Assessment of ICD-11 Personality Disorder Severity in Forensic Patients Using the Semi-structured Interview for Personality Functioning DSM-5 (STiP-5.1): Preliminary Findings.

In forensic settings, several challenges may affect reliability of assessment of personality pathology, specifically when based upon self-report. This study investigates the Semi-Structured Interview for DSM-5 Personality Functioning (STiP-5.1) to assess level of severity of personality functioning in incarcerated patients. Thirty inpatients of three forensic psychiatric facilities completed the STiP 5.1 and additionally completed self-report questionnaires assessing symptom severity, personality functioning and traits. Staff members completed informant versions of personality functioning questionnaires. Previously assessed community (N = 18) and clinical samples (N = 80) were used as a reference. Interrater reliability and internal consistency of the STiP 5.1 were good. As expected, no associations were found between self-report and expert-ratings (STiP 5.1) of personality functioning. Remarkably, no associations were found between informant rated personality functioning and the STiP 5.1. This study confirms the discrepancies between self-report and expert-ratings in forensic settings and identifies the need to design and test assessment instruments within this context instead of generalizing findings obtained in regular mental health care samples. The STiP-5.1 may be a candidate for use in forensic samples, particularly to guide treatment planning and individual patient policy, although it remains unclear what specific information it offers above and beyond self-report and informant-report.

Extending the Rorschach trauma content index and aggression indexes to dream narratives of children exposed to enduring violence: an exploratory study.

In this study, we compared dream narratives of children and adolescents living under conditions of enduring interpersonal violence (n = 220) versus those living in peaceful surroundings (n = 99) on content variables that have been associated with traumatic experiences in Rorschach (Exner, 1995) imagery. As predicted, children and adolescents living in circumstances of enduring violence reported a higher proportion of content scorable by Armstrong and Loewenstein's (1990) Trauma Content Index and a much higher proportion of aggressive objects in their dreams (AgC; Gacono & Meloy, 1994). In support of discriminant validity, no consistent group differences were observed for the relative frequencies of Animal (A), Clothing (Cg), or Cooperative movement (COP) content. The modest association between manifest dream content and psychological symptom scales suggests that the former may alternatively reflect adaptive or psychopathological processes. Our findings suggest that content analysis of dreams may be a valuable adjunct in tapping the psychological state of children traumatized by violence.