Establishing the psychometric properties of the DSM-III-R personality disorders: Implications for DSM-V

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychology Vol. 54; no. 6; pp. 795 - 802
• Main Authors: Blais, Mark A., Benedict, Kenneth B., Norman, Dennis K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brandon Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.10.1998; Wiley; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Humans; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Observer Variation; Patient Care Team; Personality; Personality Disorders - classification; Personality Disorders - diagnosis; Personality Disorders - psychology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reproducibility of Results; Techniques and methods; Human; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III; Criterion; Psychometrics; Diagnosis; Revised drafting; Personality disorder
• ISSN: 0021-9762; 1097-4679
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199810)54:6<795::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-G

In this study, symptom (item) level data were used to perform a psychometric analysis of the DSM‐III‐R personality disorders (PDs). Determined for each PD criteria set were convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency. The results indicated that the majority of the PD criteria sets (6 of the 11) possessed adequate convergent validity, although discriminant validity was problematic for most of these disorders. Internal consistency was also weak for the PD criteria sets, with only 3 of the 11 exceeding a minimum cutoff score of .70. The present study employed a methodology modeled after the one reported by Morey (1988a), and the results of the two studies were highly similar. Consistent findings across the two data sets can be taken to reflect the actual psychometric properties of the DSM‐III‐R PDs. The success of our replication demonstrates the potential that large‐scale psychometric investigations hold for aiding the development and refinement of the DSM PDs. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 54: 795–802, 1998.