Identity pathology and mentalization deficits: An attempt to support clinical theory with data.

An extensive theoretical literature links identity pathology with deficits in mentalization, which is the ability to understand the internal mental states of self and others. However, only a few investigations have attempted to bridge theory and data by empirically testing the relation between mentalization and identity pathology, and none have done so with mentalization measured using a laboratory task. The current study investigated the association between mentalization deficits and identity pathology in a large, nonclinical sample.

Co-occurrence of borderline and schizotypal personality disorders: a scoping review.

Background: The historical concept of borderline conditions refers to the pathology on the border between neurosis and psychosis. In the conditions were divided into specific but also somewhat overlapping diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD). This phenomenological overlap, which results in co-occurrence of the two diagnoses, remains a clinical challenge to this day.

Does Self-Silencing Behavior Mediate the Relation Between Rejection Sensitivity and Sexual Violence Victimization?

Previous research reveals that rejection sensitivity is associated with both sexual violence victimization and self-silencing behavior, yet the association among these variables has not been examined. As the foundation for this study, we propose a theoretical model that integrates these constructs. Using mediational analyses with bootstrapping, the results from a sample of 241 heterosexual college women revealed that consistent with the proposed model, self-silencing mediated the link between rejection sensitivity and reports of unwanted sexual contact and rape.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Studied the Long Way: Predicting Change in Narcissistic Pathology During College.

Objective: Otto F. Kernberg pioneered the description, understanding, and treatment of pathological narcissism. Narcissism has emerged as a clinical construct of considerable interest in clinical psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis and has often been featured in the literature on personality and social psychology.

Identity and Personality Pathology: A Convergence Across the Personality Disorder Model and the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders.

Long-standing theory regarding personality pathology as well as the recently proposed Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) posit that self/identity problems are a hallmark feature cutting across forms of personality pathology. With emergence of the AMPD, researchers have started to focus empirical investigations on identity pathology as a transdiagnostic factor across personality pathology. The current study investigated identity pathology across indicators of personality pathology from both the current categorical perspective ( PD) and the dimensional perspective in the AMPD.

Contributions of Multimethod Personality Assessment in Indirect Evaluation.

Indirect assessment is a useful tool in forensic evaluation, especially in cases of threat assessment. To this end, we illustrated the ability to conceptualize a complicated case (i.e.

Proximal Processes, Temperament, and Pathological Narcissism: An Empirical Exploration from the Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders.

Introduction: It is argued that all personality pathology represents the final emergent product of a complex interaction of underlying neurobehavioral systems, which are reflected in personality factors, in conjunction with environmental inputs. Neurobehavioral systems manifest themselves in dispositional temperament and personality processes. Environmental inputs include, obviously, interpersonal relationships (e.

Resilience and psychosocial functioning in schizotypy.

Understanding resilience has expanded our knowledge of certain risk and protective factors regarding the development of different forms of psychopathology. Particularly, a focus on resilience can be used to implement interventions and to target specific behaviors in hopes of mitigating the onset of a disorder or to alleviate symptoms. Less research on resilience has been done with individuals with psychosis, particularly schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Reconceptualization of borderline conditions through the lens of the alternative model of personality disorders.

Borderline (BPD) and schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) were introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III). However, the clinical differentiation of the 2 diagnoses (e.g.

Schizotypy 17 years on: Psychotic symptoms in midlife.

Determining the long-term psychosis-related outcomes of late-teen individuals characterized initially by a nonpsychotic, schizotypic feature (elevated perceptual aberrations) can further our understanding of the developmental pathways leading to schizophrenia, nonaffective psychotic conditions, and psychotic symptoms later in adulthood. Using the well-known laboratory/psychometric high-risk approach, the present study investigated the associations between nonpsychotic perceptual aberrations measured at age 18, in individuals with no prior history of psychosis, and clinical psychotic symptom outcomes 17 years later in midlife (middle 30s). Clinical assessments for hallucinations and delusions were completed for 191 adults (95% of the original sample) in the follow-up study.

Exploring Identity Disturbance and Psychotic Spectrum Symptoms as Predictors of Borderline and Schizotypal Personality Disorders.

