An interpersonal perspective on Criterion A of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders

This paper links Criterion A of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — 5th Edition Alternative Model for Personality Disorders with the contemporary interpersonal model of personality pathology. Advances in interpersonal theory and assessment are outlined to demonstrate that Criterion A's self (identity, self-direction) and interpersonal (empathy, intimacy) impairments are related to the interpersonal meta-constructs and agency and communion and are operationalized by perceptual, behavioral, and affective mechanisms of the interpersonal situation framework. Research informed by the interpersonal situation examining interpersonal functioning in personality disorders is reviewed. Specifically, studies employing experience sampling with event-contingent designs examine social functioning in daily life and studies employing continuous assessment of interpersonal dynamics examine the moment-to-moment unfolding of interpersonal behavior in dyadic interactions.