This study will examine the construct validity of personality disorders (PDs) by combining methods developed for studying the social psychology of person perception with laboratory performance measures, structured interviews, and real world data regarding social and occupational functioning. Current knowledge regarding PDs relies almost exclusively on self-report measures (questionnaires and interviews). Unfortunately, people with PDs are frequently unable to view themselves realistically and unaware of the effect their behavior has on other people. Our study compares information regarding pathological personality traits from self-report measures with peer nominations made by people who are well-acquainted with each other. Participants are groups of men and women who completed basic military training together (2,100 Air Force recruits) or who have lived together in a college dormitory (1,200 first-year students). We have shown that peer judgments regarding pathological traits are reliable and valid and that our sample includes a substantial number of people who meet DSM-IV criteria for at least one PD. We have also found that correlations between self-report and peer-report measures range from .20 to .30. In the next five years, we will pursue these findings to compare the validity of self-report and peer-based measures. Our extensive data set will also be used to examine related issues such as gender bias in diagnostic criterion sets. Follow-up information will be collected using electronic personnel databases (for AF recruits) and performance on laboratory tasks (for college students). These data will allow us to evaluate the impact of pathological personality traits on functional outcomes in people's lives. We will also develop assessment procedures that can be used to supplement traditional self-report instruments.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01MH051187-06
Application #
6333012
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-5 (01))
Program Officer
Breiling, James P
Project Start
1996-09-30
Project End
2006-03-31
Budget Start
2001-07-01
Budget End
2002-03-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$449,794
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Virginia
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
001910777
City
Charlottesville
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
22904
Powers, Abigail D; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2013) Personality pathology as a risk factor for negative health perception. J Pers Disord 27:359-70
South, Susan C; Oltmanns, Thomas F; Johnson, Jarrod et al. (2011) Level of agreement between self and spouse in the assessment of personality pathology. Assessment 18:217-26
Carlson, Erika N; Vazire, Simine; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2011) You probably think this paper's about you: narcissists' perceptions of their personality and reputation. J Pers Soc Psychol 101:185-201
Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Gianoli, Mayumi Okada; Turkheimer, Eric et al. (2010) The interpersonal problems of the socially avoidant: self and peer shared variance. J Abnorm Psychol 119:331-40
Okada, Mayumi; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2009) Comparison of Three Self-Report Measures of Personality Pathology. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 31:358-367
Tenney, Elizabeth R; Turkheimer, Eric; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2009) Being Liked is More than Having a Good Personality: The Role of Matching. J Res Pers 43:579-585
Clifton, Allan; Turkheimer, Eric; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2009) Personality Disorder in Social Networks: Network Position as a Marker of Interpersonal Dysfunction. Soc Networks 31:26-32
Woods, Carol M; Oltmanns, Thomas F; Turkheimer, Eric (2009) Illustration of MIMIC-Model DIF Testing with the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 31:320-330
Oltmanns, Thomas F; Turkheimer, Eric (2009) Person Perception and Personality Pathology. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 18:32-36
Turkheimer, Eric; Ford, Derek C; Oltmanns, Thomas F (2008) Regional analysis of self-reported personality disorder criteria. J Pers 76:1587-622

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