Cognitive structure of avoidant and dependent personality disorders: A study with the Repertory Grid

Abstract

We study the cognitive structure of a conjoint sample of patients with a diagnosis of dependent (n = 24) and avoidant (n = 21) personality disorders using some measures derived from the Repertory Grid. This technique, based on Personal Construct Theory, aims at a systematic exploration of the ways in which people give meaning to their experience in their own terms. We compare the above clinical sample with a non-clinical sample (volunteers; n = 45), paired by age and sex, and find significant differences suggesting that participants of the former show a lower level of cognitive complexity (differentiation) and a higher tendency towards conflict in terms of contradictory correlations among the constructs provided by them. With respect to self-construction, we find lower self-esteem, higher perceived social isolation, and a tendency to show a pattern of resentment.