https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.591
Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C): a valid and clinically sensitive diagnostic tool for patient-tailored intervention planning
Submitted: September 25, 2021
Accepted: February 3, 2022
Published: March 1, 2022
Accepted: February 3, 2022
Abstract Views: 3738
PDF: 906
HTML: 24
HTML: 24
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
The reliable clinical-diagnostic evaluation of child patients is crucial. The present research sought to examine the validity of the Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C) in assessing children’s mental functioning and personality organization, according to the framework of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, Second Edition (PDM-2). A sample of 209 clinicians assessed 209 children (aged 4-11 years) who had been in their care between 2-12 months, using the PDC-C. Each clinician also completed a clinical questionnaire to provide demographic information, the Child Behavior Checklist to evaluate children’s behavioral problems and social competences, and the Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort measure to assess children’s emerging personality patterns. The findings suggest that the PDC-C is a valid diagnostic tool that considers children’s full range of functioning. Moreover, the measure has good sensitivity and appears clinically useful in differentiating between certain clinical populations according to psychological characteristics. The PDC-C could promote more accurate assessment during childhood and inform the development of individualized therapies. One of the advantages of the tool is its ability to capture individual variations in child functioning (illuminating strengths and psychological vulnerabilities), even within children in the same diagnostic group. Of note, additional research is needed to establish the utility of PDC-C ratings in predicting clinically relevant constructs and to monitor the processes and outcomes of interventions.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles (vol. 30). University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Battle, J. (1978). Relationship between self-esteem and depression. Psychological Reports, 42(3), 745-746.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1978.42.3.745
Bamford, C., & Lagattuta, K. H. (2012). Looking on the bright side: Children’s knowledge about the benefits of positive versus negative thinking. Child Development, 83(2), 667-682.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01706.x
Bernstein, D. P., Arntz, A., & Travaglini, L. (2009). Schizoid and avoidant personality disorders. In P. H. Blaney and T. Millon (Eds.), Oxford textbook of psychopathology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Boldrini, T., Lo Buglio, G., Giovanardi, G., Lingiardi, V., & Salcuni, S. (2020). Defense mechanisms in adolescents at high risk of developing psychosis: An empirical investigation. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 23(1), 4-15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2020.456
Bornstein, R. F., & Gordon, R. M. (2012). What do practitioners want in a diagnostic taxonomy? Comparing the PDM with DSM and ICD. Division/Review: A Quarterly Psychoanalytic Forum, 6, 35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/e517432013-015
Booth-LaForce, C., & Oxford, M. L. (2008). Trajectories of social withdrawal from grades 1 to 6: Prediction from early parenting, attachment, and temperament. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1298.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012954
Bornstein, R. F. (2018). From symptom to process: Case formulation, clinical utility, and PDM-2. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35(3), 351.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000191
Buhs, E. S., Ladd, G. W., & Herald, S. L. (2006). Peer exclusion and victimization: Processes that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children’s classroom engagement and achievement? Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.1
Brabender, V., & Whitehead, M. L. (2011). Using the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual in the training of the competent assessor. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(2), 185-193.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2010.542532
Caspi, A., Roberts, F., & Shiner, R. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453-484.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913
Cicchetti, D. E., & Cohen, D. J. (1995). Developmental psychopathology, vol. 1: Theory and methods. John Wiley & Sons.
Caye, A., Swanson, J., Thapar, A., Sibley, M., Arseneault, L., Hechtman, L., Arnold, L. E., Niclasen, J., Moffitt, T. E., & Rohde, L. A. (2016). Life span studies of ADHD - Conceptual challenges and predictors of persistence and outcome. Current Psychiatry Report, 18, 111.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0750-x
Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (1995). Developmental epidemiology. In D. Chicchetti and D. Choen (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology: Volume 1. Theory and methods. Wiley.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy103
Costello, E. J., Mustillo, S., Erkanli, A., Keeler, G., & Angold, A. (2003). Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Archives General Psychiatry, 60(8), 837-844.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.60.8.837
Clarebout, G., Horz, H., Schnotz, W., & Elen, J. (2010). The relation between self-regulation and the embedding of support in learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 58(5), 573-587.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-009-9147-4
Eggum, N. D., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Valiente, C., Edwards, A., Kupfer, A. S., & Reiser, M. (2009). Predictors of withdrawal: Possible precursors of avoidant personality disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 21(3), 815-838.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579409000443
Fonagy, P., & Target, M. (1997). Attachment and reflective function: Their role in self-organization. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 679-700.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579497001399
Fortunato, A., & Speranza, A. M. (2018). Personality traits and disorders in childhood: Clinical evaluation and diagnosis. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 15(4), 222-235.
