The relationship between the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire and traits delineating personality pathology

Comparing the Prediction of Dimensional Personality Disorders (PID-5) After Three Personality Trait Models

Abstract. A dimensional approach for Personality Disorders was proposed in the DSM-5. To assess this approach, a new instrument (the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 [PID-5]) was developed in 2012. One research line has analyzed its convergent validity with personality traits, focusing almost exclusively on the Five-Factor Model (FFM). However, previous evidence about the relationships between Categorical Personality Disorders and other personality trait models shows that they can improve our understanding of Personality Disorders beyond the FFM. The aim of the present study is to compare the power of three personality models (FFM, Cloninger’s, and Zuckerman’s) to predict PID-5 domains. Three samples from the Spanish and Catalan general population were collected for this study depending on which personality questionnaire was applied (1,052 for revised NEO Personality Inventory [NEO-PI-R], 465 for Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire [ZKA-PQ], and 332 for Temperament and Character Inventory Revised [TCI-R-140]). The PID-5 was also applied to all subjects. Factor and regression results indicate that the three models were able to predict Dimensional Personality Disorders well, although some differences emerge between them. Specific relationships between dimensional disorders and traits, the role of the facets as well as the utility of the results reported are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Shortened Version of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire in a Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults

Introduction: The original 89-item Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (form III Revised, ZKPQ-III-R) is a widely accepted and used self-report measure for personality traits. This study assessed the reliability and construct validity of the Chinese short 46-item version of the ZKPQ-III-R in a sample of adolescents and young adults.

Methodology: A total of 1,019 Chinese adolescents and young adults completed the Chinese version of the original 89-item version ZKPQ-III-R and short 46-item version ZKPQ-III-R, self-report measures of depression, life satisfaction, and subjective health complaints (SHC), the Big Five personality traits, and a substance use risk profile. We explored the internal consistency of five dimensions of the short 46-item version ZKPQ-III-R and compared it with observations in previous studies of Chinese and other populations. The structure of the questionnaire was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling.

Results: The short 46-item version ZKPQ-III-R had adequate internal reliability for all five dimensions, with Cronbach’s α coefficients of 0.63 to 0.84. The concurrent validity of the short 46-item version ZKPQ-III-R was supported by significant correlations with depression, life satisfaction, and SHC. The short 46-item version ZKPQ-III-R had better fit, similar reliability coefficients, and slightly better construct and convergent validity than the 89-item version.

Conclusion: The Chinese version of the 46-item ZKPQ-III-R presented reliability and validity in measuring personality in Chinese adolescents and young adults.

Dimensions of Personality Pathology in Adolescence: Longitudinal Associations With Big Five Personality Dimensions Across Childhood and Adolescence

To investigate validity of the dimensions that underlie pathological personality in adolescence, we delineated the hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Short Form-Adolescent version (DAPP-SF-A; Tromp & Koot, 2008) and examined longitudinal associations with Big Five personality dimensions assessed four times from middle childhood to late adolescence. A total of 426 adolescents provided self-reports on the DAPP-SF-A (age M = 18.6, SD = 1.17; 53% female). Mothers provided information on their child's personality eleven, eight, five, and three years earlier. Previous findings on the hierarchical structure of the DAPP-BQ replicated up to the four-component solution (emotional dysregulation, dissocial behavior, inhibition, and compulsivity). In the solution, a thought disturbance component emerged. Interestingly, the five-component solution already showed most differentiated associations with childhood personality in middle childhood. Childhood personality dimensions predicted four out of five adolescent pathological personality traits, indicating continuity of normal and abnormal personality across childhood and adolescence.

The Dimensional Assessment of Personality Psychopathology Basic Questionnaire: shortened versions item analysis

This study has been designed to evaluate and replicate the psychometric properties of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Psychopathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) and the DAPP-BQ short form (DAPP-SF) in a large Spanish general population sample. Additionally, we have generated a reduced form called DAPP-90, using a strategy based on a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology in two independent samples, a calibration and a validation sample. The DAPP-90 scales obtained a more satisfactory fit on SEM adjustment values (average: TLI > .97 and RMSEA < .04) respect to full DAPP-BQ and the 136-item version. According to the factorial congruency coefficients, the DAPP-90 obtains a similar structure to the DAPP-BQ and the DAPP-SF. The DAPP-90 internal consistency is acceptable, with a Cronbach's alpha mean of .75. We did not find any differences in the pattern of relations between the two DAPP-BQ shortened versions and the SCL-90-R factors. The new 90-items version is especially useful when it is difficult to use the long version for diverse reasons, such as the assessment of patients in hospital consultation or in brief psychological assessments.

