Open AccessUsing Multiple Methods to Evaluate Associations Among Externalizing Psychopathology, Personality, and Relationship Quality: A Replication and Extension
Author(s) -
Mikhila N Wildey,
M. Brent Donnellan,
Kelly L. Klump,
S. Alexandra Burt
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of personality disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.23
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1943-2763
pISSN - 0885-579X
DOI - 10.1521/pedi_2019_33_414
Subject(s) - psychopathology , psychology , personality , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , personality assessment inventory , social psychology
The current study evaluated associations among externalizing psychopathology, personality, and relationship quality in a sample of 794 couples. Personality and psychopathology were assessed using dimensional measures, and relationship attributes were assessed with both self-report and observer reports of videotaped interactions. Results were consistent with prior work (i.e., Humbad, Donnellan, Iacono, & Burt, 2010) such that greater externalizing psychopathology remained a significant predictor of lower relationship adjustment, while controlling for personality traits. Importantly, dimensional measures of externalizing psychopathology showed stronger associations with relationship adjustment when compared to symptom count measures used in Humbad et al. (2010). These results highlight the importance of replication and extension studies, the usefulness of dimensional measures of psychopathology, and the value of multiple methods of assessment to increase confidence in the robustness of associations between pathological attributes of personality and features of romantic relationships.