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To obtain a better understanding of the associations among Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), adult attachment patterns, impulsivity, and aggressiveness, we tested four competing models of these relationships: a) BPD is associated with the personality traits of impulsivity and aggressiveness, but adult attachment patterns predict neither BPD nor impulsive/aggressive features; b) adult attachment patterns are significant predictors of BPD but not of impulsive/aggressive traits, although these traits correlate with BPD; c) adult attachment patterns are significant predictors of impulsive and aggressive traits, which in turn predict BPD; and d) adult attachment patterns significantly predict both BPD and impulsive/aggressive traits. We assessed 466 consecutively admitted outpatients using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (V. 2.0), the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, and the Aggression Questionnaire. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling of the covariance matrix showed that model (c) was the best fitting model (χ² (21) = 31.67, p > .05, RMSEA = .023, test of close fit p > .85). This result indicates that adult attachment patterns act indirectly as risk factors for BPD because of their relationships with aggressive/impulsive personality traits.

In order to assess the reliability, factorial validity, and criterion validity of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) among adolescents, 1,264 Italian high school students were administered the PID-5. Participants were also administered the Questionnaire on Relationships and Substance Use as a criterion measure. In the full sample, McDonald's ω values were adequate for the PID-5 scales (median ω = .85, SD = .06), except for Suspiciousness. However, all PID-5 scales showed average inter-item correlation values in the .20-.55 range. Exploratory structural equation modeling analyses provided moderate support for the a priori model of PID-5 trait scales. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that selected PID-5 trait scales predicted a significant, albeit moderate (Cox & Snell R2 values ranged from .08 to .15, all ps < .001) amount of variance in Questionnaire on Relationships and Substance Use variables.

The aim of this study was to assess the specificity of the association between temperamental vulnerability, character deficits, and Borderline personality disorder (BPD), controlling for the effects of attachment patterns. A total of 44 BPD patients were compared with 98 non-BPD patients with other cluster B Personality Disorder (PD) diagnoses, 39 patients with any cluster A or cluster C PD diagnoses, 70 patients with no PD diagnosis, and 206 nonclinical patients. All patients were administered the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire. Multivariate and univariate tests showed that BPD patients differed significantly from all control groups on Novelty Seeking and Cooperativeness. These differences remained significant when controlling for the effect of attachment.

A meta-analysis of the published literature was performed to evaluate the common effect size (r) of the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). An online search from 1980 to 1995 was used to gather published papers. r coefficient was used as an effect size measure, and 21 studies were retrieved. A moderate pooled r (.279) for the association between CSA and BPD was observed. Pooled effect size estimates were also obtained for CSA parameters. No significant effect of moderators was evidenced. The results of this study did not support the hypothesis that CSA is a major psychological risk factor or a causal antecedent of BPD.

This study was designed to assess a three level model of personality impairment, as hypothesized by S. E. Hyler, in a non-clinical sample, according to the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-R) total score, and the association of this three level organization with defense styles and state psycho-pathological symptoms, administering PDQ-R, Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-SF), and Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) to a sample of 254 first-year medical students. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis, performed on the PDQ-R total score, confirmed the three-level model. The one-way multi-variate analysis of variance showed a significant (Pillai's V = .483 p >.0001) association between levels of personality impairment, and DSQ-SF and SCL-90 scales. According to 99% Bonferroni simultaneous confidence intervals, the DSQ-SF Immature Defense and all SCL-90 scale mean scores, except So-matization and Phobic Anxiety, were significantly different in all the three levels of personality impairment. The PD...

This article describes the development, the reliability, and the validity of the Personality Functioning Scale (PFS), an instrument based on the conceptual and empirical works of McGlashan and Miller (1982) and McGlashan (1984). The PFS consists of 31 items grouped into 8 domains: developmental level, aspects of the self, object relatedness, reality acceptance, fullness of experience, coping mechanisms, integrative capacity and self analytic functions. Two clinical samples (borderline personality disorder = 69; schizophrenia = 34) were used to evaluate the reliability and the validity of the PFS. The scale showed high internal consistency (.97), test-retest reliability (.90), and criterion validity (.96; .94; .98; .94; .97). The construct validity of the scale was confirmed by the results of the factor analysis. The PFS is proposed for use both in the dynamic evaluation of personality (diagnostic area) and in the evaluation of the results of psychotherapy.