Normal personality versus pathological personality: dimensional and predictive study

The present study aimed to replicate the previous relationship between the Zuckerman personality model and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) and to evaluate the contribution of the facets and factors from Zuckerman's new instrument Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) versus the old Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire to the four clusters of the DAPP-BQ. The sample consisted of 443 subjects from the general population of both sexes. The ZKA-PQ dimensions predicted between 35 % and 61% of the DAPP-BQ cluster variance and facets between 54% and 63%. Local regression graphical analysis (LOESS) showed that neuroticism and aggressiveness are the dimensions most related with emotional dysregulation. Sensation seeking and aggressiveness were associated with dissocial behaviour. Neuroticism and extraversion (negative) were associated with social avoidance and activity and sensation seeking (negative) with compulsiveness. The new ZKA-PQ improves the psychometric properties of the old Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire. Both dimensional personality measures can play a role in the prediction of the future DSM-V personality disorder dimensional system.

Further evidence for the fifth higher trait of personality pathology: a correlation study using normal and disordered personality measures

Studies between disordered personality and the Big-Five or the Alternative Five-Factor model of normal personality have consistently shown four higher traits. The fifth higher trait, relating to Openness to Experience or Impulsive Sensation Seeking was less supported. The culture-free Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (NPQ) might help us to characterise the fifth higher trait. We therefore tried the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP), the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) and the NPQ in 253 healthy participants. Our results yielded five factors, four of which resembled the previous ones. The fifth one, namely Peculiarity Seeking, was defined by NPQ and NEO-PI-R Openness to Experience, ZKPQ Impulsive Sensation Seeking and DAPP Stimulus Seeking. Whether the fifth factor is linked to the schizotypal personality disorder as proposed remains unanswered.

Personality traits in rats predict vulnerability and resilience to developing stress-induced depression-like behaviors, HPA axis hyper-reactivity and brain changes in pERK1/2 activity

Emerging evidence indicates that certain behavioral traits, such as anxiety, are associated with the development of depression-like behaviors after exposure to chronic stress. However, single traits do not explain the wide variability in vulnerability to stress observed in outbred populations. We hypothesized that a combination of behavioral traits might provide a better characterization of an individual's vulnerability to prolonged stress. Here, we sought to determine whether the characterization of relevant behavioral traits in rats could aid in identifying individuals with different vulnerabilities to developing stress-induced depression-like behavioral alterations. We also investigated whether behavioral traits would be related to the development of alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and in brain activity - as measured through phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2)--in response to an acute stressor following either sub-chronic (2 weeks) or chronic (4 weeks) unpredictable stress (CUS). Sprague-Dawley rats were characterized using a battery of behavioral tasks, and three principal traits were identified: anxiety, exploration and activity. When combined, the first two traits were found to explain the variability in the stress responses. Our findings confirm the increased risk of animals with high anxiety developing certain depression-like behaviors (e.g., increased floating time in the forced swim test) when progressively exposed to stress. In contrast, the behavioral profile based on combined low anxiety and low exploration was resistant to alterations related to social behaviors, while the high anxiety and low exploration profile displayed a particularly vulnerable pattern of physiological and neurobiological responses after sub-chronic stress exposure. Our findings indicate important differences in animals' vulnerability and/or resilience to the effects of repeated stress, particularly during initial or intermediate levels of stress exposure, and they highlight that the behavioral inhibition profile of an animal provides a particular susceptibility to responding in a deleterious manner to stress.

Processing of facial expressions of emotions in healthy volunteers: an exploration with event-related potentials and personality traits

AIMS OF THE STUDY

Previous studies have shown that event-related potentials (ERPs) are modulated by anxiety or psychopathic personality traits. Therefore, we hypothesized that the automatic processing of facial expressions of emotions (FEE) is also correlated with related disordered personality traits.

METHODS

Thirty-seven healthy volunteers underwent both an "oddball" ERP recording to facial expressions of Anger, Happiness, Sadness, and Neutral, and a test of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP).

