The Relationship Between the Five Factor Model of
Personality and Personality Disorders
OVERVIEW
This presentation focuses on the
relationship between the traits that
make up the Five Factor Model
(FFM) of Personality, and
personality disorders, specifically
Borderline Personality Disorder
(BPD). Maladaptive traits, the
emphasis of neuroticism in
personality disorders, stability and
dynamism of FFM traits, and the Five
Factor Model as a measure of
personality disorders are all
explored in this presentation.
Five Factor Model
• Openness
• Conscientiousness
• Extroversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism
Maladaptive Traits
• Research indicates that Borderline
Personality Disorder is a maladaptive
variant of FFM traits (Trull et al,
2003).
• Samuel’s study looked at personality
disorders as the maladaptive
extreme versions of normal Five
Factor Model personality traits. The
results concluded a correlation
between Borderline Personality
Disorder and extreme demonstration
of FFM trait neuroticism (Samuel et
al, 2013).
• Negative affectivity, which is a
maladaptive trait, was predicted by
neuroticism in individuals with
personality disorders (Hepp et al,
2016).
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Emma Earles
Loras College, Psychology Dr. Omarzu
Stability & Dynamism
• Stability and dynamism are two ways in
which traits may differ in individuals
diagnosed with personality disorders.
• In these studies, stability refers to
consistency regardless of time and
situation, and dynamism reflects episodic
and situational elements (Conway et al,
2018).
• The researchers concluded borderline
pathology is made up of both fixed traits
and dynamic situational elements of
borderline personality disorder that are
tied to the Five Factor Model traits
(Conway et al, 2018).
Types of Stability
• Five types of stability were examined
including structural stability (congruence
in covariance of traits), differential
stability (agreement in individuals’ trait
rank ordering over time), mean-level
stability (consistency in the median level
of traits over time), individual-level
variability (overall consistency at the
individual level), and ipsative stability
(consistency in trait patterns of the
individual) (Hopwood et al, 2009).
Trait Instability
• Participants with BPD were
characterized as having greater
individual-level instability for Five Factor
Model traits neuroticism and
conscientiousness. Instability in traits
could account for some behavioral,
emotional, or symptomatic expressions
in individuals with Borderline Personality
Disorder (Hopwood et al, 2009).
• Five Factor Model trait instability was
observed in both the Hopwood and
Conway studies, providing evidence that
instability in FFM traits can be indicators
of personality disorder pathologies.
Diagnostic Use
• A study was designed to identify whether
or not the Five Factor Model of
maladaptive personality traits could be
used as a tool to diagnose DSM personality
disorders. The results of this study found
that the clinicians had similar results
when using the Five Factor Model and the
DSM–IV–TR as diagnostic tools.
Personality disorder diagnoses with the
DSM criterion yielded a total of 91%
accuracy while the FFM produced an
accuracy of 89% (Glover et al, 2012).
CONCLUSIONS
Data derived from these studies
conclude that individuals with
personality disorders exemplify
criterion for maladaptive variations of
Five Factor Model traits as well as
extreme expressions of Five Factor
Model Traits, specifically neuroticism.
Five Factor Model trait instability was
observed, specifically in neuroticism
and conscientiousness. This Five
Factor Model trait instability present
in patients diagnosed with
personality disorders is suggested to
have an impact on behavioral and
emotional functioning in these
individuals.
The research suggests the Five Factor
Model has potentiality to serve as a
diagnostic tool in the future.
REFERENCES
Conway, C. C., Hopwood, C. J., Morey, L. C., & Skodol, A. E. (2018). Borderline personality disorder is equally trait-like and
state-like over ten years in adult psychiatric patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127(6), 590-601.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/abn0000364
Glover, N. G., Crego, C., & Widiger, T. A. (2012). The clinical utility of the five factor model of personality disorder. Personality
Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 3(2), 176-184. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/a0024030
Hepp, J., Carpenter, R. W., Lane, S. P., & Trull, T. J. (2016). Momentary symptoms of borderline personality disorder as a
product of trait personality and social context. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 7(4), 384-393.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/per0000175
Hopwood, C. J., Newman, D. A., Donnellan, M. B., Markowitz, J. C., Grilo, C. M., Sanislow, C. A., . . . Morey, L. C. (2009). The
stability of personality traits in individuals with borderline personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118(4), 806-
815. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/a0016954
Samuel, D. B., Carroll, K. M., Rounsaville, B. J., & Ball, S. A. (2013). Personality disorders as maladaptive, extreme variants of
normal personality: Borderline personality disorder and neuroticism in a substance using sample. Journal of Personality
Disorders, 27(5), 625-635. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1521/pedi.2013.27.5.625
Trull, T. J., Widiger, T. A., Lynam, D. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (2003). Borderline personality disorder from the perspective of
general personality functioning. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112(2), 193-202.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/0021-843X.112.2.193