Jean Descôteaux

The Personality Organization Diagnostic Form: Development of a Revised Version

The purpose of this study is to examine the interrater reliability, validity, and internal consistency of a revised version of the Personality Organization Diagnostic Form (PODF; Diguer et al., 2001), a measure that evaluates the major dimensions of Kernbergs model of Personality Organizations (PO). Results show that the revised PODF can be scored with an interrater reliability ranging from good to excellent for the personality dimensions and the global PO (GPO) score. Factor analysis shows that items tend to regroup according to Kernbergs model. The optimal solution includes 2 factors: a borderline-neurotic continuum and a psychotic factor. Internal consistency and convergence with clinical evaluations also indicate moderate to good validity. Convergent validity with mental health and psychiatric severity is good, and in accordance with Kernbergs model. The revised PODF therefore appears to possess sound psychometric properties, with numerous advantages over its predecessor. Its utility for clinical and research work is also discussed.

Personality organization, five-factor model, and mental health.

Otto Kernberg has developed a model of personality and psychological functioning centered on the concept of personality organization. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the relationships between this model, the five-factor model, and mental health. The Personality Organization Diagnostic Form (Diguer et al., The Personality Organization Diagnostic Form-II (PODF-II), 2001), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Costa and McCrae, Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) Professional Manual. 1992a), and the Health-Sickness Rating Scale (Luborsky, Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1962;7:407–417) were used to assess these constructs. Results show that personality organization and personality factors are distinct but interrelated constructs and that both contribute in similar proportion to mental health. Results also suggest that the integration of personality organization and factors can provide clinicians and researchers with an enriched understanding of psychological functioning.

Relationships between God and People in the Bible, Part II: The New Testament, with Comparisons with the Torah

Abstract In an earlier study on the first five books of the Bible, the Torah or Pentateuch, relationships between God and people were assessed with the use of a clinical-quantitative method, the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) method. Here, the study is extended to God or Jesuss relationships with people in the New Testament, to obtain the first description of those relationships based on an established measure of relationships. In the New Testament, many different kinds of relationship themes were observed, with benevolent and positive themes as the most frequent. Other results included that: (a) relationships in the New Testament often appeared more positive than in the Torah; (b) New Testament relationships between Jesus and people were less positive than between God and people; and (c) Gods relationship with Jesus was more positive than Gods relationship with Moses. Relationships with Paul, Peter, and women were also assessed. Relationship patterns were considered within the context of attachment theory, and biblical CCRT patterns were consistent with depiction of both secure and anxious attachments. Biblical relationships portray a variety of models for interpersonal relationships, ranging from the very positive to the very negative.