ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the main approaches to the assessment of personality disorder and risk assessment psychometric and clinical separating the two areas of interest in a somewhat artificial manner, in the interests of clarity. Psychometric assessments of personality disorder fall into two categories: those based on self-report paper-and-pencil questionnaires, and those based on semi-structured interviews. The chapter highlights the more complex or subtle areas of assessment which are particularly pertinent to the assessment of personality disorder. Many of the features of assessment overlap, and they are divided rather artificially below; some relate to concrete experiences, others to core personality difficulties such as impulsivity, which can be manifest in a range of settings or situations such as schooling, relationships or offending behaviour.
