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Objective: Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study has claimed that in assessing personality psychopathology, “generalized severity is the most important single predictor of concurrent and prospective dysfunction”. Distorted thinking about self and others is a common factor in personality disorders and it’s supported with extensive literature. Maladaptive patterns of mental representations about self and others have a structural function in conceptualization of general psychopathology of personality. Based on this primary feature of the Level of Personality Functioning (LOPF), it has been suggested that LOPF will allow clinicians to assess the existence and severity of personality disorders in all subjects. LOPF consists of two domains called self and interpersonal. The “Self” domain consists of identity and self-direction dimensions, the “interpersonal” domain consists of empathy and intimacy dimensions.
Method: In this study, it was planned to investigate the validity and the reliability of Turkish version of LOPF scale. Permission has been granted by A.E. Skodol and D.S. Bender, who were members of DSM-5 Personality Disorders Work Group. Afterward LOPF was translated in Turkish and then retranslated in English. LOPF, the Quality of Object Relations Scale (QORS), the Personality Organization Diagnostic Form (PODF) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were applied to 102 patients who were admitted to Erenkoy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders and assessed for starting a psychotherapy program. Internal consistency and item total correlation analysis of LOPF were conducted.
Results: After statistical analysis were conducted, it has shown that internal consistency level of LOPF was good (Cronbach-alpha:0.87), and item total correlation coefficients were between; r=0.69-0.74. Correlation analyses, which were conducted for convergent validity of GAF and LOPF has showed mild relationship for identity, self-direction and empathy dimensions, and no relationship for intimacy dimension of LOPF. Identity dimension of PODF showed high relationship with identity and self-direction dimensions of LOPF, and good relationship with empathy and moderate relationship with intimacy dimensions of LOPF. It has been showed that PODF-immature defenses and all dimensions of LOPF have moderate-to-good relationships, and PODF-mature defenses and LOPF-identity and self-direction dimensions have good relationship, empathy and intimacy dimensions have moderate relationships. PODF-reality testing and LOPF-identity, self-direction and empathy dimensions have moderate relationship, and intimacy dimension has mild relationship. PODF-Global Personality Organization and all dimensions of LOPF had moderate to good relationships. Similarly, there were moderate to good relationships between QORS and LOPF dimensions.
Conclusion: As DSM-5 work group suggested before, GAF scores and LOPF has showed mild relationship. This data has supported that GAF is insufficient at representing maladaptive functioning, which takes place in personality disorders. Moderate to high relationship with PODF, which is based on a parallel theory has suggested that assessment of personality functioning has also represented the personality organization. QORS domains have showed that this relationship has endured also at qualitative level. These findings showed reliability and validity level of the LOPF scale is sufficient. Study is proceeding for inter-rater reliability analysis, factor analysis, and predictive validity analysis.