Applicability of Item Mapping in Rating the Severity of Pathological Personality Traits

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the combined use of two pathological personality tests, the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory (IDCP) and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), within the context of incremental validity in order to verify the increasing severity of the constructs used. We generated item maps for sets of items based on three dimensions of IDCP and five facets of PID-5, selected according to the possibility of pairing between scales. The study included 642 individuals, predominantly women aged over 18, divided into three groups according to the dimensions and facets. There was an increase in the level of severity, typically related to the different personality disorders, in addition to the complementation between instruments, providing incremental validity. The use of item mapping helped us understand the increasing severity of the traits, and allowed the verification of the clinical relevance of the constructs.