A German version of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200) for the dimensional assessment of personality disorders

Theoretical background: The traditional diagnosis of personality disorders has been criticized for lack of empirical support, reliance on categorical classifications and low validity. Objective: A German version of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200) is presented. This Q-Sort procedure is well-established in the USA and facilitates the dimensional diagnosis of personality pathology in accordance with DSM-IV. In addition, a taxonomy of personality has been derived using factor analyses. Methods: The SWAP-200 was applied to 18 patients on the basis of semi-structured interviews. Interviewer ratings were correlated with the SWAP-200 completed by an independent observer and the patients’ therapists. Results: Good inter-rater reliability (between r=.69 and r=.76) was found. While average convergent validity coefficients between interviewer, observer and therapist were satisfactory (between r=.54 and r=.68), outliers were observed. Results suggest that the factor analytically derived taxonomy may be more valid.