The "DSM-5" proposal indicates that personality disorders (PDs) be defined as collections of maladaptive traits but does not provide a specific diagnostic method. However, researchers have previously suggested that PD constructs can be assessed by comparing individuals' trait profiles with those prototypic of PDs and evidence from the…

Goodness of fit has been a key theoretical construct for understanding caregiver-child relationships. We developed an interview method to assess goodness of fit as a relationship construct, and employed this method in a longitudinal study of child temperament, family context, and attachment relationship formation. Goodness of fit at 4 and 8 months…

The purpose of this study is to investigate longitudinal risk processes linking early child maltreatment, childhood personality organizations, and adolescent maladaptation. In a sample of maltreated and nonmaltreated children ("N" = 400; 62.3% African American, 11.8% Hispanic; 40.8% girls), a tripartite personality typology based on…

The purpose of this article is to provide a foundation for the development of evidence-based guidelines for the assessment of personality disorders, focusing in particular on integrated assessment strategies. The general strategy recommended herein is to first administer a self-report inventory to alert oneself to the potential presence of…

The authors examined the construct and incremental validity of the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P), a relatively new instrument designed to detect interpersonal behaviors associated with psychopathy. Observers of videotaped Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) interviews rated male prisoners (N = 93) on the IM-P. The IM-P correlated…