In this chapter, we discuss the state of the science regarding the measurement of implicit personality (i.e., the elements of personality that are not accessible via conscious introspection). Optimal measurement of implicit personality necessitates a strong underlying psychological theory combined with indirect measurement that is resilient to dishonest responding; with such a foundation, researchers may evaluate the psychometric properties of their measures, including the independent predictive validity that indirect measures of implicit personality have over above direct measures of explicit personality. We review three prototypic classes of indirect measurement that lend themselves to assessing aspects of implicit personality: projective measures, response latency measures, and conditional reasoning measures. We discuss the history and theory behind each of these classes of measurement systems and introduce …

conclude that “fluoxetine (alone or in combination with CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy]) seems to be the best choice for the acute treatment of moderate-to-severe depressive disorder in children and adolescents.” However, the meta-analysis has several statistical and methodological flaws that belie this and other conclusions. First, the authors’ own data indicate that the conclusions about the superiority of fluoxetine are unjustifiable. Almost none of the comparisons between fluoxetine or fluoxetine plus CBT and other treatments are significant. Furthermore, the confidence intervals of most interventions versus pill placebo overlap with that of fluoxetine and fluoxetine plus CBT, indicating that none should be considered superior to any other.

Psychodynamic means “the mind in motion.” Psychodynamic psychotherapy refers to psychotherapies that stem from the psychoanalytic tradition and focus on the role of conflicting forces within the mind—competing desires, impulses, emotions, fears, and prohibitions—and their interface with external reality as sources of suffering and symptoms. The psychoanalytic tradition centers on the understanding of the mind elaborated initially by Freud (1923/1961) that emphasizes the role of unconscious aspects of mental functioning and the interaction of constitutional biological predispositions and environmental influences in psychological development. While psychodynamic therapies are primarily psychological treatments, in the course of the therapy, the therapist must continue to assess the impact of biological factors that affect the patient’s condition. As psychoanalysis evolved, its focus shifted from symptoms to character pathology (Gabbard 2005). More recently, with the emphasis on evidence-based treatments, models of psychodynamic therapy to treat specific types of personality disorder (PD) have been developed and researched (Bateman and Fonagy 2012; Clarkin et al. 2006; Yeomans et al. 2015). As the field continues to evolve, the dialogue between evidence-based models and clinical analytic practice is enriching both. As part of our discussion of the psychotherapy of personality disorders, we will also review the evolving conceptualization of those disorders.

To date, prominent theories still disagree on whether the pathological grandiosity that underlies narcissism stems from a defensive, compensatory process in response to insecurity or from years of unjustified overvaluation during formative stages of development. Across two studies, we introduce a novel method to test these theories by examining visual representations of self. In Study 1, we measured Self-Concept Clarity and the distortion of (n = 96) participants' self-images (generated using the reverse correlation technique) relative to their actual appearances. In Study 2, we then compared attractiveness ratings of the actual photographs of participants with their self-images generated in Study 1, through judgments made by independent raters (n = 45). Our work revealed that a) lower Self-Concept Clarity predicts self-image distortion, b) the narcissistic desire to conceal flaws mediates this association, and c) self …

Personality disorders (PDs) are relatively common, especially in clinical settings. A number of evidence-based treatments are now available, especially for borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, little is known about the relevant training available to doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology. In the current study, data were extracted from 336 clinical and counseling PhD and PsyD programs from the Insider’s Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (Sayette & Norcross, 2020), including the number of programs with faculty with specific interests in personality disorders and the number of programs with clinical opportunities related to personality disorders. We found that formal training in personality disorders is not widely available to most trainees in American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited doctoral training programs. Only 16% of programs have faculty …

Most people will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime, but only a subset (<10%) will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective To facilitate prevention and intervention of PTSD, it is important to understand how risk and resilience factors interact with one another to explain individual differences in risk for PTSD, especially in underprivileged groups, who often experience greater burden of trauma and PTSD. Method The current study utilized multiple and moderated regression to examine the relation between childhood maltreatment and adulthood PTSD risk in the context of various attachment patterns and emotion dysregulation in a sample (n = 856) of mostly low-income, African American participants. Results Moderation analysis indicated that the strongest association between self-reported childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptoms was manifest in participants reporting the highest …

Chronic emptiness in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has received little empirical attention. We sought to examine basic properties of a single chronic emptiness item, including prevalence, reliability, validity, the relation of the emptiness item to other BPD criteria, and measures of personality. Undergrad- uates enrolled in psychology courses over 12 years' time completed the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD) (N = 22,217). Subsets of participants completed the International Personality Disorder Examination—Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ) (N = 2732), The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Anxiety, Angry Hostility, Depression, Positive Emotions [reversed], and Impulsivity facets) (N = 10,506), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) (N = 1110) as validity indicators; 10.0% of respondents endorsed emptiness. Reliability indices suggested moderate levels of reliability between two emptiness items (r(2730) = 0.61, p < 0.001). Among BPD criteria, emptiness and identity disturbance correlated most strongly (r(22,215) = 0.81, p < 0.001). MSI emptiness was more corre- lated with depression on the NEO (r(10,504) = 0.43, p < 0.001) and DASS (r(1108) = 0.51, p < 0.001) than other facets of negative affect. Emptiness was more correlated with greater borderline pathology than any other MSI-BPD item (Sample 1, rtet = 0.87; Sample 2, rtet = 0.86). This criterion warrants further study and attention, especially related to assessment of BPD.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a highly prevalent, chronic, and debilitating disorder characterized by instability in one's sense of self, others, and mood. This instability is expressed as emotional lability, impulsivity, interpersonal dysfunction, angry outbursts, suicidality, and non‐suicidal self‐injury. One in 10 patients with BPD will end up dying from suicide. Those suffering from BPD are more likely to commit suicide than those with depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and unmediated bipolar disorder. BPD has historically been thought to be difficult to treat. However, several integrative treatments – deriving from both the cognitive‐behavioral and psychodynamic traditions – that have shown efficacy in randomized controlled trials and are now available to clinicians and their patients.