Toward a Unifying Perspective on Personality Pathology Across the Life Span

Abstract

The current chapter aims to examine personality pathology across the life span within a developmental psychopathology framework. Specifically, the chapter covers multiple aspects and issues within the domain of personality disorder with a focus on childhood/adolescence and later life. We define and briefly review the life span development of normal‐range personality. We then define and review longitudinal studies of personality disorder and summarize critical measurement issues for PDs in early and later life. We then review empirical literature (for early and later life) organized within four core components of personality pathology: traits, emotions, relationships, and identity. We review literature relevant for four critical developmental periods for personality pathology: infancy–toddlerhood, middle childhood–early adolescence, late adolescence–early adulthood, and later adulthood. Finally, we offer a general summary and highlight some future directions for the study of personality pathology in childhood and adolescence and in older adults.

A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Personality Disorder: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…Many adult manifestations of psychopathology may not be directly observed, or even relevant, in childhood. By shifting emphasis away from purely clinical constructs (which are largely derived from adult populations) observed in isolation to a more comprehensive perspective interweaving psychopathology with underlying normative constructs and processes, we greatly facilitate developmental research on core components of PDs (Shiner, 2009;Tackett et al, 2009). This central tenet of the developmental psychopathology framework is intended to provide an overarching organization for the current special issue.…”

“…It is no longer necessary to make this statement tentatively or with great disclaimers, as researchers have converged on evidence for the manifestation of personality pathology in childhood and adolescence, the validity and reliability of early PD measurement, the stability of these constructs across development, and the predictive validity of these problems in youth for negative consequences across multiple domains (Cicchetti & Crick, 2009;Tackett, Balsis, Krueger, & Oltmanns, 2009). Indeed, parallel consensus has emerged among developmental researchers, who are paying increasing attention to personality traits early in life and their role in psychopathology emergence (Shiner, 2009).…”

Relational Aggression and Narcissistic Traits: How Youth Personality Pathology Informs Aggressive Behavior

“…There is a clear link between normal personality and various forms of psychopathology (Widiger, 2005), and personality pathology is highly comorbid with other forms of psychopathology (especially unipolar major depression and bipolar disorder; Crawford et al, 2008;Mantere et al, 2006;Post et al, 2018). Individuals with personality pathology suffer across several domains of functioning, including inflexibility in patterns of thinking and behaving, a lack of insight into their behavior, problems with identity, and problems with others (i.e., interpersonal relationships; Tackett, Herzhoff, Balsis, & Cooper, 2016). Those disorders historically classified as Cluster B personality disorders (PDs; Antisocial PD, Borderline PD, Narcissistic PD, and Histrionic PD) are particularly associated with psychosocial distress, healthcare service utilization, and criminal behavior (Coid, Yang, Tyrer, Roberts, & Ullrich, 2006).…”

Subjective experience of the origin and development of avoidant personality disorder

“…As a child develops, traits, characteristic adaptations, and life stories evolve in continuous interplay. In a developmental pathway perspective of normal and abnormal development, biology interacts with the psychosocial environment to give way to both the risks and resilience of a person's characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving (Cicchetti & Toth, 2009; Tackett, Herzhoff, Balsis, & Cooper, 2016). A vulnerability‐stress model of personality disorder etiology (Paris, 1993, 2008; Perris, 1999) may improve understanding of the risks in the developmental pathway perspective.…”