Clinical types in a normal population: concurrent and construct validity.

Abstract

Examined the relationship between personality and psychopathology through the use of the Multivariate Personality Inventory (MPI) (N = 100). The concurrent validity study compared the factors of the MPI with those of the Lazare-Klerman Personality Inventory, which was developed for a pathological population. Factor analysis of these two inventories yielded three factors that correspond to the three predicted personality styles: Hysteric, Compulsive, and Character Disorder. In the second part of this study the construct validity of these scales was examined. Results showed significant differences among groups in the predicted directions, which indicates that the personality groups as defined by the MPI in a normal population perform as would be predicted from work with pathological groups that bear the same label. Construct validity measures did not support the predictions with regard to the performance of the personality types.