On the relationships between DSM ‐5 dysfunctional personality traits and social cognition deficits: A study in a sample of consecutively admitted Italian psychotherapy patients

This study aims at testing the hypothesis that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM‐5) alternative model of personality disorder (AMPD) traits may be significantly associated with deficits on 2 different social cognition tasks, namely, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition, in a sample of consecutively admitted inpatients and outpatients. The sample was composed of 181 consecutively admitted participants (57.5% women; mean age = 38.58 years). Correlation coefficients and partial correlation coefficients were computed in order to assess the associations among social cognition tasks, DSM‐5 AMPD traits, and dimensionally assessed DSM‐5 Section II personality disorders. Specific maladaptive traits listed in the DSM‐5 AMPD were significantly associated with Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test scores and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition scores, even when the effect of selected DSM‐5 Section II personality disorders was controlled for. Our results support the relevance of studying social cognitive functioning in subjects suffering from personality disorders.
Source: Clinical Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: ASSESSMENT Source Type: research