Clinical Utility of the FFM and DSM-IV in the Diagnostic and Treatment of Personality Disorders

920 Words2 Pages

The DSM-IV, classifies personality disorder in categories, identifying significant maladaptative personality traits and most of the diagnosis are validated. Those types of disorders are linked to cognitive and perceptual abnormalities that affect the lives of individuals. The validity and accuracy of the DSM-IV has been questioned due to the absence of a dimensional model for personality disorders. (Lynan, 2001).The Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality illustrated five domains of personality used to describe human personality. The five factors are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. FFM is a basic configuration of the dimensions of personality which are related to the symptoms present in personality disorders. The personality disorders section of the DSM-IV is been revised in an attempt to address the issue of whether to change the actual categorical model for a dimensional model. There are studies that support this change, however the opponents to the change argue that does not have clinical utility (First, 2005) currently the categorical model and the FFM are under active investigation, comparing the clinical utility of both models. (Lowe & Widiger, 2009). Rottman and colleagues conduct a study in which clinicians have to identify the DSM-IV personality disorders in the basis of an FFM profile or on the basis of the complete set of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for personality disorders. They concluded that is easier for clinicians to identify a personality disorder using the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria compare to FFM profile. Also clinicians identify correctly a personality disorder 82% of the time based on the DSM but only 47% of the time when the used the FFM profile.(Rottman,2009). ... ... middle of paper ... .... Cambridge University Press. Page 24. Model of Personality Disorder. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Rottman, B. M., Ahn, W. K., Sanislow, C. A., & Kim, N. S. (2009). Can clinicians recognize DSM–IV personality disorders from five-factor model descriptions of patient cases? American Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 427–433. Samuel, D. B., & Widiger, T. A. (2006). Clinicians' judgments of clinical utility: A comparison of the DSM-IV and five-factor models. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(2), 298-308. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.2.298 Skodol, A., & Bender, D. (2009). The future of personality disorders in DSM-V? American Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 388–391. Widiger, T. A., Simonsen, E., Krueger, R. F., Livesley, W. J., & Verheul, R. (2005). Personality disorder research agenda for DSM-V. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19, 315–33

Open Document