Changes in the Classification of Personality Disorders: Comparing the DSM-5 Section II Personality Disorder Model to the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders Using Structured Clinical Interviews

The current study examined the continuity of personality disorder (PD) diagnoses from Section II to Section III (alternative model for personality disorders [AMPD]) when using structured interviews. We investigated the continuity both in terms of stability of prevalence rates and in terms of convergent validity. A clinical sample of 189 participants were concurrently administered both Section II PD and AMPD interviews for diagnosing PD by 2 independent interviewers. Stability of prevalence between the models for specific PD diagnoses was generally supported. A higher prevalence of trait-specified PD in the AMPD model resulted in higher prevalence of PD in general when using the AMPD model compared with the Section II PD model. Correlations between matching criterion counts according to both models were generally high. Convergence between the Section II PD and AMPD model categorical diagnoses was adequate for the most frequently diagnosed and studied PDs (i.e., avoidant-, borderline-, and antisocial PD), but lower than previously found, likely due to the stringent test-retest design used in this study. Convergence between the models for narcissistic and obsessive-compulsive PD was low and could not be estimated for schizotypal PD. Future studies should investigate which of both models may prove to be most valid in terms of predicting current and future impairments.