Self and informant ratings of SCID-II Personality Disorder items for nonreferred college women: effects of item and participant characteristics.

Examined the relationship between self- and informant-ratings on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) items. Seventy-five female undergraduate student volunteers and their roommates also completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, Rubin's Liking Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Self-rating scores on personality disorder items were significantly higher than informant-ratings on five personality disorder scales. Participants and informants endorsed more personality disorder items rated higher on social desirability. No relationship was found between subjectivity of personality disorder scales and differences between self- and informant-ratings. Participants with higher needs for positive self-presentation rated themselves lower on nine personality disorder scales. A higher level of liking for roommates was associated with lower informant ratings for six personality disorder scales.