Understanding obsessive-compulsive personality disorder in adolescence: a dimensional personality perspective

The validity of the Axis II Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) category and its position within the Cluster C personality disorder (PDs) section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, APA, 2000) continues to be a source of much debate. The present study examines the associations between general and maladaptive personality traits and OCPD symptoms, prior to and after controlling for co-occurring PD variance, in a general population sample of 274 Flemish adolescents and further explores the incremental validity of two different maladaptive trait measures beyond general traits. The results demonstrate that the number of (general and maladaptive) personality-OCPD associations decreases after controlling for a general personality pathology factor, with the FFM factor Conscientiousness and its maladaptive counterpart Compulsivity as remaining correlates of OCPD. The findings further suggest to complement the general NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) scales with more maladaptive items to enable a more comprehensive description of personality pathology variance. Implications for understanding and assessing OCPD in the developmental context of adolescence are discussed