The new test reveals 7 ways your personality can cause everyday problems

Key points

• Psychologists have long considered self-destructive behaviour to be the cause of neurotic tendencies.
• The new seven-scale test will help you identify personality patterns that can interfere with your success and happiness.
• After you give yourself points on this test, you can get an idea of ​​what you can do to overcome these self-destructive tendencies.

Are there times when you realize that you are in a bad mood? Do you strive to achieve specific goals only to find that you are blocking your ability to achieve those goals?

Problems such as self-destructive behaviour are just one of many common ways of responding to situations that can hinder your success, whether in a relationship or at work.
What makes people self-destructive?

Psychologist Karen Horney from Germany wisely observed that people could inadvertently create unhappiness because of their personality. Indeed, the “neurotic personality of our time,” she observed, is one whose self-destructive behaviour is caused by some form of impostor syndrome, the belief that you are not as good as you are. You want people to think you are. As a result, you interfere with your success only to confirm this negative impression of yourself.

You may believe that you aren’t worth the attention and affection of your romantic partner. Instead of enjoying your partner’s love and respect, you constantly put obstacles in the way of your relationship, such as being late, starting silly arguments, or simply doing things that you know will annoy your partner.

By engaging in behaviours that build a wall between you and your partner, you fall prey to a self-fulfilling prophecy that only reinforces your sense of worthlessness.

Although Horney’s work has faded into the background, his observations nevertheless agree well with recent research on the problems that human personalities can create by adapting to life.

According to Michael Boudreau and colleagues at the 2021 Hogan Assessment System in Tulsa, “personality problems” are “relatively recurring, self-defeating manifestations of a normal personality that reflect maladaptive habits, coping styles, beliefs, and ways of interacting with others. Personal problems can cause stress, undermine academic or professional performance, and interfere with social relationships.

As Boudreaux et al. Please note that although personality problems are one of the most common reasons people seek mental health care, there are no reliable tools that can help measure these inadequate qualities. The goal of the study by Boudreau and his fellow researchers was to create such a scale.

The 7-point measure of personality problems

Using two separate samples of undergraduate students (1197 and 598 participants, respectively), the research team created and then tested what they now call the Interpersonal Problem Rating Scale (IPRS).

Starting with a set of textual statements provided by a sample of young people, Boudreau and his colleagues created a set of short sentences that reflected these feelings.

For example, a textual statement begins with the participant’s observation: “I am constantly worried that I will not be able to fulfill my potential. I set ridiculously high goals for myself and feel bad when I can’t achieve them … ”, set out as the basis for the assignment projects in the form of self-reported statements such as “I have unrealistic expectations”.

Then, as a result of a series of analyzes, 7 factors or measurements were obtained, which covered the initial 212 units of the preliminary inventory. The authors then moved on to the next stage of validating the instrument against other related personality tests. Further analysis also showed that IPRS scores were significantly associated with measures of adaptive functioning outcomes, including life satisfaction, social functioning, health behaviours, and drug and alcohol use. By delving deeper into the data, the authors were able to reduce the original element to 96.

It’s time to turn to IPRS itself. As the name “Intrapersonal” suggests, all questions refer to questions about oneself that are not related to the presence of another person. So, you have an “inner” personal problem if you create difficulties. An “interpersonal” problem is a problem that you create in your relationships with others. However, at the heart of IPRS is the idea that internal problems can have external consequences.

The elements below are taken from each of the 7 IPRS scales. For each item in the sample, rate yourself on a scale of 0 (no problem) to 3 (major problem).

1. Be upset about little things.
2. It’s too easy to cry.
3. Be too quick to get angry.
4. Be easily annoyed by others.
5. Feelings of worthlessness or inferiority.
6. Comparing myself to others too much.
7. Feeling that other people are better than me (for example, smarter, more beautiful, richer).
8. I am too critical of myself.
9. Concentration problems.
10. Easily distracted.
11. Not knowing what to do with your life.
12. Too procrastinating.
13. Cheat or steal from others.
14. Cheating on her partner or spouse.
15. Too much risk.
16. Failure to comply with the rules (for example, illegal parking, speeding).
17. Failure to act spontaneously.
18. Fear of taking risks.
19. Too much effort to be good.
20. You need to do everything perfectly.
21. Fear of trying new things.
22. Failure to act spontaneously.
23. Immerse yourself in fantasy.
24. Have a vivid imagination.
25. Feel your lack of excitement or enthusiasm.
26. Lack of strong emotions.

Now that you’ve rated yourself on these points, here’s what these scores can tell you about your propensity for interpersonal problems. The five factors had subscales shown in parentheses below, but together they make up a common factor. The numbers are shown here represent the elements of the scale:

1. Emotional dysregulation (difficulty coping with stress and intolerance to frustration): 1-4.
2. Internalization (sadness and self-doubt): 5-8
3. Willingness to Perform (no autonomy and distraction): 9-12
4. Outsourcing (risky behaviour): 13-16
5. Scrupulousness (rigidity and perfectionism): 17-20.
6. Addiction to fantasy: 23-24.
7. Apathy: 25-26.

What do your scores indicate and how can this information help you?

In the test samples, the mean for each item was about 2 (moderate problem). If you get a score of 2 to 3, then you can feel your strengths and weaknesses within your personality. More importantly, you can also see how things you think apply to you can reflect different patterns of problematic ways of thinking about yourself.

High scores on these 7 sets of items indicate a standard set of problems that can arise in real life, but given that some of them are polar opposites (for example, internalization and externalization), your profile is likely to have peaks and valleys. Moreover, each individual scale offers its own set of potential dangers that you may face in your life and that will lead you along this “neurotic” path. Some of these may be obvious (for example, externalization), but others represent a more subtle form of destructive tendencies.

Procrastination, for example, is a classic form of self-defeating behaviour in which you postpone and postpone so much that you have no chance of success. You will either be late to turn in an assignment, or you will come on a date when your ability or attractiveness will never be tested. You also guarantee yourself failure by providing yourself with “proof” that you are worthless.

Distraction is another self-destructive pattern. If you prevent your attention from focusing on the task at hand, then again, you are unlikely to succeed. Likewise, the tendency to fantasize can lead you away from reality and, therefore, make you less prepared for the specific needs of everyday existence.

A story that seems like good quality also has detrimental consequences. If you are too perfectionist, for example, the result will be the same as procrastination, and you will not get your job done on time. In a relationship, if you continue to worry about your appearance or decide what to wear, you will inevitably be late for events, or worse, prevent you and your partner from getting to your social event on time.

One of the benefits of the IPRS framework is that it is not intended to be used for diagnostic goals. Thus, he can use a range of events that can create problems in life. Even the fittest and most asymptomatic person will sometimes feel anxious, ask questions, and face other difficulties and challenges when faced with constant stress.

Thus, better understanding your tendency to limit your chances of success is an essential first step in breaking the cycle of self-destruction. You might never be able to solve all of your intrapersonal problems, but a better understanding of their impact on your life can help you do better in the long run.