La rigidez como variable de personalidad y su relación con pacientes con transtornos de ansiedad

Abstract

This thesis can be framed into a more extense research project aimed to provide a practical post-graduate training that makes up for the lack of training in Clinical Psychology, at that moment. To that purpose, the Service of Psychological Assistance of the Personality, Assessment and Psychological treatment department of the University of Valencia is created. The sample for my study of different anxiety disorders was taken from this service. The main purpose was to refine a test, the R-3, that could discriminate aspects of rigidity between normal population and those people with any kind of anxiety disorder. To that purpose, this scale was applied to both normal population and population suffering from any anxiety disorder according to DSM-III-R, in four different phases: pre-test, post-test, and two follow-ups. The population with anxiety disorders was treated with different kinds of therapy that were never related to rigidity. Thus, this population was assessed before the treatment (pre-test), after the treatment during the 9th or 16th week (post-test) and during the two subsequent follow-ups a month and a half and three months later. Once the test had been refined, several psychometric analysis were performed with it. Among the main conclusions we find out that: 1. The personality variable rigidity has two sides: a positive and a negative one. 2. From the psychometric analysis carried out using the abbreviated scale, we can stand out the temporal stability of the scale. Consequently, rigidity measured with the abbreviated scale seems to be a stable dimension that is found in a prime level of personality, and therefore, difficult to modify. 3. Last, as concerns sensibility to change of the scale, important differences can be found when we compare rigidity before and after therapy. However, such difference is not found in any of the two follow-ups.