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. 2006 Jan 6;14(1):43–55. doi: 10.1002/mpr.16

The factor structure of the DSM‐III‐R personality disorders: an evaluation of competing models

Thomas L Rodebaugh 1, Dianne L Chambless 2,✉, Babette Renneberg 3, Thomas Fydrich 3
PMCID: PMC6878494  PMID: 16097399

Abstract

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a series of competing models to determine the best way to characterize the factor structure of the DSM‐III‐R personality disorder scores. Data were collected from 301 clients with a primary diagnosis of anxiety disorder. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R (SCID) was used to determine Axis I and Axis II diagnoses, and adequate to good reliability was obtained for the number of criteria met for a given personality disorder. Several factor models were tested, including a single‐factor model, a three‐factor model based on the DSM grouping of odd, dramatic, and anxious personality disorders, and a four‐factor model based on normal personality theories. Only the DSM three‐factor model received strong and unequivocal support. Copyright © 2005 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Keywords: personality disorders, factor analysis, outpatients

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