The Psychic Arbitrage Profile Protocol — Dimensional Battery (PAPP-D): A Two-Group Cross-Sectional Study Protocol for Validating an Integrative Dimensional Assessment of Personality Functioning

This document presents a complete cross-sectional validation study protocol for the Psychic Arbitrage Profile Protocol — Dimensional Battery (PAPP-D), an integrative assessment framework that operationalizes five process-level dimensions of personality functioning (Accessibility, Liquidity, Transactional Repertoire, Cumulative Cost, Residual Capacity) through established, psychometrically validated self-report instruments. The protocol specifies: (a) a two-group design (clinical n = 100, non-clinical n = 100, frequency-matched on age and sex); (b) a primary hypothesis testing the five-factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis on 19 subscale-level indicators; (c) four secondary hypotheses testing framework-specific discrepancy configurations, incremental prediction of functional disability (WHODAS 2.0), and clinical–non-clinical group differentiation; (d) pre-specified decision rules for model comparison and bifactor interpretation; and (e) a complete statistical analysis plan with specified R packages and reproducibility provisions. The protocol follows SPIROS 2025 reporting guidelines. Results will be reported following STROBE cross-sectional guidelines regardless of outcome direction. Study status: Not yet recruiting. No data have been collected. Protocol version: 3.0 (March 2026). Companion documents: Theoretical framework (Niculescu, 2026; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18667488). PAPP-D instrument documentation (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18958077). Original PAPP v0.9 instrument (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18651011).