Psychometric Qualities of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology – Short Form for Adolescents

Abstract

Background: A growing body of research recognizes the occurrence and validity of personality pathology during adolescence as well as its relevance as a developmental precursor of adult personality pathology. Objective: The present study recognizes the need for a comprehensive and concise instrument to assess the dimensions of personality pathology in adolescents. Therefore, the psychometric qualities of an abbreviated version of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology -Basic Questionnaire for Adolescents (DAPP-BQ-A), which has been denoted as the DAPP -Short Form for Adolescents (DAPP-SF-A), were examined. Method: The factorial structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminative validity, and classification accuracy of the DAPP-SF-A scales were examined in three samples: 1596 non-referred adolescents; 166 adolescents referred to inpatient and outpatient mental health services; and 58 referred and general population adolescents. Results: Despite a reduction in the number of items by 50% (from 290 to 144 items), the promising psychometric qualities established for the DAPP-BQ-A were replicated for the DAPP-SF-A. Conclusions:The results of this study are promising regarding the qualities of the DAPP-SF-A and its utility in both clinical and research settings. In addition, the equivalence of the instruments for adolescents and (young) adults enables the investigation of developmental trajectories across different life stages.

The Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology – Short Form for Adolescents (DAPP-SF-A): normative data for Flemish adolescents aged 16 to 21 years

“…In a similar manner, they developed a short form containing 136 items for adolescents (DAPP-SF-A) from the DAPP-SF. The DAPP-BQ-A and DAPP-SF-A have been examined in the Netherlands, where adequate psychometric properties were established (20,21). These findings are in line with recent studies that provided evidence for the reliable measurement of PD in adolescents using the PID-5 model (22)(23)(24).…”

Severity of maltreatment and personality pathology in adolescents of Jammu, India: A latent class approach

“…The lower-order dimensions are enlisted in Table 3 except for Intimacy problems. The internal consistency of the lower-order dimensions was found to be good and the dimensions showed adequate discriminant validity all indicating large effects in the distinction between subsamples of adolescents referred for clinical intervention regarding DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) Axis I disorders, Axis II disorders, and between the referred and a community sample (Tromp & Koot, 2015). The internal consistency reliability of intimacy problems is reported to be low in adolescent samples (Tromp & Koot, 2008).…”

Normative development of the Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile from early childhood to adolescence: Associations with personality pathology

“…The relative lack of experience of adolescents in these domains might have affected the assessment of intimacy problems. Psychometric analyses have furthermore shown that the intimacy problems scale had low test–retest reliability and poor accuracy (Tromp & Koot, 2012). Future research should examine DP in relation to these aspects of personality pathology in an adult sample and perhaps with different measures.…”

“…Furthermore, children with dysregulation were found to be more harm avoidant, which contains elements of shyness and reluctance to engage with peers (Althoff et al, 2012). Generally, parent–adolescent agreement is low on the less visible internalizing behaviors such as withdrawn behavior (Rescorla et al, 2014; Rubin, Althoff, Walkup, & Hudziak, 2013), and intimacy problems (Tromp & Koot, 2012), and therefore detachment features should also be examined using adolescent self-report.…”