Date of Award

2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Poreh, Amir

Subject Headings

Dependent Personality Inventory, Personality assessment, Dependency (Psychology), Personality disorders, Dependency, Dependency subtypes, Dependent personality disorder, DSM-IV DPD subtypes, Inventory, Underlying dimensions of dependency

Abstract

This study examined the reliability and validity of a new measure, an inventory designed for the assessment of Dependent Personality traits. The new scale, the Dependent Personality Inventory, uses a dichotomous (True/ False) answer format and produces 8 subscales which correspond with the individual criterion of the disorder as defined by the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV-TR). The scale was administered to a sample of 82 students attending a large mid-western university in the United States. Factor analysis of the DPI using a Principle Components Analysis produced two main factors. Additional analysis showed a differential correlation between these two factors and the Dependent Personality Questionnaire (DPQ Hyler, 1994) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Social Introversion Subscales 1-3 (MMPI-2 Si1-3 Ben-Porath, Hostetler, Butcher & Graham, 1989). The DPQ correlated highly with the DPI factor 1(r=-.65, p<.00) and to a lesser degree with factor 2 (r=-.29, p<.02). All three Si subscales of the MMPI-2 correlated highly with factor 1 (r=-.43, p<.00 r=-.32, p<.00 r=-.50, p< .00) respectively while only subscales 1 and 3 correlate with factor 2 (r=-.24, p<.05 r=-.39, p<.00) respectively. The results support both the reliability and validity of the DPI as a screening measure in a college student sample. Recommendations for additional studies using the DPI are discussed

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