Dimensions of Personality and Personality Pathology: Factor Structure of the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure-II (SWAP-II)

Abstract

Researchers have proposed replacing the current system for diagnosing personality disorders with a dimensional trait model. Proposed trait models have been derived primarily from data provided by untrained lay informants (often via self-report questionnaires) using item sets derived from lay conceptions of personality. An alternative is to derive personality trait dimensions from data provided by clinically expert informants using an instrument that includes personality features salient to clinicians who treat personality dysfunction. The authors report the factor structure of the latest edition of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-II) using a normative clinical sample of 1,201 North American patients assessed by experienced psychologists and psychiatrists. Factor analysis identified 14 clinically and empirically coherent factors. The findings highlight dimensions of personality and personality pathology that have not emerged in personality item sets designed for lay personality description.

Predictors of remission in depression to individual and combined treatments (PReDICT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…Perhaps the central question at the heart of current research on the classification of personality pathology, which bears on predictors of treatment outcome, is how best to conceptualize personality: as categorical PDs; as sums of numbers of PDs or PD criteria met [117]; as dimensional representations of syndromes (for example, personality prototypes, for which patients can vary in the degree to which they match a given diagnosis [120]); or as dimensional traits (for example, neuroticism, emotional dysregulation, or emotional avoidance) [121,122]. …”

Validez de constructo de la versión corta de la Escala de Desregulación Emocional para niños y adolescentes

“…Debido a la dudosa validez de constructo de la EDS-short era necesario someter a prueba si los ítems correspondían a la dimensión de desregulación emocional, vislumbrada por Shedler y Westen (2004) mediante el uso del SWAP-200, antecedente directo de la EDS. En esta investigación se encontró evidencia a favor de la unidimensionalidad de la EDS-short, hallazgo que puede explicarse debido a que el constructo desregulación emocional es una dimensión que contempla indicadores de inestabilidad emocional, manejo de emociones negativas intensas, inestabilidad en el pensamiento bajo situaciones de estrés, entre otros (Westen et al, 2014).…”

“…La EDS surgió como una adaptación del Affect Regulation and Experience Q-sort (Westen, Muderrisoglu, Fowler, Shedler y Koren, 1997) Mediante análisis factorial exploratorio se ha concluido que los ítems del SWAP-200, que miden específi camente desregulación emocional, conforman una sola dimensión, llamada desregulación emocional, que se ha conceptuado como una defi ciencia en la habilidad para modular las emociones, por lo que estas tienden a salirse de control, cambiar rápidamente, expresarse de forma muy intensa y, por ende, sobrepasar la capacidad de razonamiento o afrontamiento (Shedler y Westen, 2004). La existencia de esta dimensión se ha replicado en un segundo estudio con adultos (Westen, Waller, Shedler y Blagov, 2014) y en otro con adolescentes (Westen, Dutra y Shedler, 2005). Resultaría benefi cioso corroborar el ajuste de la dimensión de desregulación emocional, usando análisis factorial confi rmatorio.…”

Assessing Anaclitic and Introjective Characteristics Using the SWAP‐200 Q‐Sort: Concurrent Validity with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales

“…The present study specifically examined the SWAP‐200 items of which there were parallel items to the SWAP‐II items of the four scales of the AIDA (Rost et al , ). The AIDA is a recently created clinician‐rated measure of Anaclitic and Introjective personality traits, which is composed of items from the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure‐II (SWAP‐II: Westen, Waller, Shedler, & Blagov, ). Through PCA of SWAP‐II items that were identified as representative of Anaclitic or Introjective personality types, four factors were identified: two subtypes of Anaclitic and Introjective personality: Introjective–Dismissive (named the Dismissive Depression scale; 16 items); Introjective–Self‐Critical (named the Self‐Critical Depression scale; 14 items); Anaclitic–Submissive (named the Submissive Depression scale; 11 items); Anaclitic–Needy (named the Needy Depression scale; 10 items).…”