title: The effects of comorbid personality disorders on cognitive behavioral treatment for panic disorder.
abstract: The present study investigated the influence of personality pathology assessed both dimensionally and categorically on acute clinical response to group cognitive-behavioral treatment in a large sample of panic disorder patients (N = 173) meeting DSMIII-R criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Nearly one-third of the sample met for one or more personality disorders, with the majority meeting for a Cluster C diagnosis. Patients with one or more comorbid personality disorders displayed higher baseline and higher post treatment scores across multiple indices of panic disorder severity compared to those without personality disorders. After controlling for panic disorder severity at baseline, the presence of both Cluster C and Cluster A Pers-Ds predicted a poorer outcome, whereas when assessed dimensionally, only Cluster C symptoms predicted a poorer treatment response. However, the influence of personality pathology was modest relative to that of baseline panic disorder severity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychology, 1 University Avenue, A8000, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. telch@austin.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Telch
authors.forename: Jan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kamphuis
authors.forename: Norman B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult