A comparison of the DSM-5 Section II and Section III personality disorder structures

Abstract

The DSM-5 Section III includes a hybrid model for the diagnosis of personality disorders, in which sets of dimensional personality trait facets are configured into personality disorder types. These PD types resemble the Section II categorical counterparts with dimensional traits descriptive of the Section II criteria to maintain continuity across the diagnostic systems. The current study sought to evaluate the continuity across the Section II and III models of personality disorders. This sample consisted of 397 undergraduate students, administered the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (Krueger et al., 2012) and the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis II Disorders-Personality Questionnaire (First et al., 2013). We examined whether the DSM-5 Section III trait facets for the PDs would be associated with their respective Section II counterparts, as well as determining whether additional facets could augment the prediction of the Section II disorders. Results revealed that, generally, the DSM-5 Section II disorders were most strongly associated with their Section III traits. Results also showed evidence to support the addition of facets not included in the Section III diagnostic criteria in the prediction of most disorders. These results show general support for the Section III model of personality disorders, however, results also show that additional research is needed to replicate these findings.