title: Personality disorders, history of trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder in subjects with anxiety disorders.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine the association of personality disorders, history of trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a large sample of subjects with anxiety disorders. Categorical and continuous indices of personality disorders were compared in three groups from the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Disorders Research Project (HARP): subjects with no history of trauma (n = 403), subjects with a history of trauma but no history of PTSD (n = 151), and subjects with a current or past diagnosis of PTSD (n = 68). Subjects with PTSD were more likely to meet criteria for borderline or self-defeating personality disorder than subjects in the other two groups. PTSD subjects also had higher scores on the continuous measures (total number of criteria met) for borderline and self-defeating personality disorder than the other two groups. The findings suggest that a diagnosis of PTSD rather than a history of trauma is associated with borderline and self-defeating personality disorder features. Alternative conceptualizations of axis II features in individuals with PTSD are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zlotnick
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Warshaw
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology*