Biomedical subjects

Thomas F Oltmanns

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas F Oltmanns.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The interrater reliability of the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality.

We examined the joint interview interrater reliability of the Structured Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Personality Disorders (SIDP-IV) in 433 non-treatment-seeking military recruits. Reliability was computed for the diagnosis of a specific personality disorder (PD) and for the number of PD criteria present, and computed using a dimensional score. Reliability increased when PDs were computed using dimensional scores rather than categorical scores. Avoidant and dependent PDs demonstrated the highest interrater reliability, whereas schizoid and schizotypal showed the lowest. This large sample allowed us to perform item-level analyses of the SIDP-IV. Interrater reliability for each of the PD criteria was generally more than 0.70, with the notable exception of criteria scored through observation only. Overall, the SIDP-IV demonstrated good reliability in a non-treatment-seeking population.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disord↗

PubMed2005

Meta-perception for pathological personality traits: do we know when others think that we are difficult?

The self allows us to reflect on our own behavior and to imagine what others think of us. Clinical experience suggests that these abilities may be impaired in people with personality disorders. They do not recognize the impact that their behavior has on others, and they have difficulty understanding how they are seen by others. We collected information regarding pathological personality traits--using both self and peer report measures--from groups of people who knew each other well (at the end of basic military training). In previous papers, we have reported that agreement between self-report and peer-report is only modest. In this paper, we address the question: Do people know that others disagree with their own perceptions of themselves? We found that expected peer scores predicted variability in peer report over and above self-report for all 10 diagnostic traits. People do have some incremental knowledge of how they are viewed by others, but they do not tell you about it unless you ask them to do so; the knowledge is not reflected in ordinary self-report data. Among participants who expect their peers to describe them as narcissistic, those who agree with this assessment are viewed as being less narcissistic by their peers than those who deny being narcissistic. It therefore appears that insight into how one is viewed by others can moderate negative impressions fostered by PD traits.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Self- and peer perspectives on pathological personality traits and interpersonal problems.

This study compares the relationship between personality disorders and interpersonal problems as obtained by self-report and peer-report measures. Participants (N = 393) were administered self- and peer-report versions of the Peer Inventory for Personality Disorder and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-64. Canonical analyses demonstrated similar relationships between personality disorder features and interpersonal problems as measured by either self or peer. Analyses between self and peer found little shared variance across sources, indicating a large method variance. Results indicate that although similar constructs are identified by self and peers in their understanding of personality pathology and associated interpersonal problems, self-report information overlaps very little with information obtained from peers, underscoring the importance of obtaining multiple sources of information.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Interpersonal perception and pathological personality features: consistency across peer groups.

This study investigated the consistency of interpersonal perceptions regarding people who exhibit features of personality disorders. The participants (N=82) were college students who were assessed for features of personality disorders, using both self-report and peer nominations at Time 1. Two years later, participants attended four meetings in groups of 7 to 12 people for a total of 2 hours. Group discussions were designed to encourage interaction and give participants an opportunity to behave in ways that might be expected from people with personality problems. After Meetings 1 and 4, group members ranked their impressions of each other with regard to several personality traits and behavioral attributes. We observed important consistencies between the peer nominations collected at Time 1 and personality rankings made by a different peer group at Time 2. There was considerable convergence between personality disorder features and negative evaluations by others, with participants high in detachment eliciting the most negative reactions from peers in the lab.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disord↗

PubMed2005

Ethnic identification biases responses to the Padua Inventory for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The authors report differential item functioning (DIF) between Black and White participants completing the 60-item Padua Inventory (PI) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors use an Internet-generated sample that included 105 Blacks, 67 Hispanics, 582 Whites, and 136 additional participants reporting an OCD diagnosis. Factor analysis replicated prior work indicating the PI consists of four factors: contamination fears, checking behaviors, impaired control over thoughts, and fear of losing control over impulses. On the contamination subscale, nonclinical Black and Hispanic mean scores were as high as the OCD group. Comparing Blacks to Whites, the authors applied an item response theory, DIF-graded response model to each factor and found significant DIF on eight items, with biased items in each factor. Results suggest that extraneous factors contribute to racial differences on scores. Cultural practices and fear of being negatively stereotyped may contribute to item bias.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Personality disorder not otherwise specified: searching for an empirically based diagnostic threshold.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for empirically investigating diagnostic criteria for personality disorder not otherwise specified (PDNOS). From a large, nonclinical sample of military recruits and undergraduate students who were screened for personality disorders (PDs), 572 completed the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality. Data from the interviewed group were used to identify a diagnostic threshold for PDNOS by comparing those who did (n = 88) and did not (n = 484) qualify for a PD diagnosis. For both groups, subjective distress increased and measures of social and occupational functioning decreased as a function of the number of PD criteria met. A classification and regression tree modeling procedure was applied using self-report scores on measures of mood, anxiety, and personality traits to arrive at probabilities for predicting the presence of a PD diagnosis based on the pattern of reported traits present. These probabilities were then used to derive an empirically based diagnostic threshold for PDNOS. In this sample, the most appropriate threshold for a PDNOS diagnosis appears to be the presence of 10 PD criteria for a person who does not qualify for a diagnosis of any other specific form of PD. This definition identified 5.5% of the young adults who were interviewed in this study.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Traits associated with personality disorders and adjustment to military life: predictive validity of self and peer reports.

