Distinguishing between demoralization and specific personality traits in clinical assessment with the NEO-PI-R

Arjen Noordhof*, Martin Sellbom, Annemarie Eigenhuis, Jan H. Kamphuis

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    14 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Demoralization, a nonspecific unpleasant state that is common in clinical practice, has been identified as a potential source of nonspecificity in the assessment of personality and psychopathology. The aim of this research was to distinguish between Demoralization and specific personality traits in a widely used measure of personality: the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (NEOPI- R). NEO-PI-R and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 questionnaires were completed by 278 patients of a specialized clinic for personality disorders in The Netherlands. Furthermore, a replication sample was used consisting of 405 patients from the same institution who completed NEO-PI-R questionnaires, as well. A measure of Demoralization was derived (NEOdem, a NEO-PI-Rbased Demoralization scale) using factor analytic techniques. Results indicated that the Demoralization Scale scores were reliable and showed expected patterns of convergence and divergence with conceptually relevant Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-RF scales. When items contributing to Demoralization-related variance were removed from the NEO-PI-R scales, increased specificity was notable with regard to external correlates. These results provide supportive evidence for the validity and heuristic potential of distinguishing between Demoralization and specific personality traits within the NEO-PI-R.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)645-656
    Number of pages12
    JournalPsychological Assessment
    Volume27
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2015

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