Screening for personality disorders in outpatient substance use disorder patients.

The current study evaluates the psychometric properties of both the Standardized Assessment of Personality – Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS) and the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SIDP-IV) screener. One hundred two participants were interviewed with the SIDP-IV and the SAPAS. The SIDP-IV was used as the standard to identify PD; the SAPAS and the SIDP-IV screener were compared to the SIDP-IV in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive power, and overall efficiency. ROC analyses were used to identify ideal cut-off scores. The data showed that both the SAPAS and the SIDP-IV screener had moderate sensitivity and specificity. For the SAPAS, the best cut-off score was 4, yielding a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.63. After modifying the scoring procedures for the SIDP-IV screener, we found a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.75. The results show that the psychometric properties of the SAPAS in a population of treatment-seeking SUD patients are relatively poor compared to previous studies in psychiatric populations. Also, the SAPAS cannot be used to screen for cluster B personality disorders. The SIDP-IV screener shows better results regarding this purpose. Due to the low prevalence of PD in the current study the results should be interpreted with caution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: European Journal of Psychological Assessment - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research