had higher MIQ-T scores than the patients with bipolar I disorder or major depressive disorder and the comparison group. Conclusion: Together, these findings validate the newly developed MIQ-T as an instrument of mood instability. MIQ-T can be a potential research tool for mood disorder.

Investigation on the capacity of the factors of the Clinical Dimensional Personality Inventory 2 for identifying people with substance dependence

The study aimed to verify the discriminant capacity of the factors of the Clinical Dimensional Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2) in the identification of people with substance dependence, as well as to compare this capacity with another instrument that evaluates pathological traits, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5). The sample was composed of 253 adults distributed in three groups: community sample, represented by 110 individuals with ages between 20 and 66 years (M = 32.3; SD = 10,1), 71.8% women; subclinical, 119 individual aged from 18 to 63 (M = 30.4; SD = 8.34), 61.3% women; clinical, 24 individual with ages between 19 and 59 (M = 36,4; SD = 11.2), 83.3% men. Two scales for substance dependence identification were administered (AUDIT and ASSIST), IDCP-2, and PID-5. Findings indicated that IDCP-2 is capable of discriminating between groups, mainly the extreme ones (i.e., clinical sample versus community sample). Moreover, similar discriminant capacity between IDCP-2 and PID-5 was observed. These findings are preliminary evidence that the IDCP-2 factors can identify people with substance dependence, with Hopelessness being the leading factor in the assessment of substance dependents.

The Effect of Hopelessness and Perceived Group Compatibility on Treatment Outcome for Patients With Personality Dysfunction

Improvement in life satisfaction is hard to achieve for any patient with personality psychopathology, and possibly even moreso for those who feel hopeless at the start of treatment. The present research investigated the potential influence of hopelessness in the treatment of patients with personality dysfunction, using data from patients who completed an intensive group therapy program designed to reduce symptom distress and support optimal psychosocial functioning (N = 80). In the present study, we sought to examine whether hopelessness would moderate (i.e., strengthen or weaken) relations between compatibility ratings and life satisfaction outcome. Hopelessness had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between compatibility and outcome, suggesting that, for patients who entered treatment feeling more hopeless, higher appraisals of fit within the group facilitated better gains in life satisfaction. If replicated, the findings underlie the importance of focusing on increasing hope and perceived group affiliation in the treatment of personality dysfunction.