RESULTS

Mean reaction time was longer in response to anger than to other facial expressions. Facial expressions of Anger, Happiness and Sadness did not affect N1 (N170). By contrast, Happiness elicited a delayed P2, Anger elicited both a smaller N2 and a delayed P3b, and both Happiness and Anger elicited a P3b of higher amplitude. In addition, P3a latencies to Happiness were negatively correlated with DAPP Identity problems, and P3b latencies to Happiness were negatively correlated with DAPP Stimulus seeking, Callousness, Passive aggressivity, and Narcissism.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates that Anger implicitly captures attentional resources, and Happiness triggers more facilitated processing in individuals with dissocial traits.

Personality characteristics of male sufferers of chronic tension-type and cervicogenic headache

Background and Purpose

Chronic tension-type headache (a primary headache disorder) and cervicogenic headache (a secondary headache disorder that is attributable to upper cervical spine pathology) share similar clinical manifestations, but their associated personality traits may differ. We evaluated the personality differences between sufferers of chronic tension-type headache and cervicogenic headache.

Methods

We administered the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) and the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS) to 18 patients suffering from chronic tension-type headache, 19 suffering from cervicogenic headache, and 26 healthy volunteers. Depressive trends were measured with the Plutchik-van-Praag Depression Inventory (PVP).

Results

Compared to healthy controls, the chronic tension-type headache group scored significantly higher on ZKPQ Neuroticism-Anxiety and on the PVP, while the cervicogenic headache group scored significantly lower on SSS Thrill and Adventure Seeking. In addition, the total SSS score was significantly lower in the cervicogenic headache group than in both the chronic tension-type headache group and the healthy controls.

Conclusions

The results of this study indicate that higher scores for neuroticism-anxiety and depression were associated with chronic tension-type headache, while lower sensation-seeking scores were associated with cervicogenic headache.

The hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ)

Hierarchical personality models have the potential to identify common and specific components of DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs), and may offer a solution for the re-tooling of personality pathology in future versions of the DSM. In this paper, we examined the hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2009) and the capacity of various trait components at different levels to predict DSM-IV PD symptoms. Participants were 275 psychiatric outpatients and 365 undergraduate students. Goldberg's (2006) bass-ackwards method was used to investigate the hierarchical structure of the DAPP-BQ. The predictive capacity of hierarchy components was assessed. We found that Level 5 of the hierarchy enhanced the capacity of the DAPP-BQ for predicting DSM PD symptoms beyond a four-factor structure, particularly for borderline PD.

The Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire predicts functioning styles of personality disorder: a trial in healthy subjects and personality-disorder patients

Normal personality traits, as measured by the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), predicted some personality disorders in a sample of healthy volunteers. Whether these predictions could be more pronounced in patients with personality disorders remains unknown. We administered the ZKPQ and the Parker Personality Measure (PERM), which describes the functioning styles of personality disorder, in 134 patients with a range of personality disorders and in 268 age-, gender- and education level-matched healthy volunteers. Cluster A patients scored lowest on Sociability, cluster B highest on Impulsive Sensation Seeking and Aggression-Hostility, cluster C1 (Avoidant and Dependent types) highest on Neuroticism-Anxiety, and cluster C2 (Obsessive-Compulsive type) highest on Activity. Most of the predictors were consistent across both the healthy and patient groups. The variances that accounted for predicting most PERM styles by the ZKPQ traits in the patient group were higher than those in the healthy group. Our results showed that the ZKPQ traits could specifically predict the PERM styles in both healthy subjects and personality-disorder patients. This result was more pronounced in the latter group. The most powerful predictions were obtained for Antisocial, Dependent, Borderline and Avoidant styles, and the weakest for the Schizotypal and Schizoid styles in the patient group.

KAP1-mediated epigenetic repression in the forebrain modulates behavioral vulnerability to stress

KAP1 is an essential cofactor of KRAB-zinc finger proteins, a family of vertebrate-specific epigenetic repressors of largely unknown functions encoded in the hundreds by the mouse and human genomes. Here, we report that KAP1 is expressed at high levels and necessary for KRAB-mediated repression in mature neurons of the mouse brain. Mice deleted for KAP1 in the adult forebrain exhibit heightened levels of anxiety-like and exploratory activity and stress-induced alterations in spatial learning and memory. In the hippocampus, a small number of genes are dysregulated, including some imprinted genes. Chromatin analyses of the promoters of two genes markedly upregulated in knockout mice reveal decreased histone 3 K9-trimethylation and increased histone 3 and histone 4 acetylation. We propose a model in which the tethering of KAP1-associated chromatin remodeling factors via KRAB-ZFPs epigenetically controls gene expression in the hippocampus, thereby conditioning responses to behavioral stress.

