Dysfunctional Personality Beliefs in Relation to Positive and Negative Affect: Support for the Cognitive Model of Personality Disorders

The cognitive model of personality disorders (PDs) proposes different conceptualizations for PDs and emphasizes the role of cognitive schemata and beliefs in affective experience. The present study, using the tripartite and cognitive model as a framework, suggests that dysfunctional beliefs of PDs are distinctively associated with positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Findings revealed that after controlling for general psychological symptoms, NA, the common factor for all PDs, was associated with only Avoidant, Dependent, and Borderline personality beliefs. For PA, results were in line with the expectations formulated on positive or negative content of self and others schemas. Antisocial, Histrionic, Narcissistic, and Obsessive-Compulsive personality beliefs characterized by a competent, autonomous, and superior view of self and an exploitable, inferior view of others predicted high PA, whereas Avoidant, Dependent, and Borderline personality beliefs characterized by an inadequate, vulnerable, inferior view of self and an idealized, self-sufficient view of others predicted low PA.