Citation

Fanning JR, Marcus DK, Preszler JR, Coccaro EF. Psychol. Med. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S0033291719002952

PMID

31680661

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Identification of individuals with clinically significant aggressive behavior is critical for the prevention and management of human aggressive behavior. A previous population-based taxometric study reported that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th Edition (DSM-IV) intermittent explosive disorder (IED) belongs to its own discrete class (taxon) rather than existing along a continuum.

METHODS: This study sought to extend previous population-based findings in a clinical research sample of adults with DSM-5 IED (n = 346), adults with non-aggressive DSM-5 disorders (n = 293), and adults without any DSM-5 disorder (n = 174), using standardized assessments of DSM-5 diagnoses, aggression, and other related measures not available in past studies.

RESULTS: Analyses revealed a taxonic latent structure that overlapped with the DSM-5 diagnosis of IED. Within the sample, taxon group members had higher scores on a variety of measures of psychopathology than did the complement members of the sample. Comorbidity of other diagnoses with IED did not affect these results.

CONCLUSION: These findings support the proposition that DSM-5 IED represents a distinct behavioral disorder rather than the severe end of an aggressive behavior continuum.

Language: en

Keywords

Aggression; intermittent explosive disorder; latent structure; taxometric analysis