SWAP-200

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Personality: Self concept · Personality testing · Theories · Mind-body problem

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The Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200) is a research psychometric instrument that consists of a clinician-report Q-sort for assessing personality and personality pathology. An experienced clinician (usually a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist) rank-orders 200 test items into categories from non-descriptive to highly descriptive of the patient. Thus, the SWAP-200 yields a 0-7 score for each of 200 items derived from sources such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders personality disorder criteria, clinical and empirical literature on personality pathology, research on normal traits and psychological health, and previous research with pilot versions of the instrument. The item set was developed over several years using standard psychometric methods. Research supports the reliability and validity of the SWAP-200 in predicting objective indicators of personality dysfunction such as suicide attempts, history of psychiatric hospitalizations, Global Assessment of Functioning scores, clinician diagnoses, and developmental and history variables. A newer version of the SWAP-200, called the SWAP-II, has recently been developed and has begun to displace the SWAP-200 in research applications. The SWAP-200 has an adolescent version, the SWAP-A, for the assessment of personality and psychopathology in psychiatric and clinical psychological research on adolescents.

References

• Davidson K M, Obonsawin M C, Seils M, Patience L (2003) Patient and clinician agreement on personality using the SWAP-200. Journal of Personality Disorders, 17 (3), 208-218.
• Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999a). Revising and assessing Axis II, part 1: Developing a clinically and empirically valid assessment method. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 258-272.
• Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999b). Revising and assessing Axis II, part 2: Toward an empirically based and clinically useful classification of personality disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 273-285.