Temporal stability of personality traits and disorders within substance dependent patients

The current study evaluated the temporal stability of personality disorders (PD) and traits as assessed by the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) within a sample being treated for substance dependence in a residential TC. Temporal stability coeffi cients were similar to the few previous studies with clinical samples and comparable retest intervals; however, the current study extended previous work by examining mean-level stability of the PD scales. While most SNAP scales remained stable or decreased over 6 months of active psychotherapy, increases on some scales (e.g. workaholism as well as antisocial, narcissistic and obsessive–compulsive PDs) raised compelling questions. These fi ndings suggest additional research on the stability and validity of the SNAP in treatment samples. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.