About this Research Topic

Background

Personality disorder research and classification have each begun to shift away from categorical approaches toward dimensional approaches that focus on quantifying the degree of personality pathology. With the dimensional models of DSM-5 Section III and ICD-11, self-understanding and other-understanding have never constituted more central building blocks to personality pathology. Researchers and clinicians have a crucial responsibility to develop a more nuanced understanding and assessment of self-and self-other understanding in relation to personality pathology.

In this Research Topic, we focus on relations between self-understanding and other-understanding in personality pathology from categorical- and particularly dimensional approaches. We invite papers that will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of why, how, and when self-other understanding is central to personality pathology development and maintenance. With regard to why we are interested in empirical and conceptual papers supporting the incremental validity of self-understanding and/or other-understanding in explaining personality pathology. We are also interested in papers displaying the importance of self-other understanding as process and/or outcome in treatment. Novel aspects of self-other understanding (e.g., narrative identity) with respect to personality pathology are also of interest. With regard to how we invite manuscripts to adopt innovative ways to assess self-other understanding in personality pathology. This could be through state-of-the-art designs or by presenting newly developed measures. Finally, with regard to when we invite manuscripts that take a developmental lens on a self-other understanding of personality pathology (e.g., developmental dilemmas). Manuscripts addressing the ideal timing of assessing self-other understanding more generally are also of relevance.

We welcome empirical studies, reviews, conceptual papers, and opinions covering the following topics:

• The incremental validity of self-understanding (e.g., identity) and/or other-understanding (e.g., mentalization) in personality pathology
• Novel and/or improved assessment or research designs to study self-other understanding in personality pathology
• New promising areas of self-understanding and other-understanding (e.g., narrative identity)
• The interplay between self-understanding and other-understanding as process and/or outcome in treatment
• Self-other understanding as central to social functioning
• Stability and change of self-other understanding
• Developmental trajectories on self-other understanding in conceptualizing and treating personality and other pathology in adolescence
• Approaches to self-other understanding in personality pathology from a variety of theoretical orientations and approaches (e.g., psychodynamic, behavioral, interpersonal).

Keywords: Personality Pathology, Self-Understanding, Other-Understanding, Identity, Mentalization, Narrative Identity

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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