AGREEMENT BETWEEN SELF-REPORT AND SEMISTRUCTURED INTERVIEWING IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY-DISORDERS

This paper presents the results of a study comparing two instruments f or the assessment of personality disorders according to the DSM-III-R and the ICD-10 classification systems: the International Personality D isorder Examination (IPDE), a semi-structured clinical interview, and the ''Questionnaire on Personality Traits'' (VKP), a self-report quest ionnaire. IPDE interviews and VKP self-reports were administered to 10 8 psychiatric patients and 'normals'. The VKP appeared to overestimate the prevalence of personality disorders when compared with the IPDE: prevalence of personality disorders is about 2.5 times higher when ass essed by self-report than by interview. The mean Kappas for DSM and IC D disorders were low, respectively 0.25 and 0.26. These mean Kappas we re only calculated if a positive DSM and ICD disorder base rate is at least 5%. The sensitivity of the VKP is 100% for eight of the 22 disor ders. For 15 out of 22 disorders, the specificity of the VKP is reason able to high (greater than or equal to 0.80). The probable and positiv e diagnoses of the VKP cover 87% of the positive IPDE diagnoses. On th e dimensional level high correlations were found between similar scale s of the IPDE and the VKP, and low correlations between scales that me asure different concepts, pointing to reasonable convergent and discri minant validity. Based on the results of this study it is concluded th at the VKP is a suitable screening instrument for most DSM-III-R and I CD-10 personality disorders. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.