A Principal Component Analysis of the DSM-III-R Axis II Personality Disorders

By means of the SCID Screen questionnaire, data concerning 76 reported criteria were collected from 176 controls and 388 patients. In a principal component analysis, 23 factors emerged that explained 62.7% of the variance. After regrouping, a pattern similar to the Clusters A, B, and C could be demonstrated. However, the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder scattered in all three clusters. After rearrangement according to the loadings in components 1 and 2, two clear axes could be demonstrated. One axis went from overconscientious-ness and inflexibility in one extreme, to unstable intense relationships in the other. The second axis went from avoiding social contacts in one extreme end, to uncomfortable if not in the center of attention in the other. When the separate personality disorders were arranged according to factor loadings in component 1 and 2, Borderline and Narcissistic Personality Disorders grouped together whereas Histrionic Personality Disorder formed a separate group. Schizotypal, Schizoid, and Paranoid Personality Disorders grouped together and so did Avoidant, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Dependent Personality Disorders; Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder grouped together with the Cluster A disorders.