Self-Reported Levels of Personality Functioning from the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD) System and Emotional Intelligence Likely Assess the Same Latent Construct

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that structural integration, as assessed in the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD) system, and emotional intelligence (EI), as studied in personality psychology, might be closely related constructs at a general level, as both might assess general personality functioning. In three studies (n₁ = 166, n₂ = 204, n₃ = 349), we used a self-report measure of OPD structural integration and measures of Trait and Ability EI. Structural integration and Trait EI display very high correlation at general factor level (r = .77 - .82) and almost perfect latent correlation (r = .85 - .90). This correlation cannot be explained away by the general positivity of self-views or socially desirable responding. There is also substantial latent correlation between structural integration and Ability EI (r = .20 - .65). Results replicate over different samples from different countries and extend to the DSM-5 self-report personality functioning scale.

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Notes

1 While the main focus of this work will be on Trait EI, we nonetheless move from Ability to Trait EI in introducing these constructs, which is more in line with the conceptual progression of the respective research traditions.

2 Deviations from the data are likely not due to misspecification of either of the models, but rather due to the joint modeling of two highly related constructs without specification of either a general factor or indicator-level correlations. We nonetheless had a-priori interest in this model to obtain an estimate of the latent correlation which is unbiased by indicator-level correlations.

3 Note that while some coefficients, above all χ2, indicate worse fit than in studies 1 and 2, the larger sample size in study 3 also implies higher power for deviation tests. Parameter estimates are highly similar to studies 1 and 2.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): J 4344.