Personality has repeatedly been shown to be evident and reliably measured in childhood. However, studying obsessive-compulsive personality (OCP) traits cohesively in youth has been limited, given the lack of developmentally modified assessments for the presentation. The current manuscript adapted an adult measure of OCP traits, the Pathological Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Scale (POPS), into a parent-report child measure (POPS-C). Study one explored factor structure and preliminary external validity with various clinical measures. Study two used a larger, independent sample to examine confirmatory factor analyses and external validity. POPS-C demonstrated good psychometric properties, with a bifactor model as best fit. The validation of a measure of OCP traits in children aged 4-9 years demonstrates that OCP traits are evident and measurable in childhood. Strong associations between POPS-C scores and negative affectivity, executive functioning deficits, elevated delay of gratification, poor emotion regulation, and psychiatric symptoms highlight the need for early assessment and intervention for youth with OCP traits.
The narcissism literature lacks consensus on how narcissism is operationalized and empirically assessed. The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) may prove beneficial in assessing and unifying the various existing conceptualizations of narcissism. However, the current AMPD Criterion B trait profile of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is restrictive in that it captures only grandiose expressions of narcissism and does not account for broader features of antagonism and vulnerability. The purpose of the current study was to examine the utility of the AMPD trait model in capturing the various conceptualizations of narcissism. Trait facets of Emotional Lability, Anxiousness, Separation Insecurity, Suspiciousness, and Perseveration demonstrated correlations of at least a large effect size (r ≥ 0.5) with narcissism measures. Latent class analyses (LCA) revealed nonpathological, anxious, adaptive narcissism, and pathological narcissism classes. Findings suggest AMPD traits can capture various conceptualizations of narcissism and may be useful in differentiating varying severity levels of narcissism.
Emotional dysfunctions are fundamental to understanding personality disorders (PDs). The Minimal Emotional Dysfunctions (MED) model offers a systematic approach by categorizing these dysfunctions into disorders of affect modulation, production, and quality. It posits that PDs are primarily emotional disorders, with emotional disturbances shaping cognitive and interpersonal difficulties. This narrative review synthesizes empirical research on emotional dysfunctions in PDs, focusing on their classification within the MED model. A selective literature search integrated relevant findings to provide a framework for understanding emotional disturbances in PDs. The review highlights that dysfunctions of affect modulation, production, and quality manifest in distinct patterns across PDs and can be classified within the MED model. Emotional dysfunctions are a core feature of PDs and require more nuanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The dimensional framework of ICD-11 and the MED model offers valuable perspectives for understanding the complexity of emotional disturbances in PDs.
This study examined associations between aggression and constructs from the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) in a sample of 87 incarcerated adult men. Participants completed self-report measures of personality functioning (Criterion A), pathological personality traits (Criterion B), aggression, and impression management. Pearson correlations indicated that overall personality impairment and multiple pathological traits were significantly associated with aggression. In multivariable regression models, Hostility emerged as the most robust unique predictor of aggression, while overall personality impairment and Risk Taking showed negligible independent effects. These findings were replicated across supplementary analyses controlling for impression management. Overall, the findings align with theoretical models emphasizing hostile affect and antagonistic cognition as proximal mechanisms of aggression and highlight the value of AMPD-derived Hostility assessment within violence risk formulations. Results contribute much-needed data to an understudied field and provide a foundation for future research using larger forensic samples to refine AMPD-based models of aggression.
People with pronounced narcissistic traits exhibit marked problems in their intersubjective experiences, yet a more detailed view on how different aspects of interpersonal functioning relate to grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is lacking. We conducted a preregistered study of 956 participants to examine how vulnerable and grandiose narcissistic traits differ in relation to mentalizing, epistemic trust, belongingness, and experiences of shame. Our findings differentiated distinct inter- and intrapersonal patterns between high trait narcissistic vulnerable and grandiose individuals. Narcissistic vulnerability was linked with compromised mentalizing, increased epistemic mistrust and credulity, higher need for belonging, and heightened experiences of internal and external shame. Conversely, grandiose narcissistic traits predicted lower belongingness needs, reduced shame experiences, and higher epistemic mistrust without credulity or clear deficits in mentalizing abilities. These results highlight vulnerable trait narcissism's pronounced interpersonal instability and grandiose narcissism's defensive self-regulation and emphasize the importance of differentiating narcissistic traits to inform targeted therapeutic strategies addressing specific emotional and relational impairments.