The Behavioral Genetics of Personality Disorder

Behavioral genetics research has opened a new window on understanding personality disorder. The earliest studies were focused on establishing the relative contributions of genes and the environment in these disorders. Although these studies provided solid evidence of the importance of genetic and environmental influences on personality disorder and showed that all aspects of personality disorder are subject to genetic influence, heritability studies are limited because they are not helpful in explicating causal mechanisms. More recent research has focused on the relative contributions of the covariation of personality disorder diagnoses and traits, which allows one to examine etiological relationships. These developments are leading to major changes in ideas about what constitutes the environment and nature of the interplay between genes and environment. The present review examines major themes in this growing body of research in the context of current issues in the personality disorders.

Cerebral information processing in personality disorders: I. Intensity dependence of auditory evoked potentials

Patients with personality disorders such as the histrionic type exaggerate their responses when receiving external social or environmental stimuli. We speculated that they might also show an augmenting pattern of the auditory evoked potential N1-P2 component in response to stimuli with increasing levels of intensity, a response pattern that is thought to be inversely correlated with cerebral serotonin (5-HT) activity. To test this hypothesis, we collected auditory evoked potentials in 191 patients with personality disorders (19 patients with the paranoid type, 12 schizoid, 14 schizotypal, 18 antisocial, 15 borderline, 13 histrionic, 17 narcissistic, 25 avoidant, 30 dependent and 28 obsessive-compulsive) and 26 healthy volunteers. Their personality traits were measured using the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). Compared with healthy subjects and other patient groups, the histrionic group scored higher on the basic traits Affective Instability, Stimulus Seeking, Rejection and Narcissism, and on the higher traits Emotional Dysregulation and Dissocial, than the other groups, and the schizoid group scored lower on most of the DAPP-BQ basic and higher traits. In addition, the histrionic group showed steeper amplitude/stimulus intensity function (ASF) slopes at three midline scalp electrodes than the healthy controls or the other patient groups. The ASF slopes were not correlated with any DAPP-BQ traits in the total sample of 217 subjects. However, the DAPP-BQ basic trait Rejection was positively correlated with the ASF slopes at all three electrode sites in the histrionic group. The increased intensity dependence of the auditory N1-P2 component might indicate that cerebral 5-HT neuronal activity is, on average, weak in the histrionic patients.

Event-related potentials in adolescents with combined ADHD and CD disorder: a single stimulus paradigm

Some studies of the event-related potentials demonstrated a reduction of the voluntary component P3 (P300 or P3b) in youngsters with the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or in conduct disorders (CD), and a reduction of the automatic processing component, mismatch negativity, in patients with both ADHD and CD (ADHD+CD). Recently, a passive auditory P3 potential has been elicited by a single stimulus. We therefore tried this potential study in 20 healthy subjects and 20 teenagers with ADHD+CD to search for further evidence of the altered automatic cerebral processing in the latter. Subjects also answered a self-report Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP). The patient group scored significantly higher on most DAPP traits that reflect problems of emotion control, showed significantly prolonged P2, N2, and P3, and reduced P3. In all subjects Stimulus Seeking was positively correlated with P3 latencies at Fz, Cz, and Pz, and with P3 amplitude at Cz. This study suggests that youngsters with ADHD+CD had pronounced emotion dysregulation, and prominent deficit in passive attention, as reflected by the automatic processing of auditory stimuli.

DISORDERED PERSONALITY TRAITS IN PRIMARY HEADACHES

Previous research has shown an association between primary headaches and some extreme features of normal personality traits, however, studies of the relationship between these headaches and the disordered or abnormal personality traits are still needed. This study sought to examine the disordered personality trait profiles in patients with migraine, tension-type headaches compared to healthy controls. Disordered personality traits were assessed using the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP; Livesley & Jackson, in press), a self-report measure of abnormal personality function that subsumes major models of normal personality, in 41 patients with chronic headaches (CTH), 34 frequent episodic tension-type headaches (FETH) and 48 migraine without aura, as well as 37 headache-free healthy control subjects. All patient groups scored significantly higher than healthy controls on Submissiveness, Cognitive Distortion, Identity Problems, Intimacy Problems, Social Avoidance, and Self-Harm. In addition, the migraine group scored higher on Submissiveness than did the FETH group. Our findings thus confirmed personality dysfunctions in primary headache sufferers.