Introduction: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) were introduced in DSM-III and retained in DSM-5 Section II. They often co-occur and some aspects of the clinical differentiation between the 2 diagnoses remain unclear (e.g.

The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia.

(Reprinted with permission from 2020; 177:868-872).

Personality Disturbances as Emergent Phenomena Reflective of Underlying Neurobehavioral Systems: Beyond Dimensional Measurement, Phenotypic Trait Descriptors, and Factor Analysis.

The conceptualization of personality pathology, or personality disturbance, is now at a substantive crossroads. Some researchers (and clinicians) prefer a focus on the domains of personality pathology that are well-described and captured in traditional categorical diagnostic approaches that, in some instances, abut normal personality constructs. Other workers argue to move the study of personality disorder (PD) closer to personality science seeking continuous connections between PD and established dimensions of healthy-range, normal personality.

Armand W. Loranger (1930-2019).

Memorializes Armand W. Loranger (1930-2019). A preeminent authority on personality pathology, Loranger was known internationally as a scholar who transformed the diagnosis of personality disorders through the development of a systematic structured interview approach, moving the field away from decades of less reliable methods.

Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind in Positive Schizotypy: Relationship to Schizotypal Traits and Psychosocial Functioning.

Theory of mind (ToM) impairments are well documented in schizophrenia, although it remains unclear whether these deficits exist among individuals with schizotypy. The current study sought to shed light on mixed findings in schizotypy by differentiating between various aspects of ToM, (cognitive/affective ToM and overmentalization/undermentalization). A three-group design (positive schizotypy, negative affect, and healthy control) was used to assess ToM performance on the Movie for Assessment of Social Cognition.

Self-referential hypermentalization in schizotypy.

There is substantial evidence that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in their ability to make inferences about others' mental states. However, the findings in schizotypy are mixed. In an effort to elucidate these mixed findings, the current study evaluated self-referential theory of mind (ToM) in positive schizotypy, or the ability to make inferences about others' mental states as they apply to the self.

A parallel process latent growth model of narcissistic personality disorder symptoms and normal personality traits.

Although evidence from a number of longitudinal studies indicates a marked change in narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) symptoms over time, few studies have examined other psychological systems that may be related to this change. The current study uses data from the Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders to examine how change in NPD symptoms is related to change in normal personality trait trajectories using parallel process growth curve modeling. A total of 250 students provided information on their personality traits and NPD symptoms on 3 occasions over the course of 4 years.

Conceptual Models of Borderline Personality Disorder, Part 2: A Process Approach and Its Implications.

In part 2, the authors argue for a greater focus on a process approach to conceptualizing borderline personality disorder (BPD). The studies reviewed highlight contextual aspects of the pathology, specifically the affective and relational conditions under which BPD features become evident. The authors identify at what level in a complex social cognitive process the pathology may emerge.

Conceptual Models of Borderline Personality Disorder, Part 1: Overview of Prevailing and Emergent Models.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a debilitating condition with significant personal and societal costs. Throughout the history of the conceptualization of borderline pathology as a form of psychopathology, there has been debate concerning the essential attributes of this disorder, which has significant implications for its assessment and treatment. The first of this 2-part review evaluates the major approaches to conceptualizing BPD, from the traditional DSM diagnosis through the more recent Alternative Model in DSM-5, Section III, and the research domain criteria initiative of the National Institute of Mental Health that was articulated largely in response to limitations of the DSM.

Malignant Narcissism in Relation to Clinical Change in Borderline Personality Disorder: An Exploratory Study.

Background: Normal and pathological narcissism have been the focus of considerable theoretical discussion and empirical research in recent years in personality psychology and psychopathology. Kernberg [1-4] has argued that there is a particularly dysfunctional and impairing variant of narcissistic disturbance known as malignant narcissism. This exploratory study sought to develop, using established assessment methods, a dimensional measure of malignant narcissism that incorporates the key features of grandiose narcissism, paranoid propensities, psychopathic features, and proclivity for a sadistic and aggressive interpersonal style.