Fortunato, A., Tanzilli, A., Lingiardi, V., & Speranza, A. M. (2021). Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q): A clinically and empirically procedure for assessing traits and emerging patterns of personality in childhood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 6288.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126288
Ha, C., Sharp, C., & Goodyer, I. (2011). The role of child and parental mentalizing for the development of conduct problems over time. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(6), 291-300.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-011-0174-4
Hilsenroth, M. J., Katz, M., & Tanzilli, A. (2018). Psychotherapy research and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2). Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35(3), 320.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000207
Hughes, C., & Leekam, S. (2004). What are the links between theory of mind and social relations? Review reflections and new directions for studies of typical and atypical development. Social Development, 13, 590-619.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.00285.x
Gordon, R. M., Blake, A., Bornstein, R. F., Gazzillo, F., Etzi, J., Lingiardi, V., & Tasso, A. F. (2016). What do practitioners consider the most helpful personality taxa in understanding their patients. In Division/Review: A Quarterly Psychoanalytic Forum, 16, 70.
Gordon, R. M., & Bornstein, R. F. (2015). The Psychodiagnostic Chart-2 v. 8.1 (PDC-2). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292592861_Digital_Pychodiagnostic_Chart-2_PDC-2_v81
Gordon, R. M., & Bornstein, R. F. (2018). Construct validity of the Psychodiagnostic Chart: A transdiagnostic measure of personality organization, personality syndromes, mental functioning, and symptomatology. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35(2), 280.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000142
Gordon, R. M., Stoffey, R. W., & Perkins, B. L. (2013). Comparing the sensitivity of the MMPI-2 clinical scales and the MMPI-RC scales to clients rated as psychotic, borderline or neurotic on the psychodiagnostic chart. Psychology, 4(09), 12-16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.49A1003
Lahey, B. B., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (Eds.) (2003). Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Lingiardi, V., Gazzillo, F., Colli, A., De Bei, F., Tanzilli, A., Di Giuseppe, M., Nardelli, N., Caristo, C., Condino, V., Gentile, D., & Dazzi, N. (2010). Diagnosi e valutazione della personalità, alleanza terapeutica e scambio clinico nella ricerca in psicoterapia [Diagnosis and assessment of personality, therapeutic alliance and clinical exchange in psychotherapy research]. Ricerca in Psicoterapia/Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 13(2), 98-125.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2010.36
Lingiardi, V., & McWilliams, N. (Eds.). (2017). Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual 2nd ed. (PDM-2). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Lingiardi, V., McWilliams, N., & Muzi, L. (2017). The contribution of Sidney Blatt’s two-polarities model to the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 20(1), 12-18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2017.242
Malberg, N., Malone, J.C., Midgley, N., & Speranza, M. (2017). Psychodiagnostic Chart -Adolescent (PDC‑A). In V. Lingiardi, & N. McWilliams (Eds.), Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual 2nd ed. (PDM-2). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Malberg, N., Rosenberg, L., & Malone, J. (2017). Psychodiagnostic Chart - Child (PDC-C). In V. Lingiardi, & N. McWilliams (Eds.), Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual 2nd ed. (PDM-2). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Mann, M. M., Hosman, C. M., Schaalma, H. P., & De Vries, N. K. (2004). Self-esteem in a broad-spectrum approach for mental health promotion. Health Education Research, 19(4), 357-372.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg041
McAdams, D. P., & Olson, B. D. (2010). Personality development: Continuity and change over the life course. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 517-542.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100507
Mezzacappa, E., Kindlon, D., & Earls, F. (1999). Relations of age to cognitive and motivational elements of impulse control in boys with and without externalizing behaviour problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(6), 473-483.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021936210844
Migden, S. (1998). Dyslexia and self-control: An ego psychoanalytic perspective. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 53(1), 282-299.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00797308.1998.11822488
Montalvo, F. T., & Torres, M. C. (2008). Self-regulated learning: Current and future directions. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 2(1), 1-34.
Olin, S. C. S., Raine, A., Cannon, T. D., Parnas, J., Schulsinger, F., & Mednick, S. A. (1997). Childhood behaviour precursors of schizotypal personality disorder. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 23(1), 93-103.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/23.1.93
Ostrander, R., Herman, K., Sikorski, J., Mascendaro, P., & Lambert, S. (2008). Patterns of psychopathology in children with ADHD: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37(4), 833-847.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410802359668
Palombo, J. (2006). Nonverbal learning disabilities: A clinical perspective. W.W. Norton.
Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (2000). Developing mechanisms of self-regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 12(3), 427-441.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400003096
Quintigliano, M., Trentini, C., Fortunato, A., Lauriola, M., & Speranza, A. M. (2021). Role of parental attachment styles in moderating interaction between parenting stress and perceived infant characteristics. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 730086.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730086
Rothbart, M. K., & Ahadi, S. A. (1994). Temperament and the development of personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103(1), 55.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.103.1.55
Sameroff, A. J., & Emde, R. N. (Eds.) (1989). Relationship disturbances in early childhood: A developmental approach. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Sowislo, J. F., & Orth, U. (2013). Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 213.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028931
Spektor, V., Luu, L., & Gordon, R. M. (2015). The relationship between theoretical orientation and accuracy of countertransference expectations. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 63, 28-32.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003065115602492
Speranza, A. M., Malberg, N., & Steele, M. (2018). Mental health and developmental disorders in infancy and early childhood: The PDM-2. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35(3), 328.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000192
Speranza, A. M., & Fortunato, A. (2012). Infancy, childhood and adolescence in the diagnostics of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM). BPA-Applied Psychology Bulletin (Bollettino di Psicologia Applicata), 58(265).
Speranza, A. M., Quintigliano, M., Lauriola, M., & Fortunato, A. (2020). P-CRS: A clinical scale to assess the parent-child relationship in infancy and early childhood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3458.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103458
Stepp, S. D., Burke, J. D., Hipwell, A. E., & Loeber, R. (2012). Trajectories of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms as precursors of borderline personality disorder symptoms in adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 40(1), 7-20.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9530-6
Sroufe, L. A. (1997). Emotional development: The organization of emotional life in the early years. Cambridge University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511527661
Tackett, J. L., Slobodskaya, H. R., Mar, R. A., Deal, J., Halverson Jr, C. F., Baker, S. R., & Besevegis, E. (2012). The hierarchical structure of childhood personality in five countries: Continuity from early childhood to early adolescence. Journal of Personality, 80(4), 847-879.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00748.x
Tanzilli, A., Di Giuseppe, M., Giovanardi, G., Boldrini, T., Caviglia, G., Conversano, C., & Lingiardi, V. (2021a). Mentalization, attachment, and defense mechanisms: A Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual-2-oriented empirical investigation. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process, and Outcome, 24(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2021.531
Tanzilli, A., Giovanardi, G., Patriarca, E., Lingiardi, V., & Williams, R. (2021b). From a symptom-based to a person-centered approach in treating depressive disorders in adolescence: A clinical case formulation using the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2)’s framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 10127.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910127
Tanzilli, A., & Gualco, I. (2020). Clinician emotional responses and therapeutic alliance when treating adolescent patients with narcissistic personality disorder subtypes: A clinically meaningful empirical investigation. Journal of Personality Disorders, 34, 42-62.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2020.34.supp.42
Tanzilli, A., Gualco, I., Baiocco, R., & Lingiardi, V. (2020). Clinician reactions when working with adolescent patients: The therapist response questionnaire for adolescents. Journal of Personality Assessment, 102(5), 616-627.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2019.1674318
Westen, D., DeFife, J.A., Malone, J.C., & DiLallo, J. (2014). An empirically derived classification of adolescent personality disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53, 528-549.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.030
Westen, D., Gabbard, G. O., & Blagov, P. (2006). Back to the future: Personality structure as a context for psychopathology. In R. F. Krueger & J. L. Tackett (Eds.), Personality and psychopathology (pp. 335-384). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999a). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part I: Developing a clinically and empirically valid assessment method. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 258-272.
Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999b). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part II: Toward an empirically based and clinically useful classification of personality disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 273-285.
Westen, D., Shedler, J., Durrett, C., Glass, S., & Martens, A. (2003). Personality diagnoses in adolescence: DSM-IV Axis II diagnoses and an empirically derived alternative. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 952-966.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.5.952
Widiger, T. A., De Clercq, B., & De Fruyt, F. (2009). Childhood antecedents of personality disorder: An alternative perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 21(3), 771-791.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457940900042X
World Health Organization. (2004). International classification of diseases and health related problems (10th ed.). World Health Organization.
How to Cite
Fortunato, A., Tanzilli, A., Lingiardi, V. ., & Speranza, A. M. (2022). Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C): a valid and clinically sensitive diagnostic tool for patient-tailored intervention planning. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.591
Copyright (c) 2022 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Cheri L. Marmarosh, Chiara Abbatelli, Molly Tulipan, Jasmine Kaleka, Jordan Ohanesian, Charlotte Howson, Carrying Jeremy Safran into sessions: relying on internal representations of researchers to facilitate emotion regulation, clinical intervention, and self-efficacy , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 22 No. 1 (2019)
- Santo Di Nuovo, What research for what training in psychotherapy? Some methodological issues and a proposal , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 22 No. 3 (2019)
- Ante Silić, Jakša Vukojević, Ilaria Čulo, Hrvoje Falak, Hikikomori silent epidemic: a case study , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2019)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
