Maladaptive personality traits, coping styles and psychological distress: A study of adult male prisoners

The current study explores the structure of maladaptive personality in adult prisoners, and examines relationships between coping, personality and psychological distress. One hundred and forty one adult male prisoners took part. It was predicted that there would be evidence of co-morbidity between personality and psychological distress, that coping would mediate the relationship between these variables, and that maladaptive personality would comprise of a number of factors. Maladaptive personality traits were found to be associated with maladaptive coping and greater psychological distress. A three factor structure was found amongst maladaptive personality traits, with correlated factors emphasising antisocial and asocial personality and a third representing anxious/dramatic personality. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling showed that maladaptive coping may mediate the relationship between asocial and anxious/dramatic personality and psychological distress. The results are discussed with regards to issues of co-morbidity between maladaptive personality and psychological distress and the importance of accounting for individual coping style in understanding this association.