Citation

Veith AC, Russell TD, King AR. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2017; 104: 58-63.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.024

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A national sample (N = 526) of respondents completed the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) along with measures of childhood maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and exposure to intimate partner violence) and indices of internalized (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, & self-esteem) and externalized (anger, hostility, verbal aggression, physical aggression, conduct disturbance, attentional difficulties) adult maladjustment. The five trait domains of the PID-5 were examined in a path analysis as potential mediators of child maltreatment effects. The maltreatment and trait indicators in this study were all predictive (p <.001) of adult symptomatology. Internalized symptoms were best predicted by traits of Negative Affectivity and Detachment. Externalized symptoms were more closely associated with traits of Disinhibition and Antagonism. These four PID-5 trait domains strongly mediated the effects of sexual abuse and parental hostility. Interpretive caution is warranted by the retrospective and cross-sectional design used to generate these results. Trait development was assumed to have occurred concomitant with childhood maltreatment prior to age 16. While the temporal sequencing of childhood abuse and trait development is inherently complex, these relationships continue to warrant systematic analysis.

Language: en