Pathological personality in relation to multiple domains of quality of life and impairment: Evidence for the specific relevance of the maladaptive poles of major trait domains

The current study examined whether personality domains have nonmonotonic relationships with functional outcomes, specifically in relation to quality of life and impairment. Four samples were utilized, which were drawn from the United States and Germany. Personality trait domains were measured via the IPIP-NEO and PID-5; quality of life (QoL) was measured with the WHOQOL-BREF, and impairment was measured using the WHODAS-2.0. The PID-5 was analyzed in all four samples. Two-line testing, which fits two spline regression lines separated at a break point, was conducted to evaluate potential nonmonotonicity of the relationship between personality traits and quality of life. Overall, results demonstrated little support for nonmonotonic relationships in the PID-5 and IPIP-NEO dimensions. Rather, our results indicate that there is one clear pathological pole of major domains of personality that is associated with lower quality of life and increased impairment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Validity and utility of Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): III. Emotional dysfunction superspectrum

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a quantitative nosological system that addresses shortcomings of traditional mental disorder diagnoses, including arbitrary boundaries between psychopathology and normality, frequent disorder co-occurrence, substantial heterogeneity within disorders, and diagnostic unreliability over time and across clinicians. This paper reviews evidence on the validity and utility of the internalizing and somatoform spectra of HiTOP, which together provide support for an emotional dysfunction superspectrum. These spectra are composed of homogeneous symptom and maladaptive trait dimensions currently subsumed within multiple diagnostic classes, including depressive, anxiety, trauma-related, eating, bipolar, and somatic symptom disorders, as well as sexual dysfunction and aspects of personality disorders. Dimensions falling within the emotional dysfunction superspectrum are broadly linked to individual differences in negative affect/neuroticism. Extensive evidence establishes that dimensions falling within the superspectrum share genetic diatheses, environmental risk factors, cognitive and affective difficulties, neural substrates and biomarkers, childhood temperamental antecedents, and treatment response. The structure of these validators mirrors the quantitative structure of the superspectrum, with some correlates more specific to internalizing or somatoform conditions, and others common to both, thereby underlining the hierarchical structure of the domain. Compared to traditional diagnoses, the internalizing and somatoform spectra demonstrated substantially improved utility: greater reliability, larger explanatory and predictive power, and greater clinical applicability. Validated measures are currently available to implement the HiTOP system in practice, which can make diagnostic classification more useful, both in research and in the clinic.

Validity and utility of Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): II. Externalizing superspectrum

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is an empirical effort to address limitations of traditional mental disorder diagnoses. These include arbitrary boundaries between disorder and normality, disorder co-occurrence in the modal case, heterogeneity of presentation within dis-orders, and instability of diagnosis within patients. This paper reviews the evidence on the validity and utility of the disinhibited externalizing and antagonistic externalizing spectra of HiTOP, which together constitute a broad externalizing superspectrum. These spectra are composed of elements subsumed within a variety of mental disorders described in recent DSM nosologies, including most notably substance use disorders and "Cluster B" personality disorders. The externalizing superspectrum ranges from normative levels of impulse control and self-assertion, to maladaptive disinhibition and antagonism, to extensive polysubstance involvement and personality psychopathology. A rich literature supports the validity of the externalizing superspectrum, and the disinhibited and antagonistic spectra. This evidence encompasses common genetic influences, environmental risk factors, childhood antecedents, cognitive abnormalities, neural alterations, and treatment response. The structure of these validators mirrors the structure of the phenotypic externalizing superspectrum, with some correlates more specific to disinhibited or antagonistic spectra, and others relevant to the entire externalizing superspectrum, underlining the hierarchical structure of the domain. Compared with traditional diagnostic categories, the externalizing superspectrum conceptualization shows improved utility, reliability, explanatory capacity, and clinical applicability. The externalizing superspectrum is one aspect of the general approach to psychopathology offered by HiTOP and can make diagnostic classification more useful in both research and the clinic.

Big Five Personality and CTRA gene expression: Lack of association in a midlife sample of US adults (MIDUS-Refresher)

A previous study found that Extraversion and Conscientiousness were associated with increased and decreased expression of a pre-specified set of pro-inflammatory indicator genes. The present study aimed to replicate these findings in a sample of adults from the Refresher Cohort of the Study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Analysis of gene expression composite scores and generalized linear models that took into account the heterogeneity and non-independence of RNA expression across different genes found no significant associations between the pro-inflammatory indicator gene set and the Big Five domains of personality. In addition, there was no significant association between a pre-specified antiviral indicator gene set and the Big Five domains. These findings suggest that relations between Big Five personality and expression of these two immune response indicator gene sets do not consistently appear across samples and may be context-dependent in ways that remain to be elucidated.

An Overview of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders

Authoritative classification systems for psychopathology such as the DSM and ICD are shifting toward more dimensional approaches in the field of personality disorders (PDs). In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the dimensionally oriented DSM-5 alternative model of PDs (AMPD). Since its publication in 2013, the AMPD has inspired a substantial number of studies, underlining its generative influence on the field. Generally speaking, this literature illustrates both the reliability and validity of the constructs delineated in the AMPD. The literature also illustrates empirical challenges to the conceptual clarity of the AMPD, such as evidence of substantial correlations between indices of personality functioning (criterion A in the AMPD) and maladaptive personality traits (criterion B in the AMPD). Key future directions pertain to linking the AMPD literature with applied efforts to improve the lives of persons who suffer from PDs, and surmounting challenges germane to the evolution of the DSM itself.