This study demonstrated that traits and features associated with several types of personality disorders are related to work performance and the ability to conform to requirements of military life. The Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality and a peer nomination procedure were used to assess traits associated with 10 types of personality disorders in a sample of 1,080 Air Force recruits (57% male) at the end of basic military training. Correlations between self-report and peer nomination scores for each set of traits ranged from 0.24 to 0.13, indicating only modest convergence. Follow-up data, collected 2 years later, indicated that several scores from the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality and the peer nomination procedure were significantly related to early discharge from the military. Peers provide useful information that is not redundant with that provided by the individual. When possible, assessment of personality problems should be considered from information obtained from peers or other informants.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Deliberate self-harm in a nonclinical population: prevalence and psychological correlates.

OBJECTIVE: Research on deliberate self-harm (intentionally injuring oneself without suicidal intent) has focused on clinical and forensic populations. Studying only these populations, which typically have serious psychopathology, may lead to inflated estimates of the association between self-harm and psychiatric disorder, as well as of the prevalence of deliberate self-harm. The present study investigated the prevalence and correlates of deliberate self-harm in a large group of nonclinical subjects. METHOD: Participants were 1,986 military recruits, 62% of whom were men, who were participating in a study of peer assessment of personality traits and pathology. Individuals who did and did not report a history of self-harm were compared on measures of personality and psychopathology. RESULTS: Approximately 4% of the participants reported a history of deliberate self-harm. Compared with participants without a history of deliberate self-harm, self-harmers scored higher on self- and peer-report measures of borderline, schizotypal, dependent, and avoidant personality disorder symptoms and reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Item-level analyses indicated that peers viewed self-harmers as having strange and intense emotions and a heightened sensitivity to interpersonal rejection. CONCLUSIONS: About one of every 25 members of a large group of relatively high-functioning nonclinical subjects reported a history of self-harm. Self-harmers had more symptoms of several personality disorders than non-self-harmers, and their performance across measures suggested that anxiety plays a prominent role in their psychopathology. Future research should investigate whether psychotherapies or psychiatric medications known to reduce symptoms of anxiety can be effective in treating deliberate self-harm.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Factorial structure of pathological personality as evaluated by peers.

This study explored how individuals apply features of personality disorders (PDs) to peers. Members of groups nominated peers who exhibited symptoms for each of the 10 PDs in the DSM-IV. Data were gathered in 2 samples: 1st-year college students (n = 1,440) and Air Force recruits (n = 2,075). The peer method reliably identified group members exhibiting specific PD features. Factor analyses identified a clearly interpretable structure relevant to the pathological personality constructs being assessed. The structure replicated well across samples and showed expected relationships to broader models of normal personality. However, cross-method correlations of factor scores were only moderate, suggesting that peer reports are reliably different from self-reports regarding the presence of pathological personality traits.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Personality traits and pathology in older and younger incarcerated women.

Personality disorders were examined in 157 incarcerated women, using the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP; Clark, 1996) to assess 10 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) diagnostic categories and dimensions and 15 domains of trait/temperament relevant to disordered personality. Similar to both community samples and incarcerated men, older women had lower rates of personality disorders than younger women, and the difference was mostly accounted for by differences in the Cluster B disorders. In an exploratory analysis of trait and temperament scales, the older women also scored lower in Aggression, Disinhibition, Entitlement, Exhibitionism, Impulsivity, and Manipulativeness while younger women scored lower in Workaholism and Propriety. These findings suggest that remission of antisocial behavior in women may be associated with changes in lower order personality traits or temperament.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP): temporal stability and predictive validity of the diagnostic scales.

The authors investigated the test-retest reliability and predictive validity of the diagnostic scales from the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP). Participants were identified from a sample of 240 undergraduates who completed the SNAP and the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS-SR) at Time 1. The authors selected 50 people who met criteria for a personality disorder (PD) based on the SNAP and 50 who did not qualify for a diagnosis. Eighty-three of these people completed the SNAP and the SAS-SR for a second time approximately 9 months after initial screening. SNAP PD scales were relatively stable over time. Test-retest correlation coefficients ranged from .58 to .81. Scores on diagnostic scales for paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal PD were inversely related to self-reported levels of adjustment for social roles concerned with work as a student, leisure activities, and relationships with family. The results provide some evidence for the validity of the SNAP

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Impaired social functioning and symptoms of personality disorders assessed by peer and self-report in a nonclinical population.

Data regarding the connection between personality disorders (PDs) and impaired social functioning are often difficult to interpret because both sets of variables are influenced by depressed mood and both are usually assessed using self-report instruments. We studied PD symptoms in a nonclinical population and examined whether these symptoms are associated with social dysfunction, after controlling for current mental state. Participants were 577 undergraduate students who completed self-report measures of social functioning, PD symptoms, depression, and anxiety, as well as a peer-report PD inventory. As expected, self-reported PD scores and social dysfunction were both correlated with current levels of anxiety and depression. Both self- and peer-reported PD symptoms contributed to the prediction of level of social functioning above and beyond the influence of depressed mood. Overall, our results complement those from clinical samples and provide further evidence that there is an association between PD traits and impaired social functioning.

Female↗

PubMed2002

Gender role and personality disorders.

Many researchers have hypothesized relationships between personality disorders and gender role (i.e., masculinity and femininity). However, research has not addressed if people who are masculine or feminine more often meet the criteria for personality disorders. The present study examined whether college students (N = 665, 60% women) higher in masculinity or femininity more often exhibited features of the 10 DSM-IV personality disorders. Feminine men exhibited more features of all the personality disorders except antisocial. Dependent traits were associated with higher femininity and lower masculinity. Antisocial traits were associated with masculinity. Both men and women who typically behaved consistent with their gender had more narcissistic and histrionic features, whereas participants who typically behaved unlike their gender had more features of the Cluster A personality disorders.

Adolescent↗