Deconstructing criterion a of the alternative model for personality disorders.

The construct composition of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS; Criterion A) of the alternative model for personality disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) was examined in a clinical vignette rating study. Multiple indices of level of personality functioning, psychiatric and psychosocial impairment, Criterion B maladaptive personality traits, and conceptually divergent variables (intellectual level, socioeconomic status, and likability) were used to deconstruct the LPFS. Most variables were highly intercorrelated, but partial correlational analyses showed the LPFS possesses meaningful personality construct variance not fully explained by severity of pathological traits, psychiatric and psychosocial impairment, or the conceptually divergent variables.

The Impact of History of Aggression and Alcohol Use on Aggressive: Responding in the Laboratory.

The current study examines how different levels of past aggression combined with self-reported levels of alcohol use impacted lab-based aggressive responding. Data were collected from 160 male undergraduate college students. Participants completed online measures of drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and past aggression (Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire) prior to a lab session assessing aggressive responding [Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP)].

Moderating Effect of Negative Peer Group Climate on the Relation Between Men's Locus of Control and Aggression Toward Intimate Partners.

The present study sought to examine the interactive effects of an external locus of control and interaction in a negative peer group climate on men's perpetration of physical aggression and infliction of injury toward their female intimate partners. Participants were 206 heterosexual males recruited from the metro-Atlanta community who completed self-report measures of external locus of control, involvement in a negative peer group climate, and physical aggression and infliction of injury against intimate partners during the past 12 months. Negative peer group climate was conceptualized as a peer group that displays behavior which may instigate aggressive norms, attitudes, and behaviors.