Influence Of Pychopathology On Personality Assessment

It is accepted that personality partially determines the development, course, and treatment of a psychological disorder. As such, much attention has been paid to the etiological relationship between personality and psychopathology, which claims that personality causes or “sets the stage for” psychopathology. However, the reverse is also true, shedding light on a reciprocal relationship. The pathoplastic model of personality and psychopathology states that just as premorbid personality influences psychopathology, psychopathology can alter the expression of personality traits. For example, patients assessed when they were in negative mood states (e.g., during a depressive episode) reported a more negative, distorted view of themselves than when they were assessed out of that state (Widiger & Smith, 2010). Thus, these patient’s self-descriptions were influenced by their psychopathology. Gunderson et al. (2003) found that

From a methodological perspective, this model presents a serious threat to the reliability and validity of personality assessments. The potential influence of psychopathology on personality assessments would preclude the consistency (i.e., reliability) of those measures. A clinical implication is that assessments completed at hospitalization intake are likely impacted by psychopathology; results must then be interpreted with caution. However, if assessments should be administered at the end of treatment to get a more accurate depiction of personality after the disorder has (hopefully) remitted, clinicians are left with less initial information about the patient. This will create problems for treatment planning, particularly with regard to whether a personality disorder or Axis I disorder should be