THE KAROLINSKA PSYCHODYNAMIC PROFILE (KAPP) - STUDIES OF CHARACTER AND WELL-BEING

The Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile (KAPP) is a rating instrument tha t consists of 18 subscales for assessing different aspects of characte r from clinical interviews. The psychometric properties of the instrum ent, including reliability, stability, and some earlier validity studi es, are reviewed. The present validity study of the KAPP examines aspe cts of affect control and its relation to other state and trait measur es as well as to psychopathology in 65 ulcerative colitis patients. Cl uster analysis was used to classify individuals according to aspects o f affect control. Our results suggest that patients with excessive imp ulse control also have problems coping with aggressive affects, that t his co-occurring difficulty is a stable mode of mental functioning in the individual, and that these patients manage quite well emotionally. Our findings also suggest that frustration tolerance is an important factor in psychopathology; poor frustration tolerance is associated wi th more problems on most measures.