Rorschach aggression variables: A study of reliability and validity

This study investigated the extent to which 6 Rorschach variables of aggres sion (A1, A2, AG, MOR, AgC, AgPast) are related to one another, to the Diag nostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; Americ an Psychiatric Association, 1994) Cluster B personality disorder criteria, and to self-report measures of anger, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Seventy-eight patients were found to meet DSM-IV criteria for an Axis II di sorder, Cluster A personality disorder (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal) = 9, Cluster B (antisocial personality disorder [ANPD] = 16, borderline perso nality disorder [BPD] = 23, histrionic personality disorder = 5, narcissist ic personality disorder = 12) = 56, and Cluster C personality disorder (avo idant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive) = 13. The results of this study ind icated that (a) these 6 Rorschach aggression variables can be scored reliab ly; (b) 2 factors, revealed by factor analysis, accounted for 77% of the to tal variance; (c) selected variables were found to be empirically related t o DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ANPD and BPD; and (d) selected variables w ere found to be empirically related to a self-report measure of anger and a ntisocial practices. The conceptual nature and clinical utility of these Ro rschach aggression variables as well as implications for future research ar e discussed.