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An exploration of the utility of Identity Structure Analysis (ISA) in the evaluation of the psychological processes underlying personality disorders
Anne Malone
This study involved an exploration of the utility of Identity Structure Analysis (ISA) in the
evaluation of the psychological processes underlying personality disorders. A small-scale idiographic
design was employed in order to detect the specific underlying identity processes that might be
characteristic of manifestations of personality disorder in general, using a customised identity
instrument.
Four psychiatric patients with a diagnosis of personality disorder completed the identity instrument
and the EPQ-R (short version). The instrument was constructed for the target population, based on a
literature review of personality disorders and past clinical applications of ISA. Three comparison
cases, matched on age and gender, completed the same identity instrument and EPQ-R.
Each respondent's results were analysed individually in accordance with the ISA theoretical framework.
The results indicated some contrasts between the personality disordered individuals and the comparison
cases. The personality disordered individuals generally displayed higher identity diffusion and were more
likely to exhibit conflicted identifications with metaperspectives of self. Dissociative symptomatology
was also apparent in the personality disordered group, represented by markedly different patterns of
empathetic identifications across identity states. Structural pressures on constructs varied across
individuals, and these were interpreted in relation to stressful issues and personality traits. These
findings are discussed in relation to current conceptualisations of personality disorder, and implications
for future research.
Despite having limitations in respect of generalisation from case studies, the current study clearly
illustrates that ISA has the potential to reveal both the processes underlying current manifestations of
personality disorder and those which play a role in the aetiology of these disorders, going far beyond
the scope of psychometric assessments in this endeavour. The significance of the case study level of
analysis when using ISA to elucidate psychological processes is also demonstrated.
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