Untying the Knot: Associations Between Personality Functioning and Psychological Distress in an Outpatient Sample of Youth

Abstract

Impairments in personality functioning often emerge during developmental processes in youth, a period in which the experience of psychological distress peaks. Both impairment in personality functioning and psychological distress are related to general psychopathology and insight in their developmental trajectories may contribute to early detection of severe mental health problems. This study is aimed at examining the temporal dynamics between personality functioning and psychological distress in an outpatient sample of youth (Mage = 20.33) across two timepoints spaced 6 months apart. Mean differences, correlations, and correlated change are examined using bivariate latent change score analysis. The findings revealed a significant negative association between self-reported personality functioning and levels of psychological distress. Both constructs demonstrated moderate improvement over time, and their changes were strongly correlated. Initial scores showed small correlations with change scores within and across domains, indicating that higher initial severity of both impairment in personality functioning and psychological distress is related to greater within-construct and across-construct changes over time. These results provide insight in how impairment in personality functioning and psychological distress seem fundamentally related and suggest that youth entering a treatment setting with higher severity may show greater improvement in both domains during the first 6 months. Limitations and future directions are discussed, as well as the benefit of these results for broadening our understanding of the onset and early intervention of psychopathology in youth.