Development and psychometric evaluation of the Personality Disorder Severity ICD-11 (PDS-ICD-11) Clinician-Rating Form

No clinician-rating tool has formally been developed to assess the ICD-11 model of personality disorder (PD) severity. We therefore developed and evaluated the 14-item personality disorder Severity ICD-11 (PDS-ICD-11) Clinician-Rating Form. A combined sample of 195 patients was rated by mental health professionals or clinical research assistants in New Zealand using the PDS-ICD-11 Clinician-Rating Form. Responses were subjected to item-response theory analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. In a subsample, we examined interrater reliability and convergence with self- and informant-reported measures of personality impairment, dysfunction in various psychopathology domains, and traditional PD symptoms. Item-response theory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the item functioning and unidimensionality, respectively, of the PDS-ICD-11 Clinician-Rating Form. The interrater reliability was very promising (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.94, p < 0.001). PDS-ICD-11 Clinician-Rating Form scores were associated with established measures of personality dysfunction at large effect sizes. This initial development study suggests that the PDS-ICD-11 Clinician-Rating Form constitutes a psychometrically sound instrument that provides a clinically based impression of the severity of personality dysfunction according to the official ICD-11 description. More research is needed to corroborate its validity and utility, and a structured interview is warranted for diagnostic purposes. The final PDS-ICD-11 Clinician-Rating Form is included as online supporting information.

Construct Validity of Triarchic Model Traits in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study Using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

The triarchic model of psychopathy emphasizes the role of three phenotypic personality domains (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) that have been operationalized using the well-established Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. The present study sought to further validate the MPQ-Tri scales and examine their temporal stability and predictive validity across two time points (ages 18 and 26) from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative and longitudinal sample (N = 1,037). This investigation necessitated modification of the MPQ-Tri scales to enable their use in a broader range of samples, including the Dunedin Study. The revised MPQ-Tri scales demonstrated good temporal stability, and correlation and multiple linear regression analyses predominantly revealed associations consistent with theoretical expectations. Overall, the findings provide support for the MPQ-Tri scales as reliable, stable, and valid measures of the triarchic constructs, which provide a unique opportunity to examine highly novel research questions concerning psychopathy in a wide variety of samples.

If only they had accessed the data: Governmental failure to monitor pulp mill impacts on human health in Pictou Landing First Nation

For over fifty years, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), a small Mi'kmaw community on the northern shore of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, has been told by a Joint Environmental Health Monitoring Committee (JEHMC) mandated to oversee the health of the community that their health has not been impacted by exposure to 85 million litres of pulp mill effluent dumped every day into what was once a culturally significant body of water bordering their community. Yet, based on lived experience, the community knows otherwise, and despite countless dollars spent on government and industry-sponsored research, their concerns have not gone away. Using biopolitical theory, we explore why JEHMC never fully implemented its mandate. We will use a Mi'kmaw environmental 'theoretical' framework to demonstrate that indicators of a relational epistemology and ontology that have been consistently and persistently overlooked in Indigenous environmental health research demands that Indigenous connections to the air, land and water must be taken into consideration to get a full understanding of environmental health impacts. Guided by the principle of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), which brings together the strengths of both western and Indigenous knowledge, and employing a community-based participatory research approach, we use data that could have been accessed by the JEHMC that might have signaled that human health studies were warranted. Further, we developed an environmental health survey that more appropriately assesses the impacts on the community. Finally, we will discuss how an Indigenous-developed framework can adequately assess the impacts of land displacement and environmental dispossession on the health of Indigenous communities and illustrate how our framework can serve as a guide to others when exploring Indigenous environmental health more broadly.

Mental Disorders in Young Adults from Families with the Presenilin-1 Gene Mutation E280A in the Preclinical Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND

There are forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that have an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern; one of them is caused by the E280A mutation in the gene that codes for Presenilin-1 (PSEN1). Studying families of people with this mutation allows the evaluation of characteristics of the subjects before cognitive decline begins.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether having the mutation E280A in PSEN1 increases the risk of presenting mental disorders in adults under 30 years old who are in the preclinical stage of AD and may be eligible for primary prevention studies of AD.

METHODS

A psychiatric evaluation was made to 120 people belonging to families with a history of early onset AD. Of these, 62 carried the E280A mutation in PSEN1. The occurrence of mental disorders between carriers and non-carriers of the mutation was compared.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of any mental disorder between the group of carriers and non-carriers of the mutation (Hazard Ratio: 0.80, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.31); nor were differences observed when evaluating specific disorders.

CONCLUSION

The E280A mutation does not increase the risk of mental disorders before the age of 30 in the relatives of people affected by familial AD. Studies with larger sample sizes are required to assess the risk of low incidence mental disorders.

WITHDRAWN: Mental Disorders in Young Adults from Families with the Presenilin-1 Gene Mutation E280A in the Preclinical Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher.