Reliability and Validity Testing and Network Analysis of the Levels of Personality Functioning Scale-Brief Form 2.0 in Chinese College Students

The Levels of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) is a valuable tool for measuring the common factors and severity of personality pathology. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the LPFS-Brief Form 2.0 (LPFS-BF 2.0) among 539 college students, using the Symptom Checklist-10 (SCL-10), Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF), Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory-15 (CBF-PI-15), Suicide Behavior Screening Questionnaire (SBSQ), and Five-Factor Borderline Inventory-Short Form (FFBI-SF) to examine criterion-related validity. Another sample of 3,284 students completed the LPFS-BF 2.0 for network analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit (CFI = 0.997, TLI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.0491). LPFS-BF 2.0 showed significant positive correlations with SCL-10, SBSQ total score and subdimension (<i>r</i> = 0.219-0.688, <i>p</i> < .01), PID-5 total score and subdimension, and CBF-PI-15 total score, neuroticism and extroversion (<i>r</i> = 0.589-0.729, <i>p</i> < .01). There was a significant positive correlation between FFBI-SF score and subdimension (0.457-0.796, <i>p</i> < .01). Network analysis indicated LPF12 (difficulty in interpersonal cooperation) as the most central item. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the Chinese LPFS-BF 2.0, making it effective for assessing personality functioning. In particular, the network findings highlight the central role of interpersonal dysfunction in personality functioning and may inform future clinical assessment and intervention strategies.