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A metastructural model of mental disorders and pathological personality traits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2015

A. G. C. Wright  and
L. J. Simms
A. G. C. Wright*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
L. J. Simms
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: A. G. C. Wright, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 4121 Sennott Square, 210 S. Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA 1526, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Psychiatric co-morbidity is extensive in both psychiatric settings and the general population. Such co-morbidity challenges whether DSM-based mental disorders serve to effectively carve nature at its joints. In response, a substantial literature has emerged showing that a small number of broad dimensions – internalizing, externalizing and psychoticism – can account for much of the observed covariation among common mental disorders. However, the location of personality disorders within this emerging metastructure has only recently been studied, and no studies have yet examined where pathological personality traits fit within such a broad metastructural framework.

Method

We conducted joint structural analyses of common mental disorders, personality disorders and pathological personality traits in a sample of 628 current or recent psychiatric out-patients.

Results

Bridging across the psychopathology and personality trait literatures, the results provide evidence for a robust five-factor metastructure of psychopathology, including broad domains of symptoms and features related to internalizing, disinhibition, psychoticism, antagonism and detachment.

Conclusions

These results reveal evidence for a psychopathology metastructure that (a) parsimoniously accounts for much of the observed covariation among common mental disorders, personality disorders and related personality traits, and (b) provides an empirical basis for the organization and classification of mental disorder.

Keywords

Co-morbidityexploratory structure equation modelingpersonality disorderspersonality traitsstructure of mental disorders
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 45 , Issue 11 , August 2015 , pp. 2309 - 2319
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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