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Predicting depression outcomes throughout inpatient treatment using the general and specific personality disorder factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2020

Matthew P. Constantinou Open the ORCID record for Matthew P. Constantinou [Opens in a new window] ,
B. Christopher Frueh ,
J. Christopher Fowler ,
Jon G. Allen ,
Alok Madan ,
John M. Oldham  and
Peter Fonagy Open the ORCID record for Peter Fonagy [Opens in a new window]
Matthew P. Constantinou*
Affiliation:
Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
B. Christopher Frueh
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX, USA Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI, USA
J. Christopher Fowler
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX, USA Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
Jon G. Allen
Affiliation:
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
Alok Madan
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX, USA Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
John M. Oldham
Affiliation:
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA The Menninger Clinic, Houston, TX, USA
Peter Fonagy
Affiliation:
Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA The Menninger Clinic, Houston, TX, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Matthew P. Constantinou, E-mail: m.constantinou@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background

Clinical intuition suggests that personality disorders hinder the treatment of depression, but research findings are mixed. One reason for this might be the way in which current assessment measures conflate general aspects of personality disorders, such as overall severity, with specific aspects, such as stylistic tendencies. The goal of this study was to clarify the unique contributions of the general and specific aspects of personality disorders to depression outcomes.

Methods

Patients admitted to the Menninger Clinic, Houston, between 2012 and 2015 (N = 2352) were followed over a 6–8-week course of multimodal inpatient treatment. Personality disorder symptoms were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition Axis II Personality Screening Questionnaire at admission, and depression severity was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 every fortnight. General and specific personality disorder factors estimated with a confirmatory bifactor model were used to predict latent growth curves of depression scores in a structural equation model.

Results

The general factor predicted higher initial depression scores but not different rates of change. By contrast, the specific borderline factor predicted slower rates of decline in depression scores, while the specific antisocial factor predicted a U shaped pattern of change.

Conclusions

Personality disorder symptoms are best represented by a general factor that reflects overall personality disorder severity, and specific factors that reflect unique personality styles. The general factor predicts overall depression severity while specific factors predict poorer prognosis which may be masked in prior studies that do not separate the two.

Keywords

Bifactorcomorbiditydepressionpersonality disordertreatment outcomes
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 52 , Issue 10 , July 2022 , pp. 1838 - 1846
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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