A genetic-behavioral alternative to the personality disorders: the Livesley dimensional model

Abstract

In the personality disorder section of the DSM-V research agenda, the authors stress the need for studies on the relevance of a change from diagnostic categorical models to dimensional ones. These studies should identify the underlying genetic and neurobiologic mechanisms and appropriate representation on the dimensions of clinical criteria as cognitive disturbances, identity conflicts and attachment. Livesley's behavioral-genetic model represents an interesting dimensional paradigm of personality pathology. It was elaborated deductively from the consensus and statistical refinement of data collected by a large number of clinicians from different psychopathological tendencies. The traits are made operative in the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) tool with 18 dimensions (that became 30) and 4 higher rank factors (adapted to Spanish by Gutierrez-Zotes et al, 2008). The model has shown an appropriate relationship with important personality paradigms and good predictive power for personality disorders. The authors incorporate methods of variance breakdown for statistical processing of the genetic-environmental mechanism underlying each personality disorder dimension. Homologation of DSM-IV-TR criteria for personality disorders is proposed so that the model's dimensions capture and represent the clinical complexity of the symptoms in a convenient manner for the new location in DSM-V.