Assessment of Adolescent Personality Disorders Through the Interview of Personality Organization Processes in Adolescence (IPOP-A): Clinical and Theoretical Implications

Abstract Purpose of Review The concept of personality functioning (Alternative DSM-5 Model of Personality Disorders) has led to increased interest in dimensional personality disorder diagnosis. While differing markedly from the current categorical classification, it is closely related to the psychodynamic concepts of personality structure and personality organization. In this review, the three dimensional approaches, their underlying models, and common instruments are introduced, and empirical studies on similarities and differences between the concepts and the categorical classification are summarized. Additionally, a case example illustrates the clinical application. Recent Findings Numerous studies demonstrate the broad empirical basis, validated assessment instruments and clinical usefulness of the dimensional concepts. Their advantages compared to the categorical approach, but also the respective differences, have been demonstrated empirically, in line with clinical observations. Summary Evidence supports the three dimensional concepts, which share conceptual overlap, but also entail unique aspects of personality pathology, respectively.

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Empirical typology of adolescent personality organization

Journal of Adolescence ◽

10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.04.004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 ◽

pp. 31-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marko Biberdzic ◽

Karin Ensink ◽

Lina Normandin ◽

John F. Clarkin

Keyword(s):

Personality Organization ◽

Empirical Typology ◽

Adolescent Personality

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Personality Disorders in Adult Female Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: Dimensions of Personality Pathology and Characteristics of Abuse

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520903136 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052090313 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Agnieszka Izdebska

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Child Sexual Abuse ◽

Personality Disorders ◽

Physical Contact ◽

Personality Pathology ◽

Control Group ◽

Abuse Survivors ◽

Sexual Abuse Survivors ◽

Personality Organization ◽

The Impact

The relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and later personality disorders (PDs) has been established in numerous studies. However, there are still a number of uncertainties about the specifics of this association. This study further explored the child sexual abuse survivors’ (CSASs) vulnerability to PDs by introducing the variable of personality organization (PO) and dimensions of personality pathology as conceptualized by Kernberg, and by including additional variables of CSA characteristics. It was hypothesized that in the CSA group, the occurrence of borderline personality organization (BPO) would be significantly higher than in the non-CSA group and that characteristics of abuse associated with its higher severity would prevail in individuals with BPO. The study group consisted of 329 women who completed measures of PO and experiences of CSA. The results were consistent with formulated hypotheses. Significantly more CSASs than those who did not experience CSA were characterized by close to BPO (cBPO). Moreover, CSASs group differed from the group without the CSA experience with regard to all BPO dimensions. The biggest difference between the CSA and the control group concerned the dimension referring to the difficulties in creating close, intimate relationships. With regard to CSA features, women characterized by cBPO, in contrast to those characterized by neurotic personality organization (NPO), significantly more often reported having experienced CSA more than once, involving physical contact, from more than one offender and from the offender they previously known. The findings of the study support the idea that the optimal treatment approach for CSASs should address both the personality structure and the specificity of the impact of CSA along with its characteristics.

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Adolescent personality disorders

Current Opinion in Psychiatry ◽

10.1097/00001504-199407000-00005 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 308-310

Author(s):

Barbara A. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorders ◽

Adolescent Personality

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Familial Aggregation of Adolescent Personality Disorders

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1097/00004583-199506000-00021 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 798-804 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Barbara A. Johnson ◽

David A. Brent ◽

John Connolly ◽

Jeff Bridge ◽

James Matta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorders ◽

Familial Aggregation ◽

Adolescent Personality

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Adolescent Personality Disorders and Conflict with Romantic Partners During the Transition to Adulthood

Journal of Personality Disorders ◽

10.1521/pedi.18.6.507.54794 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 507-525 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Henian Chen ◽

Patricia Cohen ◽

Jeffrey G. Johnson ◽

Stephanie Kasen ◽

Joel R. Sneed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorders ◽

Transition To Adulthood ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Adolescent Personality

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The Level of Personality Functioning Scale Applied to Clinical Material From the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO): Utility in Detecting Personality Pathology

Journal of Personality Disorders ◽

10.1521/pedi_2020_34_472 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rossella Di Pierro ◽

Ivan Gargiulo ◽

Anita Poggi ◽

Fabio Madeddu ◽

Emanuele Preti

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorders ◽

Alternative Model ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Personality Pathology ◽

Clinical Material ◽

General Psychopathology ◽

Personality Organization ◽

Clinical Interviews ◽

Personality Functioning ◽

Significant Impairment

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders states that personality pathology involves significant impairment in personality functioning that can be assessed using the Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS). However, the ability of the LPFS to capture impairments typical of personality pathology, rather than of general psychopathology, is still unclear. The authors applied a 12-item version of the LPFS to clinical interviews (i.e., the Structured Interview of Personality Organization [STIPO]) to test whether differences in levels of impairment in domains related to both self- and interpersonal functioning can be detected among patients with personality disorders (n = 33), psychiatric outpatients (n = 30), and nonclinical controls (n = 30). Results show that the 12-item version of the LPFS scored using clinical material gathered through STIPO interviews captures impairments in identity, self-direction, and empathy uniquely linked to personality pathology. However, impairments in intimacy do not differentiate between patients with and without personality disorders.

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