Associations between maladaptive personality domains and premature termination in an acute clinical setting.

Maladaptive personality has been positioned as one overarching framework with the potential to streamline conceptualization of both personality- and nonpersonality-related psychopathology. However. few studies have examined maladaptive personality in relation to (a) clinical outcomes in a naturalistic setting and (b) using measures short enough to be incorporated into standard clinical care. The goal of the current study, therefore, investigated the extent to which maladaptive personality domains-as measured by the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5 BF)-predicted premature treatment termination in one naturalistic clinical setting. Using a large sample (N = 2,730; 64% female) of psychiatric patients referred for treatment at a partial hospital program, we explored the associations between PID-5 BF domains and the likelihood of premature termination. Individuals who terminated treatment prematurely reported higher levels on all PID-5 BF domains, except antagonism, compared with those who successfully completed treatment. Further, elevations in the disinhibition and psychoticism domains were associated with approximately twice the odds of premature termination than normative levels, when examined in both single and multiple regression frameworks. Negative affectivity and antagonism were associated with reduced likelihood of premature termination only after controlling for elevations in other PID-5 BF domains; they showed no bivariate associations with premature termination. These results add to the literature on the clinical utility of the PIA-5. Further, they suggest importance of considering personality pathology within diverse clinical populations and the use of the PID-5 BF as one easily administered screening tool that can provide important information about differential treatment response.