Personality disorder categories as combinations of dimensions: translating cooperative behavior in borderline personality disorder into the five-factor framework

J Pers Disord. 2012 Apr;26(2):298-304. doi: 10.1521/pedi.2012.26.2.298.

Abstract

The authors examined the proposal that personality disorder categories may denote particular detrimental combinations of personality dimensions. A multiround economic exchange game (ten round trust game), conducted with university students pre-selected on basis of their personalities (N = 164), provided a framework within which to investigate inability to repair ruptured cooperation. This behavior, thought to be characteristic of patients diagnosed with DSM-IV borderline personality disorder, was predicted only by the combination of high Neuroticism and low Agreeableness. Our results highlight an advantage of the categorical approach, category labels being a much more economic means of description than the delineation of interactions between dimensions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / classification*
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / psychology
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Male
  • Personality / classification*
  • Social Adjustment
  • Students / psychology*
  • Young Adult